Aphrodite with Eros

4th/3rd century B.C.

Tanagra 4th/3rd Century B.C.

Associated Names
Tanagra 4th Century B.C.

Ceramist, Greek

Tanagra 3rd Century B.C.

Ceramist, Greek

The sculpture depicts a woman standing with one hand on her hip and the other holding a small round object, while a bird or small animal perches on her shoulder. She seems to be leaning on a tall object on the right, which her bent elbow rests on. The woman is dressed in a draped gown that falls elegantly to her feet, with detailed folds in the fabric. Her skin is mostly white, with some patches of brown, and her reddish-brown hair is intricately styled on top of her head. Her outfit, the object she holds, and the creature on her shoulder are all blends of white, reddish-brown, and light brown pigments. The sculpture stands on a flat rectangular base.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Acquired between about 1890 and 1910 by Raphaël Collin [1850-1916], Paris;[1] purchased c. 1911 by William Andrews Clark [1839-1925], New York; bequest 1926 to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2014 by the National Gallery of Art.
[1] Details about the formation of the antiquities collection acquired by William Clark are in the Clark collection records, in NGA curatorial files. Collin was a painter, and a student of Greek history and archaeology, who had the advice of Edmond Pottier in assembling the collection. Pottier was a director of the French School of Archaeology in Athens, and curator of the Greek and Roman department at the Louvre in Paris. The works in the collection were mostly made originally for household use, then found their way into tombs in ancient Greece, as belongings of the deceased or as offerings at the time of burial.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2001

  • Antiquities to Impressionism: The William A. Clark Collection: Corcoran Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 2001-2002, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1925

  • Carroll, Dana H. Catalogue of Objects of Fine Art and Other Properties at the Home of William Andrews Clark, 962 Fifth Avenue. Part II. Unpublished manuscript, n.d. (1925): 238, no. 51.

1928

  • Corcoran Gallery of Art. Illustrated Handbook of the W.A. Clark Collection. Washington, 1928: 104, no. 2554.

1932

  • Corcoran Gallery of Art. Illustrated Handbook of the W.A. Clark Collection. Washington, 1932: 108, no. 2554.

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