Sculpture Victory of Samothrace: characteristics, analysis, history and meaning

The Victory of Samothrace, Nike of Samothrace or Winged victory of Samothrace, is a sculpture from the Hellenistic period made around 190 BC. C. Although it is not known for sure who was its author, it is believed that it belongs to the school of Rhodes. Since its discovery in the 19th century, the sculpture has been part of the collection of Antiquities of the Louvre Museum, in France, and has become a true symbol of fame international.

The most recent restoration works, which took place in 2014, put the Victory of Samothrace in the eye of the world. This is how new mourners appeared in the room. An apparently spontaneous campaign on social networks calls for the return of the sculpture to Greece.

Let us know what are the aesthetic and historical values ​​of the Victory of Samothrace that arouse the fascination of the world.

Characteristics

The Victory of Samothrace It is a round sculpture representing the messenger goddess of victory, called Nike by the Greeks. The figure of the goddess, carved in white marble from Paros, has a height of 2.75 meters, and stands on a base of gray marble with white veins, from the quarries of Lartos, on the island of Rhodes. This base represents the bow of a ship. With it, the piece acquires a

total height of 5.57 meters.

The body attitude chosen by the sculptor is the position of counterpost. It is a posture that offers greater naturalness, by resting the body on one leg, freeing the other of tension. Thus, verticality and frontality are broken and the figure acquires the sinuosity of an "s", accentuating naturalism.

The clothes are what give the piece its dramatic character: on the legs, we see the immense dynamism of the thick fabrics that surround them, which is called draped. On the torso and belly of the goddess, the sculptural effect of "wet cloths"or"wet cloths", in the best style of the Fidias school, which allows one to perceive the navel under the texture of the fabric.

The image thus gains a great sensuality, but also dynamism and expressive force, which is completed with the unfurling and raising of the abundantly feathered wings, and a raised chest that faces the wind with courage and conviction. It is the bodily attitude of a winner at the command of her ship. In addition, her shoulder and chest are erect, showing that her hand was raised in the air.

These expressive elements are, by themselves, living testimony of the style of the hellenistic art. The balanced pose of the classical Greek period is based on the tension of dynamic bodily attitudes, pathos manifested in the prolific, expressive and instantly dramatic details of concrete experience and vital.

Meaning and function

Associated with speed and dexterity in handling chariots, the goddess Nike was often assigned the attributes of wings and a branch or crown of laurels. As the messenger of victory, Nike presided over athletic competitions and military battles.

The goddess Nike was frequently represented in the Greco-Roman world on a small scale, supported in the hand of an emblematic figure, such as the god Zeus or the goddess Athena.

Normally, his representation alluded to victory as a universal value. But according to what Hugh Honor and John Fleming tell us, this particular sculpture responded to a specific historical event, that is, it was a commemorative sculpture. To do this, they point out the representative difference between the Nike of Olympia of the fifth century, that flaps on a tall column, and that of Samothrace, that flaps on a ship.

For investigators, the former evokes a victory that descends on anyone Nike determines to benefit. Not so the Victory of Samothrace. This alludes to a specific victory that took place off the coast of the Greek island, in a naval battle. Today it is thought that this naval battle would be the one that gave Samothrace the victory over Antiochus III, king of Syria. A) Yes, the role of the Victory of Samothrace it would be commemorative and not just allegorical.

See also Analysis of The Lady of Elche.

Discovery history

The discovery of the Winged Victory of Samothrace took place in 1863 during the French archaeological expeditions, then led by the Consul of Adrianople (today, Edirne, Turkey), Charles Champoiseau, an amateur archaeologist, who was then on diplomatic service in the Empire Ottoman.

Napoleon III, who was an accomplished collector, ruled France. During his diplomatic service, Champoiseau had heard of the wonders of treasures to be found in Samothrace, which lay under Ottoman rule.

After a short trip to the island, the diplomat realized that he was facing a great opportunity. Thus, he sent to request money from his superiors to carry out an excavation that, in case of bearing fruit, would increase the artistic treasures of France and win the favor of the monarch.

In the Sanctuary of the Great Gods or Sanctuary of the Cabiros gods, of mystery cult, Champoiseau himself found one of the pieces, and the others were found by the excavation team. Many of its parts never appeared, such as the face and arms. M. Gallipoli reports that, for this reason, at first the sculpture was taken for mere decoration and did not receive much attention from the museum.

New Findings

It was only when they found the base of the piece, that is, the bow of the ship where it is located, who understood the importance of the sculpture and decided to rebuild it. This happened in 1875. In this regard, Gallipoli points out that this basis:

... was linked to the piece thanks to the existence of a coin minted between 301 and 292 BC. This one shows the motif of a winged victory on the prow of a ship as a commemoration of a naval triumph of the fleet commanded by Demetrius Poliorcetes over the fleet of the first monarch of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, Ptolemy I Sóter.

In light of these coins representing the goddess Nike on a ship, the new pieces were carefully studied by the archaeologist Alexander Conze, to determine if it could really be a base for the sculpture that imitates that reason. Thus, this archaeologist dedicated himself to drawing different assembly hypotheses until he found a coherent formula.

Restorations

After such a significant event, the curator of antiquities Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, decided that the sculpture should be restored with the pieces in situ. Taking into account what Coze had conceived, between 1880 and 1884 a new restoration process was carried out.

In this process, the left wing was rebuilt from an inverted plaster cast, taken from the right wing. The figure's chest was also recovered. At the end of this restoration, according to Gallipoli, the sculpture moved from the room in which it was confined to the Daru Stairs of the Louvre Museum, where it can be visited today.

Around 1950, the right hand of the sculpture was found, which is shown with the palm open and the fingers extended (only two remain). Based on this information, some researchers suggest that the goddess did not carry any attributes.

In 2013, the Louvre Museum decided to undertake a new project to restore the sculpture, also taking into account all the fragments collected to date. Indeed, according to an article published by the news newspaper ABC from Spain, the museum then had 30 pieces. Of these, 13 could be incorporated into the work through specialized restoration techniques.

The restoration also made it possible to recover three feathers from the left wing and a wick from the bow, according to the aforementioned article. The maintenance work restored the clean appearance of the white marble and also improved the appearance of the gray veined marble base, so that the rocks can now be seen in nature. The piece was exhibited again in 2014.

The Victory of Samothrace in culture

The Louvre Museum monopolized, according to Gallipoli, the market for plaster copies, of which there are several distributed throughout the world, all they are duly certified, such as those of the National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) and the Superior School of Buenos Aires, both institutions in Argentina.

The interest aroused by the copies reveals the importance that the piece was acquiring in the world, to the point of being frequently referenced in literature, in the arts and even in the business world, giving it a name and image to Nike brand.

Among the artistic references that we can mention we have the following:

• the work of the futurist Boccioni, Unique forms of continuity in space, inspired by the position of the Victory of Samothrace, although it is not a version.
• the sculpture Victory of Samothrace S9by Yves Klein;
• the play The Two Nikes - The Double Victory of Samothrace, Tribute to Raymond Roussel, by Salvador Dalí;
• a reference in the Futuristic Manifesto written by Marinetti in 1909, which says: "a roaring automobile, which seems to run like shrapnel, is more beautiful than Victory of Samothrace".
• Rilke would also mention the beauty of the Victory of Samothrace in the phrase: "an imperishable recreation of the Greek wind in its vastness and grandeur".

Nike branding and logo

Along with all this, the name and logo of the Nike brand stand out very especially. Indeed, in 1968, Phil Knight was inspired by the speed and dexterity of the goddess Nike to name her athletic shoe brand.

Shortly after, in 1971, Carolyn Davidson was commissioned to design the brand's logo. The commission required the logo to give the sensation of movement. With time running out, Carolyn Davidson thought of a simple, but powerful idea: the symbol known in English as the "Swoosh" of the Nike brand, which would be nothing more than the wing of the Victory of Samothrace.

It may interest you: Sculpture Venus de Milo

References

• Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities of the Louvre Museum: The Winged Victory of Samothrace. Recovered in https://www.louvre.fr/
• Gallipoli, M. (2018): The Victories: from Samothrace to Buenos Aires. Plaster traces in the National Museum of Fine Arts and in the Superior School of Fine Arts in the first half of the 20th century. MODES. Magazine Art History. Campinas, v. 2, n.2, p.293-309, mai. 2018. Recovered in: http://www.publionline.iar.unicamp.br/index.php/mod/article/ view / 1059
• Honor, Hugh and Fleming, John (1987): History of art. Barcelona: Editorial Reverté. Volume 1.
• The Victory of Samothrace takes off again at the Louvre, in ABC from Spain. July 10, 2014. Recovered in https://www.abc.es/
• The Victory of Samothrace, icon of classical Greece, in National Geografic. March 29, 2017. Recovered in: https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/
• Victoire de Samothrace: Toute l'histoire de cette bataille. Recovered in: https://louvresamothrace.fr/