The ''Vénus impudique'' ("Immodest Venus", also known as ''Venus Impudica'' and ''Vénus de Vibraye'') is the first Paleolithic sculptural representation of a woman discovered in modern times. It was found by

Paul Hurault, 8th Marquis de Vibraye Paul Hurault, 8th Marquis de Vibraye (1809–1878) was an amateur archaeologist from France. He was born Guillaume-Paul Louis Maximilien Hurault, son of a notable politician and military officer . He discovered the very first Paleolithic scul ...

in about 1864 at the famous archaeological site of

Laugerie-Basse Laugerie-Basse is an important Upper Paleolithic archaeological site within the territory of the French commune Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil in Dordogne. It is known for several works of art from the Magdalenian. In 1979, Laugerie-Basse, along ...

in the

Vézère The Vézère (; oc, Vesera) is a 211-km-long river in southwestern France. It is an important tributary to the Dordogne. Its source is in the northwestern part of the elevated plateau known as the Massif Central. It flows into the Dordogne near ...

valley (one of the many important Stone Age sites in and around the commune of

Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil (; oc, Las Aisiás de Taiac e Siruèlh) is a former commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Les Eyzies.Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

, southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Features

The Magdalenian "Venus" from Laugerie-Basse is headless, footless, armless but with a strongly incised vaginal opening. The figurine is eight centimetres tall and carved from ivory. Despite 'Venus' suggesting fertility, its features and flat stomach lead some to believe the figure depicts a young girl.

Meaning and significance of the name

The Marquis de Vibraye named it ''La Vénus impudique'' or ''Venus Impudica'' ("immodest Venus"), contrasting it to the '' Venus Pudica.'' ''Venus Pudica'' was a class of Roman sculptures depicting the goddess

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

who, unlike the ''Venus Impudique,'' were covering her naked pubis with her right hand, and her breasts with the other. It is from this name that we get the term "

Venus figurines A Venus figurine is any Upper Palaeolithic statuette portraying a woman, usually carved in the round.Fagan, Brian M., Beck, Charlotte, "Venus Figurines", ''The Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', 1996, Oxford University Press, pp. 740–741 Most ...

" commonly used for Stone Age sculptures of this kind.

Goddess of Beauty

The name given to ''Venus Impudique'' by the Marquis de Vibraye was significant in setting the precedent for the names of subsequent Upper Palaeolithic figures that have been found since. Subsequently, Upper Palaeolithic female figurines have collectively been named "Venus figurines" which derives from the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

goddess of beauty,

. Despite considerable diversity in opinion amongst

archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

and in paleoanthropological literature as to the function and significance of the figures, the name arises from the assumption that the figurines represent an ancient ideal of beauty. This perception is said to have derived from the fact that attention is directed to certain features common to most of the figurines. In particular, emotionally charged primary and secondary sexual characteristics, such as, the breasts, stomachs and buttocks. However, somewhat ironically, the figurines majorly predate the mythological figure of

. As a result, critics, such as Vandewettering, have highlighted that this could be a reflection of

androcentric Androcentrism (Ancient Greek, ἀνήρ, "man, male") is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing a masculine point of view at the center of one's world view, culture, and history, thereby culturally marginalizing femininity. The related a ...

interpretations of the Venus figurines that, she suggests, were the starting point for archaeological understandings.Vandewettering, Kaylea R. (2015). "Upper Paleolithic Venus Figurines and Interpretations of Prehistoric Gender Representations". ''PURE Insights''. 4 – via Western Oregon University.

References

Impudique Ivory works of art {{Europe-archaeology-stub

Features

Meaning and significance of the name

Goddess of Beauty

See also

References