Aphrodite at The Louvre, Paris

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Among the many copies inspired by the Aphrodite of Cnidus, this head from the former Kaufmann Collection stands out as a creation of the Hellenistic era. Distinguished by its elegance and refinement, the sculptor freely adapted Praxiteles' masterpiece of the mid-fourth century BC without altering either its divine nobility or its sensuality. The goddess performs her ablutions completely naked, an audacious and novel treatment of the subject. The "Kaufmann Head" This head of Aphrodite was discovered in Tralles, Asia Minor around 1885. It takes its name from the Kaufmann Collection, where it was preserved until it was purchased by the Louvre in 1951. A fragment from the same statue, depicting the pelvis and upper thighs, is held in the collections of the Staatliche Museen in Berlin. The "Kaufmann Head" is one of many copies made of the Aphrodite of Cnidus during the Hellenistic and Imperial periods. The slight tilt to the left, the chignon, and the treatment of the hair in waves divided equally on either side of a central part are similar to other Roman heads nearby. The head stands out for its elegance and gentleness, with no trepan lines in the working of the hair - these clues indicate that this work dates back to the Hellenistic period. An original creation based on the Aphrodite of Cnidus by Praxiteles This marble head from the Kaufmann Collection offers us an original creation from the second century BC. The sculptor has taken several liberties with the famous statue created by Praxiteles, an Athenian sculptor of the mid-fourth century BC, without altering either the goddess's divine nobility or her sensuality. They have accentuated the length of the neck and noticeably lengthened the face's delicate oval. The sculptor has also changed the arrangement of the ribbons holding the hair: here the two ribbons are parallel, while on other copies they diverge. Aphrodite thus appears more tentative and fragile, but both the memory of the subject and the style of Praxiteles' creation remain, particularly in the sfumato effect emanating from the face. An Aphrodite in her bath In the fourth century BC, the citizens of Cnidus, a small city-state on the southern coast of Asia Minor, placed the Aphrodite of Praxiteles at the heart of the temple dedicated to her. Viewers were struck by the boldness of the subject - the first large-scale Greek statue to depict the female nude - as well as its exceptional quality. The statue depicts the goddess surprised in her bath by an intruder, at a moment when she is completely naked, performing her ritual ablutions. The image, which has a highly religious meaning, was frequently copied thereafter, perhaps more from a decorative point of view than a religious one.