A vast portion of the globe believes that Venus de Milo’s secret resides in her missing arms.

 

 

The Louvre in Paris presently houses the Venus de Milo, an ancient statue often assumed to symbolize Aphrodite. Alexandros, a sculptor from Antioch on the Maeander River, fashioned it out of marble in 150 BCE. Interesting, isn’t it?

Let’s start analyzing this masterpiece and dig deeper into all the missing components.

 

The heading/title is deceptive- Venus De Milo

 

Don’t you think? It is believed that this Grecian sculpture is commonly acknowledged to depict the Greek Goddess of Love and Magnificence, who was frequently delivered half-dressed. 

This divinity would have been known to the Greeks as Aphrodite in any case. Regardless, the Roman-inspired Venus de Milo managed to get by.

A herdsman named Yorgos Kentrotas went over the artwork in fragments inside the ruins of an ancient city on Milos’s island on April 8, 1820.

The upper section of the statue was hauled to Yorgos’ cowshed, where French officers came to inspect it. The Venus of Milo’s first display took place in a barn. 

 

This sculpture became a gift to Louis XVIII

 

When Kentrotas enlisted the help of a French marine officer to locate the fantastic figure, he set in motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to the Marquis de Riviere presenting Venus de Milo to Louis XVIII.

As a result, the emperor donated the sculpture to the Louver, which can still be seen today. Fascinating, right?

 

French’s fault for losing this sculpture’s limbs

 

When Kentrotas uncovered the sculpture in the remains, he discovered pieces of an arm and a hand; nevertheless, when Venus de Milo was rebuilt, those arms were discarded because they had a “harsher” aspect.

Although current historians acknowledge that the different finishes don’t rule out the possibility that those arms had a position with Venus, both the arms and the first plinth have been destroyed since the piece was transported to Paris in 1820.

 

Venus De Milo has been robbed

 

Beyond her hands, Venus lacks something. Her wristband, studs, and headpiece were all covered in diamonds at first. Although the twists are cruelly cutting, the apertures for securing them to the sculpture remain in the marble, providing clues to the missing additions.

 

Colour and height

 

While modern craftsmanship may think of Greek statues as white, the marble was usually painted in polychromy. Regardless, little trace of the first paint plan remains on Venus de Milo today. 

Venus de Milo is still 6 feet 8 inches tall, despite her trivial sluggard.

 

This piece could be a replica

 

Does this make you think that there are chances this work is a copy? 

Several antiquarians have detected a significant resemblance between Venus de Milo and Aphrodite of Capua, a Roman period replica of a possibly late fourth century BCE bronze Greek original.

In any scenario, that would be 170 years before Alexandros cut his Goddess, leading some to speculate that both sculptures are copies of a more experienced piece.

 

Venus De Milo is admired today

 

Isn’t it fascinating that the imperfection of this piece is perfection? It means that all the flaws of this piece are overlooked or are believed to be perfect in their way.

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Venus de Milo’s missing limbs have been the subject of numerous conferences, conversations, and writings by experts in the field of craftsmanship history. Their absence has also served as an accidental invitation to the world to imagine where they may be, what they might hold.

Surprisingly, it is her missing arms that give the sculpture its brilliance. 

The Venus de Milo is a natural surrealism masterpiece. Her loss of arms gives her a strange and deceptive appearance. 

She is terrific, despite her flaws, excellent yet broken—her body a wreck. That inexplicable sense of inadequacy has transformed an old masterpiece into a modern one. Interesting, right?

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