Notes on the Nude Woman of Paleolithic Austria, traditionally known as the Venus of Willendorf

Venus of Willendorf, Right
Originally uploaded by profzucker

The Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf or simply Nude Woman, acc to Wikipedia:

- 4.3 in-high statuette of a female figure - 24,000 to 22,000 BCE.
- discovered 1908.
- paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Austria.
- oolitic limestone that is not local to the area.
- tinted with red ochre.
- Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.[2]
- never had feet and does not stand on its own.
- large size of the breasts and abdomen and the detail in the vulva have led scholars to interpret the figure as a fertility symbol.
- nickname, urging a comparison to the classical Venus, is now controversial.
- hypothesis that the figurines may have been created as self-portraits.