Disarmed: The Story of the Venus de Milo

by Gregory Curtis

The Venus de Milo is both a great work of art and a popular icon, and from the moment of her discovery in 1820 by a French naval ensign, she has been an object of controversy. In Disarmed , Gregory Curtis gives us the “life” of this magnificent representation of life.

Using memoirs, letters, and official accounts, Curtis takes us up close to events. We see the Venus unearthed by a farmer digging for marble building blocks on the Aegean island of Melos at the moment a young officer and amateur archeologist looking for “relics” happened by. We also see how the island’s elders, excited by the Frenchman’s offer of money, fought with their Turkish overlords over who owned her. We learn how the French pressed their claim and then, outwitting other suitors, brought her to the Louvre, where she became an immediate celebrity.

A passionate researcher, Curtis shows us Europe in the early nineteenth century, caught in the grip of a classical art mania and a burgeoning romantic Hellenism. He sketches a tale of rich historical intrigue, revealing just how far the Louvre was prepared to go to prove it had the greatest classical find of the era. He tells how this resulted in two magisterial scholars, one French and one German, battling over the statue’s origins and authenticity for decades.

Finally, expanding on accepted research, Curtis offers his own ideas of who carved the Venus and when, and how she appeared in her original setting on the island of Melos. He ends with a tribute to the statue’s beauty and eternal appeal.

A delightful, illuminating history of one of the most famous artworks of all time.

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, Greece, France, Art History, Museums

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Gaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

i live for scholars roasting the hell out of each other in academic language!

[Pascale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real page-turner. In lucid, lean prose, Curtis tells you exactly all you you didn't know you wanted to know about how the Venus de Milo got to Paris, and why it occupied the place it does in art history. He paints vivid portraits of all the major players in the story: Marcellus, who negotiated the purchase; Dumont d'Urville, who tried to claim credit for it; Winckelmann, who singlehandedly created the fashion for all things Greek; Auguste de Forbin, who was in charge of the Louvre at the time the Venus entered its collections; Quatremère de Quincy, Emeric-David, Clarac, Ravaisson, Adolf Furtwängler, Salomon Reinach and some lesser scholars who tried to puzzle out who had made the statue and when with immense zeal but a great deal of chauvinistic prejudice. He gives a gripping account of the political background, including the impact on the budding discipline of art history of the arrival in France of thousands of works in the wake of Napoleon's campaigns. I was taken aback by the garishness of the processions organized to parade the loot accumulated during the napoleonic wars. Curtis shows why for several decades after it was found in 1820, it was of paramount importance to the French to prove that the Venus dated back to the Classical, not the supposedly inferior, Hellenistic period, which led scholars and curators to try and temper with the evidence. In the later chapters he summarizes why there has been little new research on the Venus in recent decades, while the statue's iconic status in popular culture hasn't waned at all. A fantastic read, whether you are interested in antiquities or not.

[Carla]

A short, entertaining (if a tad discursive) history of how this statue was discovered, installed in the Louvre, and mis-analyzed in every possible way. It's great fun, and the odd cast of characters, vividly drawn.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read about the Venus de Milo, with tons of fantastic biographical details about the men who were involved in her discovery, installation at the Louvre, and early scholarship theorizing her origins.

I wished that there was a bit more between the scholarship of Furtwängler and Reinach and the final chapters delving into what we currently know about the Venus de Milo. I also really wish there was a reconstruction of the Venus de Milo in her niche, with her apple and her jewelry, painted (or in shades of gray, like the other images in the book). Despite that, I still really enjoyed this book overall.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Statues were never something I was particularly interested in, but the Venus de Milo is certainly well-known, and I had no idea about its history or the debates surrounding it. This book helped me develop an appreciation not just for statues themselves, but also for those who study and preserve these forms of art.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more from this treatment of the Venus de Milo. The recounting of the tale of her discovery is well-told and interesting, including the various intrigues and myths that continue to mar the truths surrounding one of Western art's idols. However, readers expecting new insight will be disappointed. The book falters, drawing out the (irrelevant) story of one of the scholars obsessed with the Venus de Milo, takes a diversion into feminist theory that it does not follow through with, and then comes to an abrupt halt when we arrive at the modern age. Overall, the story is much like that of the statue itself: exciting at the beginning, growing duller with time.

The book failed to answer some questions: did anyone go back to excavate the immediate area which the Venus de Milo was found to try to locate more evidence about her symbolism, and if not, why not? When were the parts of the arm found, that are only mentioned in passing? Has modern archeology returned to the site of the gymnasium and its niches or has it ignored it, and why? Wouldn't such a site offer up more information and artifacts?

[Aaron Chrusniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good. reads like a novel. i'd never been more interested in history. finished this book in one sitting. highest marks.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Greek statue - dug up by a Greek farmer with a French officer nearby exploring the island of Melos, looking to increase his experience in archaeology. Buried again and then fought over to see who gets to take it away from it's home.

To this day, the myth of a supposed fight on the beach endures - between the Greeks and the French. Between the Turks and the French. Actually it was a fight of political influence between the Turks and the French with a Russian ship which had the Venus already aboard and ready to leave for Constantinople.

Once the Venus arrived in France, it was whisked off to the Louvre where it became the center of the next controversy - where to display it. And the inscription on the base that declared it as part of the Hellenistic period rather than the preferred Classical Greek period. And so the adventure begins. . . .

The author goes into the various personalities that circled the Venus over the decades, focusing on those in her early years in Paris as the controversy of her origins continued into the 20th century. Curtis seems to be a fan of Salomon Reinarch, dedicating more pages to his life and accomplishments than any other of the dignitaries that made their opinions known about the Venus.

The final chapter does into what is suspected to be Venus' origins - the sculptor's name inscribed in the long-lost (deliberately?) base has been found mentioned in a couple other locations. It is Hellenistic from Antioch not only due to the inscription but due to the style - partial nude - and the manner of sculpture - two blocks of marble atop one another. It proposes what the Venus could have actually looked like - there are no other statutes associated with her since she was installed in a gymnasium niche. Also it goes into the fascination and idealized beauty she personifies to this day. The Venus de Milo is an image recognized across the world.

I must thank the author for including not only some of the various sketches made of the years as well as the modified images that various artists have done with the statue at the center - the numerous drawers coming out of her body: stomach, head, two for her breasts. What I really appreciate are the photos of the Venus from all directions - front, back, right and left. If you have not had a chance to see the statue at the Louvre, these are views that most people would never see and appreciate.

And interesting book about one of the world's treasures.

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[Micki James]

Took the last week to read this—had to sit under the light by the elevator because there’s not enough light in the apartment. Fascinating story about the Venus de Milo found on the Greek island of Melos (apple) in 1820. I learned about the hand with the apple found at the same time, the
two herms and the academic controversies. The
French were determined that it was a work of the Greek classical period, despite an inscription detached from but exactly fitting the statue’s base which firmly situated it in the Hellenistic period. Perhaps my favorite leads were the contemporary artists who mine the vein of the Venus, including Jim Dine who is well worth looking up on the Internet. If I ever get to the Louvre I’ll know what to look for:
the horizontal join where the top half and the bottom half were fitted together (the statue was carved in two pieces),
the hole by the right breast where the support for the
right arm was attached, the elegant X and S lines which can be studied in the side views.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpected total treat! This Venus' pervasive pop-culture presence has made it easy for us to see her dismissively: Curtis brings her to us as a lively, even womanly figure. Beginning with her discovery , he takes us through her adventurous travels and through the critical debates she stirred along the way. The effects of nationalism, art-collector issues, and individual egos are interestingly explored.
A thorough, surprising, readable discussion.

[Amy Mckee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some places were a little hard to follow but over all this was a really exciting book of discovery and adventure. Although I am a classics fan I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in history or art (it isnt even that much about the classical side). Super easy to read: this is coming from someone who really struggles with non-fiction.

[Mark Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "true story" of "Aphrodite of Melos" - well, that's what the statue should be called, based on the Greek name for the goddess of love and the name of the island where it was found. But as the author explains in the tale around how the statue ended up at The Louvre, facts and truths haven't always played the most important role around this find over 200 years ago.

[David Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of the statue, from finding it to all the academic arguing about it during the 19th century.

[Ian Mccausland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great read for those even with a passing interest in art. I enjoyed learning about all the colourful characters who obsessed over this beauty

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Very interesting to hear the history but the book kept meandering.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learning the back story about the Venus de Milo was interesting especially as the statue itself has, like the Mona Lisa, become such a popular image that we rarely stop to think about it as an individual work of art. I liked Curtis's easy to read explanation of the discovery of the work, the many art historical debates over the work and it's current role in 20th C. art and popular culture. While the story never really came to life, Curtis provides clear explanations of the position of Greek and Roman statues when they were made, Europe's obsession with Greek art and culture during the 18th and 19th C., the role of archeology in national pride and the way improved art historical scholarship brought to light concrete facts about the Venus de Milo. Overall a decent read but not something I would widely recommend.

[Sarah Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art history writing that I think would be interesting to the casual reader, as well as those like me - art history dorks. A great example how engaging the history of pieces of art, and their analysis, can be, and how much they can tell us about the cultures that created them and the cultures that have admired and studied them since.
It was such an enjoyable read that its fine academic standard did not even sink in for me until the author began engaging with other critics and historians of the statue. This is not only a history of a piece of art - it is a work of art history, in its more stringent, academic sense, and I value that.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject, and a great look at some of the politics behind art and museums. But often the author put in too many of his own personal opinions instead of sticking to relevant facts. I'm sure this was meant to make the reading more interesting but most of the time was just off-putting.
I'm ready to go back to the Louvre and see her again!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A disarmingly (forgive me, Bill) entertaining history of the famous Greek statue. As she serenely stares off into space, manly fisticuffs erupt, male egos rage and national honor is at stake--and that's just in the last two centuries.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

All about the Venus de Milo. Maybe more details than I really wanted. French influence in art world, national desires for collecting artwork and naming them masterpieces. A bit about tracking down the history and what the missing arms and such would look like.
Quick read.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

All you wanted to know about a famous statue. Especially interesting is the story of the politics involved in judging the origin of the pieces of marble that make up this popular icon.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had it's moments but a little thin.

[Sandy Beaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of the discovery and intrigue among countries that wanted to claim the statue are as fascinating as the sculpture itself. A different take on "art."

[Bonnie Pierce]

More than I ever thought possible about the Venus and yet another art world cover-up