AVTAR MOTA
“The Winged Victory Is one of the Louvre’s most popular exhibits. It is one of the most celebrated sculptures on earth. The monument was found on the island of Samothrace, in the sanctuary of the ‘Great Gods’ to whom people prayed for protection from the dangers of the sea. “
That is what the guide told a group of visitors from England . I kept listening carefully although the guide wasn’t pleased with me for listening him free .
Standing at the top of a staircase in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Nike of Samothrace looks down over her admiring crowds. One of the most revered artworks of Hellenistic Greek art, the Nike has been on display in the Louvre since 1866 ( discovered in 1863 ) .
Nike was both the goddess of victory and the per sonification of victory itself, in both war and athletic competitions. She was regularly featured in Greek art, appearing on pots, architectural sculpture, and free-standing sculptural compositions, either singly or in multiple. Her iconography is distinctive—a winged, youthful woman—and she is one of the most easily identifiable Greek mythological figures. She was the perfect subject to commemorate military triumphs and was regularly featured in victory monuments, notably the fifth-century Nike of Paionios, erected at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia to celebrate a Peloponnesian War victory.
Created around 295 and 290 BC, the broken sculpture ,”The Winged Victory of Samothrace” , as I learnt , was brought to Loure in the 19th century from an island in Greece where it was discovered . This sculpture is of Hellenistic period. The beauty of the sculpture is the positioning . The stance is asymmetrical, the anatomy is quite natural and the movement depicted in the stance is realistic. Known as contrapposto (“counterpose”), this pose implies movement through the use of realistic weight distribution and an S-shaped body. Other famous sculptures that depict this classical approach to conveying the human body are The Walking Man by Rodin and Michelangelo’s David. I also learnt that this sculpture has inspired countless artists including Salvador Dalí and Umberto Boccioni .
It is not known who made the Winged Victory of Samothrace, but it is believed to have been ordered to be built sometime between 295 and 290 BC as a celebration of some war victory by some Greek king .
Nike is wearing a long tunic of fine cloth, which falls and folds to her feet. The fabric is gathered by two belts, one hidden by the folds which hang over the hips and a second strap beneath the breast area. The garment’s flowing folds are portrayed with great skill. The beautiful cloth tunic is in striking contrast with the thick, deeply carved draped folds of the cloak on Nike’s back. The body of the figure is visibly physical and sexual at the same time. The artist created that effect by giving her a strong presence, which is complemented by the transparency of her stone clothing. Her belly button and breasts are visible through her shirt (in stone), which feels impossible. This is surely a great sculpture by some unknown artist. This is what an art critic wrote about this sculpture in Louvre ;-
“The sculpture consists of two parts, a large ship’s bow made of grey marble and a free-standing white marble statue with the overall composition rising more than eighteen feet (Nike alone is nine feet tall). The flying personification of victory (nikē in Greek means victory) alights on top of the ship, announcing a naval triumph. Her wings stretch dramatically behind her. A forceful wind blows her drapery across her body, gathering it in heavy folds between her legs, around her waist, and streaming behind her, conveying a vivid illusion of movement. Thin and gauzy across her breasts, abdomen, and legs, this same drapery reveals her body underneath the clothing, creating an erotised vision of the female form.”
Similar to other Hellenistic artworks, Nike is intended to be viewed from multiple angles, encouraging the viewer to move around the statue , and through this interaction engage with the artwork physically and emotionally. The statue is breathtaking, but broken and incomplete. Some 110 fragments were unearthed, but there was no sign of her head or her arms. The guide told that a hand was located in 1950. The hand is displayed separately. From the scrutiny of her hand, we find the fingers outstretched , indicating that she may have been making a gesture of greeting. I was also told that the goddess must also have a crown that appears to have been broken and lost.
An archaeological excavation on the Greek island of Samothrace, led by an amateur French archaeologist, unearthed the giant winged statue in 1863.The French arranged for the sculpture to be sent to Paris. The base, torso, legs, and left wing eventually reached the Louvre, where they were reassembled in the Carytid Room of classical antiquities. The museum also added a plaster wing to the sculpture—an addition that remains today—but did not opt to recreate the head or arms.
The Greek island of Samothrace is in the northeastern Aegean Sea. In ancient times, the island was home to a famous temple complex known as the Great Gods Sanctuary. The Aegean Sea lies between the coast of Greece and Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). It contains over 2,000 islands which were settled by the ancient Greeks. These islands have strong associations with ancient Greek history and culture.
Avtar Mota is a blogger and his write-ups appear in local and national magazines.
