Very many sculptures of ancient masters that have come down to our time have occupied a special niche of works of art. The works of the ancient Greeks, Romans and other peoples delight and amaze with their beauty, correctness and accuracy of proportions. Venus de Milo, discovered by French sailors in 1820 on the island of Melos, also belongs to such sculptures. It was her location that served as the source of the name of the statue itself.
The name of the sculptor who created this beauty is still unknown. Only a fragment of the inscription "…adros from Antioch in Asia Minor" remained on the pedestal. It remains only to assume that the master's name was Alexandros or Anasandros. It was found that the Venus de Milo refers to the works of the 1st century BC, it combines several types of art of that time at once. Thus, the image of the head can be attributed to the 5th century BC, the smooth curves of the statue are characteristic of the Hellenistic era, and the naked bodywas a kind of cult in the 4th century BC
Aphrodite has been the ideal and model of beauty and femininity for many centuries. Today, the statue stands in the Louvre, time has also affected its condition: it is all covered with cracks and crevices, there are no hands, but still it amazes visitors with its sophistication, femininity and beauty. Coming to the Louvre, people ask where the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo are located. The parameters of the goddess have long been considered the standard of beauty: height - 164 cm, hips - 93 cm, waist - 69 cm, and shoulders - 86 cm.
Smooth curves of the body, tenderness of the skin, emphasized by a smoothly falling cape, delicate facial features - all this indicates that you have a real goddess of love and beauty in front of you. Initially, there was Venus de Milo with hands, it is assumed that in one she held a golden apple, and the second held a cape. The goddess lost parts of her body during a fierce struggle for the right to own the sculpture that flared up between the Turks and the French.
In 1820, the French navigator and naturalist Dumont-Durville landed on the island of Melos. Passing through the village, he was surprised to see a snow-white statue of a woman in one of the courtyards, in which he recognized Aphrodite. The owner turned out to be a simple shepherd who informed the Frenchman that he had dug the sculpture out of the ground. Dumont realized the value of the find, so he offered to buy it, the poor man realized that the navigator was very we althy, and asked for a very large amount.
Venus de Milothe we althy Turk also liked it and promised to buy it. When he came to the shepherd and found out that the Frenchman had taken away the statue, he became very angry and rushed to catch up with the navigator. During the bloody battles, the goddess lost her hands, Dumont recaptured the sculpture itself, but did not find the hands, presumably, the Turks took them with them.
Today the Venus de Milo stands in the Louvre, thanks to a resourceful and brave navigator. At one time, this find caused the greatest delight of the entire French court, and Dumont himself enjoyed the honors. Now the sculpture is known all over the world, and its copies adorn museums and houses of rich people. Even funny cases are connected with it, when an American, having ordered a statue for himself, discovered that she had no hands. The man sued the shipping company, thinking that the limbs broke off during transportation, and after a while he found out that the original had no hands.
