3/16/2024 0 Comments Venus de milo apartments hayward![]() ![]() The wealth of the island increased massively due to the tourism the Aphrodite attracted. Further to this, the Aphrodite was so popular that King Nicomedes of Bithynia was anxious to buy the sculpture and offered to discharge the state’s vast debts in payment but was refused by the island (Pliny, N.H. 10.36.4) and led to a huge boost to the economy of the island. Tourism increased massively as individuals travelled to visit the famous sculpture, as commented by Pliny in his Natural History: “Praxiteles made Cnidus a famous city”, (Pliny, N.H. ![]() This statue quickly became synonymous with the island of Knidos, even being depicted on their coins. ![]() The Aphrodite of Knidos stood, supposedly either about to get into the bath or having just left it, with a hand covering her groin. Image from Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons CC0 1.0. 8619, Museo Nazionale Romano de Palazzo Altemps. This Aphrodite does not survive, having been destroyed in a fire.įigure 2: The Aphrodite of Knidos, Roman copy of the Greek 4th century BC original. The island of Knidos then bought the nude version. The island of Kos, who had the choice, rejected the nude version in outrage. Praxiteles created two versions, one clothed, the other nude. This was part of the controversy surrounding the Aphrodite. Supposedly, this was the first life-sized representation of the female nude form in Greek history. The Aphrodite (Figure 2) was created by Praxiteles in Parian marble between 360 and 330 BC, and was supposedly based on his lover, the courtesan Phryne. The Venus de Milo is understood to have been inspired by the Aphrodite of Knidos. Some scholarly debate exists over whether there was a reason why the Venus was depicted naked, yet due to her links to love and sexual love, she often was presented as such in other versions of Aphrodite and Venus. The style of ‘wet drapery’ was very popular in the late fifth century BC. It is believed by some that the right hand was once in place holding up the drape, while the left held an apple, whilst leaning on a pillar. The statue is half nude, with a drape hung around her hips. As well as alluding to the Judgment of Paris, it was a pun on the island’s name mēlon is the Greek for apple, and the fruit also feature strongly on Melian coins. According to scholarship, the Greeks had understood the Judgement of Paris as symbolising “a man’s three choices: war (Athena), politics (Hera), or love (Aphrodite)” (Stewart (2014) 163). ![]() Aphrodite promised to bestow upon Paris, Helen, the most beautiful woman, to be his wife, which swayed him to announcing Aphrodite as the winner. Zeus commanded Hermes to lead the goddesses to Paris of Troy to decide the winner. Consequentially, three goddesses laid claim to the apple: Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. She attempted to attend despite the lack of invitation and was turned away, but in her anger she cast the golden apple which was addressed “To the Fairest”. All gods and goddesses had been invited bar Eris, goddess of discord. The Judgement of Paris was a contest which stemmed from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Image from Wikipedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Kousser suggests that “Aphrodite likely held out an apple in token of her victory in the Judgement of Paris” (Kousser (2005) 227).įigure 1: The Venus de Milo, Accession number: LL 299, Louvre Museum, Paris. If true, it implies that the Venus de Milo is in fact a representation of Aphrodite, as is generally accepted. Some claim that the “left hand holding an apple”, (Arenas (2002) 37) although this is a topic of debate amongst scholars. Perhaps the most noticeable element when initially viewing the statue is her lack of arms, encouraging the audience to question where her arms are, the original positioning of them, and whether she was holding anything. She stands in contrapposto (counter pose), with a realistic weight distribution, echoing the naturalistic aspects of Hellenistic art. The Venus (Figure 1) stands at slightly larger than life size, at around six foot seven inches. There are also rumours, however, of the Venus being found by a Greek farmer, so the story of its discovery remains contentious. The statue was found on the Aegean island of Melos in 1820, possibly by a member of the French Navy, named Olivier Voutier, who anchored in Melos and spent time digging through the remains of a theatre and searching for antiquities. The Venus is a sculpture by Alexandros of Antioch, although little is known about the artist. The Venus de Milo, which can be found in the Louvre Museum in Paris, is one of the most famous Hellenistic artworks in the world. The Male Gaze Made Marble? The Venus de Milo, by Katharine Broderick ![]()
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