Venus de Milo. Greek 130-100 B.C. Louvre Museum. Paris. Photograph by Paul Goldfinger
This ancient Greek sculpture was discovered in 1820 on the island of Milos, in the Aegean, by a peasant who was puttering around in the ruins of the city called Milos. The original name was Aphrodite of Milos. She was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Venus was the Roman name.
The artist is thought to be Alexandros of Antioch. I can imagine Alexander looking at his model’s indescribable beauty and finding himself at a loss for words. He was speechless, so he did what artists do — he expressed himself through his art. He took a hunk of marble and created this 6′ 8″ tall woman. Her arms were not recovered.
SOUNDTRACK: Frank Sinatra sings about a modern-day Aphrodite who is too beautiful for words. From the film “What Women Want.”
