Antonine Woman as Venus

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Antonine Woman as Venus

It is determined the Antonine Woman as Venus is a woman of aristocratic status. The portrait is made of fine-grain marble, a medium only upper-class persons could afford. Also, only persons of wealth could afford to have such a protrait made. The woman is portrayed as Venus, a goddess who is connected to the imperial family, and members of a royal family would often have themselves depicted as a deity. (De Puma 26) We know she is being portrayed as Venus because of her bare breast and the upper-arm ring. The bare breast is a key to Venus because she is the goddess of sexuality and desirability. The upper arm ring can be an attribute of Venus as the Statue of Aphrodite (Venus) by Praxiletels displays the same jewelry on a nude body. (Fantham 175)

The back of the portrait is slightly slanted, allowing us to imagine the angle at which the portrait was positioned on its support. The portrait is the complete bust of Antonine Woman as Venus, minus the background medallion, which would have created a complete circle above her head. Imagining the medallion was still there, we envision the bust as being placed on a wall. This postition would cause the portrait to angle towards the on-looker and we assume she was placed at eye-level or slightly higher.

Antonine Woman as Venus is obviously a freeborn woman. She comes from or was married into an aristocratic family, which would not be possible for a slave or a freedwoman. She is a young matron of approximately 20 years of age. We can determine she is young and a matron because her pose is not as modest as an unwed adolescent's pose may be or as modest as an elder woman's pose may be. (Shelton 292)

Her age is also determined by her sexually confident pose, her locks draping her neck, and her smooth, unaged facial features. These attributes are not a likeness to an adolescent girl or a woman of age. By the woman's young and healthy appearance, we may assume she was able to receive the best medical treatment because she was a wealthy woman of aristocratic status.

She was most likely, being a person of upper-class, educated at the appropriate age by private tutors, usually before the age of twelve. Like all Roman women, however, she must conceal her intellect in the company of men, especially if the situation is concerning her husband.

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