Venus with the Apple 1809

This is Venus with the Apple, made by Bertel Thorvaldsen, a Danish sculptor working in the Neoclassical style. He has chosen marble as the material, which gives the sculpture a cool, smooth and refined appearance. But why marble? For sculptors in the 19th century, it had a distinct connection to the art of ancient Greece and Rome. But it also speaks to industrial processes. Marble quarries needed to be worked, the stone extracted, and transported. Sculptors of the time often relied on workshops to rough out the carving, before they added the finishing touches. It was a division of labor rooted in capitalism. When you look closely, you might reflect on the human effort it took to bring this goddess into being. And how that effort connects this artwork to a much wider world of labor, politics and consumption.