Discovered in 1820 on the island of Milos in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea, it is one of the most well-known figures in the world. Yet her identity is still disputed. The lack of arms or artifacts makes it difficult to determine her identity. Who is Venus de Milo? Perhaps the goddess of the sea, Amphitrite, who was once worshipped in Milos, or maybe Artemis, the goddess of the hunt (if she carried a bow with her missing arm).
Venus de Milo embodies the artistic progress of the late Hellenistic period which began with the conquests of Alexander the Great and ended around 30 BC. The sculpture is estimated to have been carved around 100 BCE due to its numerous references to classical art: its imposing size (about 2 meters high) or its circular movement.
But above all the choice of having it sculpted from two blocks of marble stacked vertically (a common technique in the Cyclades). Like other greek sculptures, it was once covered with jewelry: earrings, bracelets and even a headband. But looting and time have completely stripped her - and left her with no arms (some had even suggested giving her arms back, but gave up so that she would not be damaged).
Often compared to Venus of Capua, Venus de Milo freezes in motion, her clothes slipping over her waist and tightening around her legs. She stands proudly but displays an uncanny gaze (characteristic of the IVth-Vth centuries BCE). Her hair, her firm body and her soft facial features recall the sculptures of the great Praxiteles. Its spiral shape, the extension of its torso, its small chest and its three-dimensional posture are also typical of this era.
The French ambassador of Greece, le Marquis de Rivière, bought it and offered it to King Louis XVIII in 1821 who granted it to the Louvre in March in the same year.
Nathan
1. Venus de Milo, 130-150 AEC, marble, 202 cm, Musée du Louvre.
https://www.louvre.fr/decouvrir/le-palais/un-ideal-de-beaute-grecque