Venus de Medici
Preserved but no longer current.
A famous statue, since 1860 in the Uffizzi Gallery, Florence, ranking as a canon of female beauty. It is supposed to date from the time of Augustus, and was dug up in the 17th century in. the villa of Hadrian, near Tivoli, in eleven pieces. It was kept in the Medici Palace at Rome till its removal to Florence by Cosimo III.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Venus de Medici” mean?
A famous statue, since 1860 in the Uffizzi Gallery, Florence, ranking as a canon of female beauty. It is supposed to date from the time of Augustus, and was dug up in the 17th century in. the villa of Hadrian, near Tivoli, in eleven pieces. It was kept in the Medici Palace at Rome till its removal to Florence by Cosimo III.
Is “Venus de Medici” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.