The French fragrance house of Houbigant seems to have turned to the history of art even more than other houses of the mid-twentieth century. I’ve already written three posts about advertisements for Houbigant’s Chantilly. This ad is a general promotion for the brand, rather than any specific fragrance, and it illustrates the idea of “the Eternal Feminine” with a work of classical sculpture.
I don’t know the name of the model whose beautifully symmetrical face graces the foreground of the image, but the sculpted female figure hovering behind her right shoulder can be identified. I showed this ad to my friend Dr. M, who is a classicist by training, and she identified it immediately as Venus Genetrix.
Venus Genetrix is a sculptural “type” that recurs through Greek and Roman art of the Classical period. The original work in bronze (dating to the late 5th century B.C., now lost), by the artist Callimachus, inspired countless Roman copies in marble over later centuries.
In these sculptures Venus, the goddess of love, is depicted in her role as mother (genetrix). She is draped (rather than nude) and holding an apple (a reference to the Judgement of Paris) in her left hand. The example pictured in the photo above, dated circa 100 B.C. – 100 A.D, belongs to the Louvre.
The semi-ruined columns in the Houbigant ad might refer to the Temple of Venus Genetrix in the Forum of Caesar (built in Rome), or they might just be generic Corinthian columns.
Neither my friend nor I was able to identify the sculptural head floating in the background; it might just be an invention of the ad’s artist!
To read more posts in this series, click here.
Images: Houbigant advertisement (1946) via eBay; Venus Genetrix via Theoi.com.
