Venus of Willendorf Sculptor (Witcombe) Assignment (Essay Sample)

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Women (Venus of Willendorf)
In 1908, an archeologist by the name Joseph Szombathy discovered the statue named ‘Venus of Willendorf’ in the Austrian town of Willendorf. The sculptor is estimated to be 24,000 years old and is made of oolitic limestone; it also stands at 11 centimeters high. It depicts the figure of a nude woman and is well regarded by historians as one of the oldest yet surviving forms of art. Many scholars have tried interpreting the origin and cultural significance of the female figure, but little is still known of the statue. According to Witcombe, the exaggerated female figure reflects the grotesque reality of the female body during that period. It also emphasizes the personification of fertility; a belief system of the then culture. However, not all scholars agree on that reflection; some believe that the statue reflects a social structure where prehistoric women who lived 25,000 years ago lived in a punitive ice age environment where the aspect of fertility, bulkiness, and fatness were highly desirable. The exaggeration of the breasts indicates the successful reproduction and representation of the artist's brain during that time ("Venus of Willendorf: Exaggerated Beauty").
The Paleolithic men and women living during the time of the sculptor regarded women as significant due to its representation. One noticeable theme in the sculptor is that of the spiritual world. According to, due to the small size of the figure, portability, and carbon dating tha...