Winged Victory of Samothrace: Encyclopedia - Winged Victory of Samothrace

Winged Victory of Samothrace

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called Nike of Samothrace, is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory), discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace (Greek: Σαμοθρακη, Samothraki) by the French consul and amateur archaeologist Charles Champoiseau. The statue is now displayed in the Louvre in Paris while a plaster replica stands in the museum at the original location of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothraki.

In Greek the statue is called the Niki tis Samothrakis (Νίκη της Σαμοθράκης) and in French La Victoire de Samothrace. Numerous copies exist in museums and galleries around the world; one of the best-known copies stands, somewhat incongruously, outside the Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas.

The Victory is considered one of the great surviving masterpieces of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic period, despite the fact that the figure is significantly damaged, missing its head and outstretched arms. By an unknown artist (presumably Rhodian in origin), the sculpture is thought to date from the period 220 BC - 190 BC (though some scholars date it as early as 250 BC or as late as 180 BC). Certainly, the parallels with figures and drapery from the Pergamon Altar (dated about 170 BC) seem strong. A partial inscription on the base of the statue includes the word "Rhodhios" (Rhodes), indicating that the statue was commissioned to celebrate a naval victory by Rhodes, at that time the most powerful maritime state in the Aegean. The Samothrace Archaeological Museum, however, says that the statue was an offering donated by the Macedonian general Demetrius I Poliorcetes after his naval victory at Cyprus. This would date the statue to 288 BC at the earliest.

Originally located outside, in a niche in an open air amphitheatre, the sculpture probably served as an altar, within view of the preserved ship of Demetrius I Poliorcetes and its elaborate protective building. The statue stands on the prow of a ship, representing the goddess as she descended from the skies to the triumphant fleet. Rendered in white Parian marble, the larger than life-sized figure (height 3.28 m / 10.7 ft, including the wings) originally formed part of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. Before losing her arms the Nike was probably blowing a victory paean on a trumpet.

The statue has been reassembled in stages since its original discovery in 1863. The prow was rediscovered by Champoiseau in 1879 and reconstructed in situ before being shipped to Paris. Various other fragments have since been found: in 1950 one of the statue's hands was found on Samothrace and is now in a glass case in the Louvre next to the podium on which the statue stands. Neither the arms nor the head have been found.

The statue shows a mastery of form and movement which has impressed critics and artists since its discovery - the Nike of Samothrace is particularly admired for its naturalistic pose and rendering of the figure's draped garments, depicted as if rippling in a strong sea breeze. It soon became a cultural icon to which artists responded in many different ways. When Filippo Tommaso Marinetti issued his Futurist Manifesto in 1908, he chose to contrast his movement with the supposedly defunct artistic sentiments of the Winged Victory: "A screaming automobile that seems to run on grapeshot is more beautiful than the Winged Victory of Samothrace."

The Victory is one of the Louvre's greatest treasures, and it is today displayed in the most dramatic fashion, at the head of the sweeping Escalier Daru, or the Daru staircase. The loss of the head and arms, while regrettable in a sense, is held by many to enhance the statue's depiction of the supernatural.

This statue was a favorite of Frank Lloyd Wright and he used reproductions of it in a number of his buildings, including Ward Willits House, Darwin D. Martin House and Storer House.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Winged Victory of Samothrace", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki