Capitoline Venus

The most celebrated ancient female nude in Rome and the model for centuries of Western art. A goddess caught in the act of bathing — she turns modestly as if interrupted, one hand raised to cover her breast. Acquired by Pope Benedict XIV in 1752 and kept in a private room accessible only by special request, her 'modesty' deemed too provocative for general viewing. The standard against which every sculptural female nude of the Renaissance and Baroque was measured.