The vast majority of people know Venus de Milo primarily as a statue without arms. And this, according to many, is its main mystery. But in fact, there are many more mysteries and secrets associated with this statue.
1. The name "Venus de Milo" is misleading
It is widely believed that this statue depicts the Greek goddess of love and beauty. But the Greeks called this goddess Aphrodite, and Venus was the Roman name.
Venus - from the Romans, Aphrodite - from the Greeks.
2. The statue was named after the place where it was discovered
On April 8, 1820, a farmer named Yorgos Kentrotas came across a statue in the ruins of an ancient city on the island of Milos.
Promotional video:
Statue from the island of Milos
3. The creation of the statue is attributed to Alexandros of Antioch
The sculptor of the Hellenistic period, Alexandros, is believed to have carved this masterpiece from stone between 130 and 100 BC. Initially, the statue was found with a pedestal-slab on which it stood. There the inscription about the creator was found. Subsequently, the pedestal mysteriously disappeared.
Masterpiece of Alexandros of Antioch
4. Perhaps the statue does not represent Venus
Some believe that the sculpture does not depict Aphrodite / Venus, but Amphitrite, a sea goddess who was especially revered on Milos. Still others even assume that this is a statue of the goddess of victory Victoria. There is also debate about what the statue originally had in its hands. There are different versions that it could be a spear or a spinning wheel with threads. There is even a version that it was an apple, and the statue is Aphrodite, who holds in her hands the award given to her by Paris, as the most beautiful goddess.
Amphitrite and Poseidon
5. The sculpture was presented to the King of France
Kentrotas originally found this statue together with the French sailor Olivier Voutier. Having changed several owners while trying to export it from the country, the statue eventually ended up in the hands of the French ambassador to Istanbul, the Marquis de Riviere. It was the marquis who presented Venus to the French king Louis XVIII, who, in turn, handed over the statue to the Louvre, where it is located to this day.
Paris. Louvre. Venus de Milo
6. The statue lost its arms because of the French
Kentrotas found the hand fragments when he found the statue in the ruins, but after being reconstructed, they were deemed too "crude and inelegant." Modern art critics believe that this does not mean that the hands did not belong to Venus, most likely they were damaged over the centuries. Both the arms and the original pedestal were lost when the statue was transported to Paris in 1820.
No arms statue
7. The original pedestal was removed purposefully
Art critics of the 19th century decided that the statue of Venus was the work of the Greek sculptor Praxiteles (it was very similar to his statue). This classified the statue as belonging to the classical era (480-323 BC), whose creations were much more prized than the sculptures of the Hellenistic period. To support this version even at the cost of misinformation, the pedestal was removed before the sculpture was presented to the king.
8. Venus de Milo - the object of national pride of the French
During his conquests, Napoleon Bonaparte brought one of the finest examples of Greek sculpture - the statue of the Venus de Medici - from Italy. In 1815, the French government returned this statue to Italy. And in 1820 France gladly took the opportunity to fill an empty space in the main French museum. Venus de Milo became more popular than Medici's Venus, which was also presented at the Louvre.
Venus de Medici - rival of Venus de Milo
9. Renoir was not impressed by the sculpture
Perhaps the most famous of the ill-wishers of Venus de Milo, the famous impressionist painter, stated that the sculpture was very far from displaying female beauty.
Renoir questioned the beauty of Venus
10. During World War II, Venus was hidden
By the fall of 1939, when the threat of war loomed over Paris, Venus de Milo, along with some other priceless artifacts such as the sculpture of Nika of Samothrace and the work of Michelangelo, were removed from the Louvre for storage in various castles in the countryside of France.
One of the castles in the French province
11. Venus was robbed
Venus is not only missing arms. She was originally adorned with jewelry, including bracelets, earrings and a tiara. These decorations disappeared a long time ago, but there are holes for fastening in the marble.
12. Venus has lost color
Although modern art connoisseurs are accustomed to viewing Greek statues as white, marble sculptures were often painted in different colors. However, today no traces of the original paint have survived.
13. The statue is taller than most people
The height of Venus de Milo is 2.02 m.
Venus is taller than the average person
14. A sculpture can be a copy
Art historians point out that Venus de Milo bears a striking resemblance to Aphrodite or Venus of Capuana, which is a Roman copy of the original Greek statue. Since the creation of Venus of Capuan, at least 170 years passed before Alexandros created Venus of Milos. Some art historians believe that both statues are actually copies of an older source.
15. Imperfection of sculpture as a source of inspiration
The missing hand of Venus de Milo is much more than a source of numerous lectures, discussions and essays by art critics. Their absence also led to innumerable fantasies and versions of how the hands might be positioned and what might be in them.
Perhaps Venus de Milo looked like this