Broken

Painting of Greek statue in Louvre by Praxiteles with embossed text: Conception, Creation, Deception, Destruction — Oil on Canvas, 100 x 53 cm

This painting depicts a Roman 1st- or 2nd-century Aphrodite of the Cnidian type from the Sully Wing of the Louvre. The sculpture, a copy of the original by Praxiteles—the first famous female nude in Greek art—survives today only as a torso, missing its head and limbs. On canvas, the statue is rendered with vivid contemporary colors, and the surface has been deliberately scratched. Four words are embossed across the painting: Conception, Creation, Deception, Destruction, emphasizing the tension between classical form and modern interpretation. The work reflects on the enduring influence of Greek sculpture while exploring the fragmentation of the classical ideal in contemporary perception. A smaller, more vigorously scraped version of this painting can be viewed here.