After selecting the art pieces that I would like to compare, I discovered a couple of options that I really liked. I chose Aphrodite, Eros and Filiform Aphrodite. The two statues, although both meant to be Aphrodite, look very different.
Aphrodite is painted on a 7 and 1/4 inch high terracotta sculpture. The paint is worn off but the color remains. The piece was created in the third millennium B.C. Aphrodite is sitting, holding an eagle-eyed baby Eros with her left hand. A rattle is in her other hand. She is sitting on a throne that is simple and plain, but large in scale. She is sitting on a thick cushion. She is looking left and downward at Eros with her head tilted to the left. Aphrodite’s hair resembles coarse wire pushed back beneath a small, rounded bonnet. She is dressed in a long dress with drapes and her legs are visible underneath. Her feet rest on an antique foot bench. Her left foot has a slight forward tilt, almost like a walking pose. Her right leg is a bit thicker, and her face looks more humanistic than naturalistic. Eros’s face is stoic and looks like a doll. Aphrodite’s rattle looks like a round ball with a stick sticking out of it.
A bronze sculpture of filiform form was made by the Greeks in the 4th Century B.C. Aphrodite’s body is long and her features and appearance are unnaturalistic. Her face is what makes her look most real. Her almond-shaped eyes and mouth look like she’s frowning, or is resting her frown. She appears to be missing her ears. Her hair may have covered them. Aphrodite looks like she has peas attached to her breasts and knees. Her arms look like penguins’ flippers and are attached on her sides. Her feet are like a hoof of a horse, and she only wears shirts with ONE horizontal line. She is a woman with pea-sized breasts, but no other distinguishing features.
Aphrodite, Eros and Filiform Aphrodite all represent the same Greek Goddess. Both Aphrodite statues have their hair pulled back and tucked under a bonnet. In both sculptures, Aphrodite has almond-shaped eyes and a face that is oval. Aphrodite’s feet are not recognizable in either work of art. We don’t know who created either sculpture, but we do know that both artists were trying to tell stories. Their art is a reflection of the period in which they were created, their own personality, and the location in Greece.
I find it fascinating that the art pieces were only 100 years apart. These sculptures were created using different media and they do not even appear to represent the same individual. Filiform Aphrodite appears to be a pole stretched out with a face, while Aphrodite & Eros shows a woman clearly holding Eros. Aphrodite, Eros and Filiform Aphrodite are seated. Aphrodite with Eros has been painted with vibrant colors. It is sculpted in a way that looks naturalistic. Filiform Aphrodite was painted to emphasize her height and facial features. Aphrodite with Eros appears to be a scene of a mother holding her child. It’s not like Filiform Aphrodite, which is Aphrodite just standing still.
Filiform Aphrodite is similar to Aphrodite & Eros, but they are also different. The differences come from the century difference, the artists involved, and the purpose of why each piece was created.
