Discovering Venus De Milo: Disarming Beauty

From the THG Archive: When a Greek peasant found a sculpture on the island of Milos, France saw a chance to regain lost glory. The History Guy remembers how the ghost of Napoleon helped to turn the armless beauty called the Venus de Milo into one of the most recognized sculptures on earth.

This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

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All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.

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Script by THG

#history #thehistoryguy #Greece

[hollydarby]

Venus De milo reminds me of my Aunt Carol. She was always joking around. Miss you ~ RIP

[gregbellinger]

A really well rounded 14 minute presentation. a lot of facts knit together to get you to think about art, culture, history, and beliefs.

[JustAManFromThePast]

Will Rogers joked to his niece when viewing the statue, "See what will happen if you don't stop chewing your fingernails?"

[jimgolab]

A GREAT book on this is "Disarmed: The Story of the Venus de Milo" by Gregory Curtis. I found this at a local Half-Priced Books in their closeout/sale racks outside and was amazed how well the story was told.

[Cydonia]

In 1983, an 18 year old kid stood in the same room as Venus di Milo. There weren’t many people in the room, and at that moment no one was looking at the statue. It did not have a barrier around it and the only protection it had was a female guard next to her. Amazingly, I was allowed to get very close to the sculpture – within 2 inches of her belly and my nose. Her body is exquisite, even up close. It was quite a sobering moment for me—more so even than when I saw the Winged Victory of Samothrace or the Mona Lisa.

[garyfrancis]

I lived in Greece for 8.5 years. I found things in the soil on the island of Thassos. I left them there.

[tanyagilbert]

bingewatching your channel after came across after work before 😴 😴. im hooked! love your style and delivery....

[d.k]

my great great grandad luis brest was the french consul in the island and he helped get the statue. he also built 2 churches in milos, one of which we gave 15 years ago to the vatican.

[haileyshannon]

Comedian Will Rogers once sent his niece of postcard of the statue and wrote on it "This is what you're going to look like if you don't stop biting your nails"

[phenom]

Just saw her in person at the Louvre a week ago.

[randelbrooks]

How wonderfully philosophical your conclusion is, my compliments

[d.k]

My great grandad Luis Brest, the vice consul in the island bought the statue from kedrotas, he also built 2 churches in milos and kimolos(katholics), he had 14 kids!!! Also his grandaughter Ekaterini Brest got married to the son of general Nikolaos Modinos who was the secretary of Karaiskakis. (from the italian Modena familly, Modinos also wrote the final will of karaiskakis, who was famously, illiterate)

[joeblogs]

I now want to know more about the base, sculpted hand with apple.

[Kosh]

Give the topic, maybe this is "History that deserves to be dismembered!"

[joebykaeby]

“Art and our concept of beauty itself is not just in what we see, but in how we can reimagine it into what we need it to be.” You just taught my entire college Aesthetics 101 class in a single sentence.

[ADAMSIXTIES]

I saw it December 26th, 1987 at the Louvre.

[robertheinkel]

When I was stationed in Greece, we saw many former building columns, now being used as fences for farmers. What most don’t realize, is the columns are actually a series of cut slabs to form the columns.

[benrobertson]

More fun and facts than a bfa.! Without the 39k debt. Now, no one even suggested the history behind this couple of bits of rock .
Thanks and regards .

[billyyank]

Apparently, the Greeks never believed in the right, "to bear arms."

I'll see myself out.

[garyfrancis]

I’m surprised by the end. I had no clue that this sculpture may not actually be of Αφροδιτι.