Venus of Arles (Cesi) at The Louvre, Paris

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The Venus of Arles stands 1.94 meters tall, a stunning sculpture of the divine Venus at the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Carved from Hymettus marble, this masterpiece dates back to the end of the first century BC. It's possible that it was created as a copy of Praxiteles' Aphrodite of Thespiae, commissioned by the courtesan Phryne. In the second century AD, Pausanias mentioned the existence of a group in Thespiae, Boeotia, central Greece, featuring Cupid, Phryne, and Aphrodite. The Praxitelean style is evident in the head's resemblance to the Cnidian Aphrodite, a work known through copies. If we assume this sculpture was created during Praxiteles' youth, it would have been made around 360 BC. The original Aphrodite of Thespiae may have served as a precursor to his fully naked nude sculptures, such as the Cnidian Aphrodite, which he created around 350 BC. This partially draped female figure became a common theme in Hellenistic art, repeated in works like the Venus de Milo. The Venus of Arles was discovered in several pieces at the Roman theater in Arles, France. The sculptural program was likely executed by Italian artisans, possibly working with Greek artists. Venus was an important ancestor of the gens Julia, and Arles had backed Caesar during his conflict with Pompey. As a reward for their loyalty, Arles received numerous benefits, including a semi-nude heroic statue of Augustus, which dominated the sculptural program at the theater. The Venus of Arles was found in 1651 by workmen digging a well at a depth of six feet. Further excavations were conducted after it was given to Louis XIV in 1681 to decorate the Galerie des Glaces of Versailles. However, no additional fragments were discovered during these excavations. The statue was seized from the royal collection during the French Revolution and has been on display at the Musée du Louvre ever since its inception. A copy of the Venus can be seen in the municipal building in Arles. In restoring the sculpture, François Girardon added attributes to make it more definitively a Venus: an apple in her right hand and a mirror in her left. However, his transformative restorations have been disputed, as evidenced by the discovery of a cast made from the original restoration before Girardon's changes were implemented. This cast demonstrated the extent of Girardon's refinishing and slimming of the figure, which resulted in a sculpture that is more Girardon than Greco-Roman. As a result, the Venus of Arles remains in storage at the Louvre. The head of the statue belongs with its body, an important point since it is the only sculpture of this model to retain its original head. The head's Praxitelean style is comparable to his Aphrodite of Cnidus, and the bracelet on her left arm is a distinctive trait of the goddess as seen in the Cnidian Aphrodite.