Art Appreciation - Venus de Milo

Both the Artist and the lover of fine art will delight in the beautiful hand painted miniature Limoges Box reproductions of the great masters such as Renoir, Monet & Van Gogh.

This statue of the Greek goddess of love, currently on display at the Louvre in Paris, France, was discovered on the island of Melos in 1820 ( Milo in modern Greek). The Marquis de Rivière presented it to Louis XVIII, who donated it to the Louvre the following year. The statue won instant and lasting fame. The Venus de Milo is famous for its skilled rendering of the female form, imbued with sensuality and nobility.

The goddess is shrouded in mystery. The missing pieces of marble made the restoration and identification of the statue difficult. According to whether she held a bow or an amphora, she was Artemis or a Danaid. She is popularly thought to represent Aphrodite, because of her half-nakedness and her sensual, feminine curves. She may have held an apple — an allusion to the Judgement of Paris - a crown, a shield,
or a mirror in which she admired her reflection.
However, she might also be the sea goddess Amphitrite, who was venerated on the island of Milo.