The Venus de Milo
Paris is filled with various well known landmarks and artifacts, including the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and, of course, the Louvre. The Louvre, famously known for the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, and Aphrodite of Milos, is in the center of the beautiful city. Better known as the Venus de Milo, the statue represents Aphrodite, the goddess of love (“Venus de”). It stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall, absent of arms, in one of the most visited places in the Louvre (Richman-Abdou). The figure itself was carved around 150 BC, and was found on April 8, 1820 on the Aegean island of Melos (“Venus de”). Even though the sculpture was found in pieces, the material needed to be sturdy enough to last nearly two thousand years. The Venus de Milo is said to be built out of marble, but marble is a very brittle stone. With that being said, it is easy to carve but it is hard to believe the statue has lasted all these years. It was originally carved in two parts: the torso and the legs (“Venus de”). These two parts were then connected at the hips, hidden by drapery.
The MAterials
The material used to build the structure, Parian marble, is similar to limestone. A largely known fact is that limestone is never a great material to use for building or foundation. What if the Venus de Milo was not built out of marble? Would we know what the arms were doing? When building sculptures, there are many other more sustainable materials to use. It is no surprise that metals are the best, most durable option to use when building a statue. The hardness and lack of corrosion of specifically stainless steel and bronze, are the best substances to use when creating a sculpture. Who knows? If the Venus de Milo was built out of steel, we might have the answers we are looking for.
Source
Richman-Abdou, Kelly. “The Mysterious History of the Marble ‘Venus de Milo’ Statue.” My Modern Met. 20 May 2022, mymodernmet.com/venus-de-milo-statue/. Accessed 5 August 2022.
“Venus de Milo.” Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2022, www.britannica.com/topic/Venus-de-Milo. Accessed 5 August 2022.