why does the VENUS DE MILO have no arms?

Answer 1

Recently, a book - Disarmed: The Story of the Venus de Milo - was written about the history of the sculpture. It has pretty good reviews.

It will probably answer your question much better than anyone here.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&isbn=0375415238

Disarmed: The Story of the Venus de Milo

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Venus de Milo is both a great work of art and a popular icon, and from the moment of her discovery in 1820 by a French naval ensign, she has been an object of controversy. In Disarmed, Gregory Curtis gives us the "life" of this magnificent representation of life.

Using memoirs, letters, and official accounts, Curtis takes us up close to events. We see the Venus unearthed by a farmer digging for marble building blocks on the Aegean island of Melos at the moment a young officer and amateur archeologist looking for "relics" happened by. We also see how the island's elders, excited by the Frenchman's offer of money, fought with their Turkish overlords over who owned her. We learn how the French pressed their claim and then, outwitting other suitors, brought her to the Louvre, where she became an immediate celebrity.

A passionate researcher, Curtis shows us Europe in the early nineteenth century, caught in the grip of a classical art mania and a burgeoning romantic Hellenism. He sketches a tale of rich historical intrigue, revealing just how far the Louvre was prepared to go to prove it had the greatest classical find of the era. He tells how this resulted in two magisterial scholars, one French and one German, battling over the statue's origins and authenticity for decades.

Finally, expanding on accepted research, Curtis offers how own ideas of who carved the Venus and when, and how she appeared in her original setting on the island of Melos. He ends with a tribute to the statue's beauty and eternal appeal.

Answer 2

Venus De Milo Arms

Answer 3

Poor Venus. Widely acclaimed as the epitome of female beauty and Grecian art, she lacks those attractive appendages known as arms. And as far as we can tell, "Venus de Milo" has been armless since the world rediscovered her.

The life-size statue of the goddess of love was uncovered in 1820 on Melos, an island in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Crete. A French navy ensign stationed on Melos was watching local farmers digging up stones for use in construction when he oversaw the discovery of Venus. Along with the island's French vice-consol, he bargained with the farmer and bought the statue for his home country.

From the first sighting, Venus had no arms. Initially she was in several pieces, which were recovered and assembled, but nobody could find the arms. An apocryphal tale from later in the 19th century claimed that her arms broke off during a tussle between French sailors and Turkish soldiers. But this story is contradicted by earlier, more reliable sources.

"Venus de Milo" has resided in the Louvre since her discovery, and many have speculated on what her arms may have looked like. Contrary to some humorous suggestions, we think Venus' arms would be as lovely as the rest of her.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why does the VENUS DE MILO have no arms?

Answer 5

She was found in the ruins of a theater in Italy. The arms broke off when the building collapsed.

Answer 6

My guess is that it was being moved and the crew dropped it. From what I just read on the internet, she was originally holding an apple that was given to her by Paris of Troy.

She is beautiful without the arms.

Answer 7

Thye fell off a long time ago and were probably lost or ground into rubble...since there's no picture of what her arms should be, no one can repair her.

Answer 8

Got rid of them, she heard about the neocon hysteria

Answer 9

Because they broke off before super-glue,

Answer 10

because those guys got their beers stuck in her arms.....didn't you see the commercial?