Unknown
Roman

Aphrodite, 2nc c. BCE
Marble
74 in.

SBMA, Gift of Wright S. Ludington
1984.34.2

COMMENTS

The statue type represented by this large-scale sculpture is that of the Aphrodite of Syracuse (the Aphrodite Landolini) - itself a Roman copy executed in the second century B.C. and ultimately derived from the Aphrodite of Kos by Praxiteles. Numerous copies or versions inspired by that celebrated statue very likely originated in the Aegean islands surrounding Kos or on the nearby mainland of Asia Minor (Turkey).

In keeping with the popularity of sensual deities during the Hellenistic age, Aphrodite as the Goddess of Love was a subject prolific in sculpture - particularly statuary, and many examples were inspired by either the semi-nude Aphrodite of Kos or her more famous counterpart, the Aphrodite of Knidos also by Praxiteles. Both of these statues show the goddess surprised while bathing, and, although both originals are lost, their character, pose, and style have survived to a degree in the countless copies and versions that have come down to us.

This particular Aphrodite in Santa Barbara has two especially close parallels - each with the left arm wholly intact but the right arm preserved only down to just above the elbow - that are presently in Karlsruhe and Syracuse, Italy (the Aphrodite Landolini). At her upper right arm, the Ludington Aphrodite wears an armlet - a decorative feature shared with some of her counterparts, but in some cases worn on the right rather than the left arm. The head of the goddess for the Santa Barbara statue is somewhat vapid and manneristic yet recalls the head type usually associated with the Medici Venus (Aphrodite of Knidos type), which, in sharp contrast to the Santa Barbara head, is far more delicate. These heads share in common an elaborate topknot and a broad fillet clearly visible at the back and sides but obscured above the forehead by strands of wavy hair.

This popular Aphrodite type has served as the basis for another statue type, better known as a "nymph" who, although draped in a similar manner, holds a conch shell at arm's length before her at the waist - a statue that have served admirably as a garden or fountain decoration.

- Mario A. Del Chiaro, Classical Art: Sculpture, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1984, p. 72