F911, Venus of Milo, Louvre
PhotographerPhotographed by
J. Levy & Cie
(French, 1840 - 1913)
Dateprobably 1876
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver on glass
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 3 x 2 3/4in. (7.6 x 7cm)
Other (overall height x width): 3 1/4 x 3 3/4in. (8.3 x 9.5cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineThe Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund
Object number2014.32.40
DescriptionA statue of a Greek goddess half-naked with one arm missing and the other arm mostly missing.
NotesThe Venus de Milo was discovered in 1820 on the island of Melos (Milo in modern Greek) in the south-western Cyclades. The Marquis de Rivière presented it to Louis XVIII, who donated it to the Louvre the following year. Essentially two blocks of marble, it is comprised of several parts which were sculpted separately (bust, legs, left arm and foot) then fixed with vertical pegs, a technique which was fairly common in the Greek world (especially in the Cyclades, where this work was produced around 100 BC). The goddess originally wore metal jewelry — bracelet, earrings, and headband — of which only the fixation holes remain. The marble may have been embellished with (now faded) polychromy. The arms were never found.A French photography firm. The firm "Ferrier pere, fils et Soulier" was shortlived; in 1864 the Ferriers and Charles Soulier sold out to two of their employees, Moise Leon and Isaac Georges Levy (?-before 1895), known commercially as J. Levy. Leon had formerly been in the silk ribbon business with Levy, and was probably a silent partner in the new firm. Leon disappeared from the FSL firm in 1872, when the company assumed a new name: "J. Levy & Cie." Levy and later his sons ran the firm for almost a half-century, until its fusion with Neurdein in 1920.
Status
Not on view
