The famous Venus sculpture was discovered in 1820 on the island of Milos.[1] She is the embodiment of the ancient Greek ideal of beauty and depicts the goddes of love and eroticism. Her upper body is naked, the gaze spiritual, her head is small and the face shows fine features. Her genitals are covered by a heavy cloth, which has slightly slipped down on the right side and indicates the vulva triangle. Sculptures of this age don't depict the vagina or vulva in a detailed way. In case they are shown completely naked, a slightly curved vulva triangle is indicated at most. Some figures cover their genitals with their hand, which is the so-called „pudica (Latin for shameful) gesture". Monika Gsell[2] assumes that the realistic depiction of the vulva was a taboo and its naturalistic image wasn't allowed to be shown. In contrast, the very detailed realistic genitals of male large-scale sculptures demonstrated the great discrepancy between the two sexes. This kind of Venus representation and of the female nude has dominated occidental art throughout centuries.

(Translation: C. Wilhelm)