Poster of the Venus Kallipygos – Back View
Artflake Company, 2013.
Unknown creator, possibly from Nero’s Domus Aurea, Rome, Italy, probably 1st century BCE.
Marble.
National Archaeological Museum (inv. Mus. Naz. 6020), Naples, Italy.
Anonymous loan.
Both the front and back of the statue provide ideal viewpoints since the drapery and nudity are as noteworthy. Although it could have been an innovative piece, it is more likely a reproduction of a bronze original due to the composition, surface treatment and imperfections. If this is so, then the nudity, torsion and multiple viewing angles indicate that the original would not be earlier than the Hellenistic period.
Such reproductions demonstrate Rome’s predilection for Greek art. As Horace (Epistles II.I.156-157) famously proclaimed, “conquered Greece captivated her savage conqueror and brought forth the arts into rustic Latium.”