Disarmed: The Story of the Venus de Milo

by Gregory Curtis

Book Overview

In the spring of 1820, on the Aegean island of Melos, an unsuspecting farmer was digging for marble building blocks when he unearthed the statue that would come to be known as the Venus de Milo. From... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375415238
• ISBN13: 9780375415234
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 247 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Where the Venus de Milo came from and why she is so famous

If you have been one of the thousands of visitors that pass before the Venus de Milo in the Louvre everyday, you may have asked yourself, what makes this one statue special? After all, there are thousands of statues in hundreds of famous as well as provincial museums that to the untutored eye seem no different. I bought this book to answer this question. It turns out that what is conclusively known about the statue can be expressed in two well-thought out sentences. I won't give it away here, but what then is in this book? In a nutshell, lots of politics. The book describes the circumstances of the statue's discovery. As soon as it was discovered, the Venus became embroiled in controversy. Following the defeat of Napoleon the French were anxious to have a great prize to boost their national pride. The English had the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon. The Italians had the Apollo Belvedere (looted from Italy by Napoleon and at the time recently returned). Any old statue would not do for the French. To be a world-class masterpiece, it had to date from the classical period of Ancient Greece, i.e. from the 4th or 5th century BC, preferably attributable to a Praxiteles, Lysippus or Phidias. The statue that we have is nothing of the sort. The book describes the tortuous machinations by which successive Louvre officials strove to boost the fame of the Venus. Obviously, they were successful, but in the process, the true provenance of the statue has been obfuscated. For the same reason, serious research into it has been discouraged. As Curtis states, the last important study was under taken by Salomon Reinach at the end of the 19th century. This is amazing for an artifact so famous. Compare this with the history of the Louvre's other great treasure, the Mona Lisa! In reading the book I was surprised to find no mention of modern scientific techniques which at the minimum would determine the source of the marble. The powers that be would prefer not to look too closely. That said, Curtis does make a cogent argument for the true origin of the Venus, which most readers will find satisfactory. Its appeal has stood the test of time and the scrutiny of thousands, so it hardly matters that it was carved by an obscure provincial sculptor. The conspiracy surrounding the statue notwithstanding, this is a serious book that will be interesting to art historians. It is nothing like the literature surrounding the Shroud of Turin. Readers willing to plough through the background information will be rewarded with an understanding of where the Venus de Milo came from and exactly why she is so famous. That, after all, is why I bought the book.

The Origin of an Icon

The Venus de Milo has become a symbol of great art, as well as kitsch. It has been used in advertising throughout the world because of its ease of recognition. While everybody knows the identity of the statue almost immediately, few know the story of its discovery, transport from Melos in Greece to the Louvre, and the controversy that followed. Gregory Curtis has given "flesh" to the marble by his often masterful descriptions of the actions of a few all too human men who were associated in some way with the statue after its discovery. From Voutier, who actually recognized the stature as something of value after it had been discovered by a local farmer, through d'Urville who successfully took credit for the discovery, to Reinach and Furtwängler who argued over the history of the Venus, the story is one of intrigue and curiously eccentric people. We now know the Venus was a Hellenistic rather than a classical Greek sculpture. French pride kept that truth from emerging for many years, but also it was burdened with the idea that Hellenistic art was inferior. Indeed, so set was this idea that anything of such notable merit as the Venus must have come from the studio of a great of the classic age of Greece. The inscription found with it on an associated piece that fit the base had to thus be unassociated! Wishful thinking is a hallmark of humanity! This is a well-written piece and should find readership with those who like to not only appreciate art, but to understand its history as well.

Alexandros The Great

What a remarkable book, especially for a "first-time" author! There is so much fascinating information contained in the space of 200 pages, it's a tribute to Mr. Curtis (and his editor) that he was able to sandwich everything in - and to keep the sandwich neat and tidy. The book is a joy to read, from when the statue is uncovered by a farmer on the Aegean island of Melos right up until the final flourish, when Mr. Curtis presents his conclusions concerning who sculpted the Venus, when it was done, and what makes the statue a great piece of art. At first, there was a dispute about who was going to get possession of the Venus - the Turks or the French. Mr. Curtis explains why it was so important for the French to bring home this prize: Greek works were considered the epitome of art, if they were from the classical period (around the 4th century B.C.). It was thought that you could do no better than to imitate what the Greeks had done, and the best way to imitate the Greeks was to have their works where your own artists could study them, copy them, and gain inspiration from them. The British had the famous Elgin marbles and the Vatican had the Apollo Belvedere (which was removed from the Louvre and returned to Italy after Napoleon's final defeat), so it was very important to the French that they "bring home the bacon" and get the Venus to Paris. Mr. Curtis did extensive research and it really shows: in addition to the story of the Venus, we learn a lot about Greek society, including the role of women and female sexuality. Mr. Curtis also gives us a crash course in Greek mythology (we need this information in order to understand his conclusions about why the statue was located where it was, its purpose, and what position the missing arms would have been in and what they were doing). The author also gives us a blow-by-blow description of the "battles of the scholars." French scholars were desperate to prove that the sculpture came from the "right" (classical) period and was not carved at a later date. (This was due to the huge influence of a thinker named Johann Winckelmann, who stated that Greek art from after the classical period was inferior.) Battling against the "French School" was the highly respected Adolf Furtwangler, who concluded (based on physical evidence found at the same site where the Venus had been unearthed) that the statue was created during the Hellenistic period, sometime around 100 B.C. This argument seems silly to us - after all, if the Venus is a great work of art, what's the difference? But it points out the importance of historical context and frames of reference. At that time, it was important to the cognoscenti that the sculpture have the right pedigree. This all allows Mr. Curtis to have a lot of fun showing us the mental "loop-the-loops" the various scholars went through trying to prove they were right and their opponents were wrong. This included much wishful thinking and groundless speculation, in addition to selective u

Behind the Masterpiece, the Venus de Milo's real story

There aren't many titles about the Venus de Milo, and far fewer in English yet. Gregory Curtis has written an entertaining and informative book that tells more than the usual cut and dry history and dates for the Venus de Milo. He has written a book that introduces a whole range of characters that had a direct influence on the statue from the time of her discovery on Milos through her arrival at the Louvre and her subsequent history. I've always fancied myself as an armchair student of the Venus, but learned some new and fascinating things.The book is a breeze to read. I only wish there had been many more illustrations and preferably some color shots. Mr. Curtis is convincing in his opinion that the somewhat rough and crude arms found with the statue were probably the originals, but unfortunately, there is no illustration to show how the statue would have looked when she was finished.This will make an excellent addition to art history libraries and enthusiasts bookcases everywhere.