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Phryne

Maker (French, 1861-1944)
Date1903?
MediumUnglazed modeled earthenware
DimensionsHeight: 15 1/8 in. (38.4 cm)
Credit LineA Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation
Copyright© 2008 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Object number2000.18
Status
Not on view
Description

Phryne—a historical figure who lived in Athens in the 4th century B.C.E.—was so famous for shedding her clothes in public that she was the inspiration for the first life-sized female nude sculpture in classical Greece. Perhaps this is why she has continued to inspire sculptors, like Aristide Maillol, who are fascinated by the art of the ancient Greeks and Romans.