Venus of Willendorf

   The Venus of Willendorf is an 11.1-centimetre-tall figurine estimated to have been made 30,000 BCE. It was found on August 7, 1908 by a workman named Johann Veran during excavations conducted at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, Austria near the town of Krems. It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and coloured with red ochre.
   Similar sculptures, first discovered in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, are traditionally referred to in archaeology as "Venus figurines", which could be fertility symbols or, perhaps a mother goddess. The reference to Venus is metaphorical, since the figurines predate the mythological figure of Venus by many thousands of years. 
   Very little is known about the Venus' origin, method of creation, or cultural significance; however, it is one of numerous "Venus figurines" surviving from Paleolithic Europe. The purpose of the carving is the subject of much speculation. Like other similar sculptures, it probably never had feet, and would not have stood on its own, although it might have been pegged into soft ground. Parts of the body associated with fertility and childbearing have been emphasized, leading researchers to believe that the Venus of Willendorf may have been used as a symbol for fertility.  The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or perhaps a type of headdress.

Pietà - 'The Pity' 
by Michelangelo

   The Pietà , completed in 1499 took Michelangelo two years for him to produce and is one of his most famous works. It is housed in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.  
   The statue was commissioned for the French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères. The artwork sculptured from one piece of Carrara marble, was made for the cardinal's funeral monument. It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed.
   IT depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. Michelangelo's interpretation of the Pietà is unprecedented in Italian sculpture.
   The sculpture has a pyramidal structure, with the vertex at Mary's head and widens down to the drapery of Mary's dress at the base, the rock of Golgotha. The figures are out of proportion, owing to the difficulty of depicting a fully-grown man cradled full-length in a woman's lap. Much of Mary's body is concealed by her monumental drapery, and the relationship of the figures appears quite natural. The marks of the Crucifixion are limited to very small nail marks and an indication of the wound in Jesus' side.  
   Christ's face does not reveal signs of the Passion. Michelangelo did not want his version of the Pietà to represent death, but rather to show the "religious vision of abandonment and a serene face of the Son".
   The Madonna is represented as being very young, which was not uncommon in other depictions of her at the time. Several explanations have been suggested for this. One is that her youth symbolizes her purity, which Michelangelo said himself.

Alexander the Great
by Rachel Harrison

    As with all postmodern art, the emphasis is on the underlying idea of the piece, rather than beauty of it - or skill of the artist.
    According to some, "Rachel Harrison’s work combines a consummate formalism with a knack for imbuing seemingly abstract elements with multiple meanings, including political ones. She fiercely questions monumentality and the masculine prerogative that goes with it".   
   In contrast to the exceptionally talented and skilled artists of previous eras, postmodern sculptures seem to celebrate the exact opposite values. Harrison creates most of her sculptures by joining blocks of Styrofoam, and covering them in a combination of cement and paint. On top she places some sort of found object, either alone or in combination with others. In this example is a shop mannequin on top of a, paint-splashed form.
   Wearing a cape, and a backwards-facing Abraham Lincoln mask, this piece has a distinct feminist message as it attempts to satirize 'the great man theory of history'. It stands in contrast to, and in defiance of the great many statues of historically celebrated  men that are found in major cities around the world.