Family tours at the exhibition
Jeff Koons: “Venus” Lespugue

How have the ideas of fertility, beauty and symbolism been represented across time, from antiquity until today?

During an interactive guided tour, parents and children will encounter the iconic sculpture “Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange)” (2013–2019) by Jeff Koons, which draws inspiration from the Paleolithic “Venus of Lespugue”, a 28,000-year-old figurine discovered in France, as well as nine more “Venus” figurine museum copies from the Upper Paleolithic era originating from different regions of Europe.

The tour will then continue in the Museum’s permanent exhibition of Cycladic Art, where families will learn about Cycladic culture—another civilisation of prehistoric times—and the different types of marble Cycladic figurines. What might the female Cycladic figurines have symbolized? How did they influence modern artists such as Constantin Brancusi, Pablo Picasso and Amedeo Modigliani? And how do they relate to the Paleolithic “Venus” figurines as well as to Koons’ contemporary sculpture?

Through observation and discussion, children and parents will discover art as a timeless dialogue between cultures and historical periods, while also understanding that contemporary artistic creation does not exist independently from the past, but actively engages with it.