
this female figure is from the Upper
Paleolithic period from Austria carved from limestone
originally colored with red ocher (
Stokstad 5). The sculpture exaggerated the figure's female attributes by giving it pendulous breasts, a big belly with deep naval , wide hips, dimpled knees and buttocks , and solid thighs (
Stokstad 5). by carving a woman with a well nourished body, the artist may be expressing health and
fertility (
Stokstad 5).
in today's world the perfect body is a kind of body that is described to look like a model. Long legs, slim waist, tallness are some of the
characteristics of a perfect body in the society today, when generations before thought a healthy and fertile woman would be a heavy set woman known today. in today's society, people would think of the statue as an obese woman when generations before thought of her as wealthy and healthy because she would most likely survive in a
clan with a heavy set body. As we see/hear everywhere today, everyone talks about what is healthy and what is not healthy just judging people by their weight or looks ; and when it comes to excessive body fat it is automatically unhealthy because that not a well known figure today in the society. Everything that is described (seen) in the Woman From
Willendorf is the total opposite today. The words that describe the Woman From
Willendorf, are words that would be used to describe an unhealthy female figure today in this society; dimpled knees, wide hips, big belly are all known to make someone obese and unhealthy. I believe that a heavy set woman, not having too much
excessive body fat is much more healthier than ones who are underweight because they would more likely survive diseases, viruses and the ability to produce children. when asking many people of what they think a perfect woman would look like, they picture someone who is a model or an actress because this is what is advertised to us in different types of ways such as magazines , television, and websites.