LS 55 Statue of Nike of Samothrace h. cm. 220 (Louvre Museum – Paris)

LS 55 Statue of Nike of Samothrace h. cm. 220 at the wings (Louvre Museum – Paris)

In our collection of classical statues there is the statue of the Nike of Samothrace, made of antique patinated white resin, suitable only for indoor use.

Nike is the personification of Victory and is depicted with open wings, while flying with impetus. In Hesiod she is said to be the daughter of the Titan Pallas and of Styx ; therefore she belongs to the first divine lineage, before the Olympians. Due to the homonymy in Greek of the two "Pallas", the Titan Pallas and the goddess Pallas Athena, Nike, in Athens, is nothing other than one of the epithets of Athena. "The Nike of Samothrace" found in 1863 in Samothrace without head or arms (only one hand was found in 1950), is dated around 190 BC, the period in which the Rhodians, at war against Antiochus III, achieved a series of victories. The Nike - a figurehead ante litteram - had to be placed on the prow of the ship that she leads to success: the wind hits her full, waving her clothes and sticking them to her body. The drapery appears almost baroque, which justifies the rather late date attributed to the work, and the wind forcefully pushes the wings back. The original sculpture is in Rhodes marble and is preserved in Paris, at the Louvre Museum . It was created and dedicated in 190 BC to commemorate the victories of the fleet of Rhodes over Antiochus III, king of Syria. According to one reconstruction, this colossal winged goddess of victory was originally placed on the prow of a large ship located on a hill in front of the Sanctuary of the Cabri, on the island of Samothrace. The statue seems to land or take flight from the prow of the ship: the erect figure develops along the perpendicular axis of the right leg, on which the entire body rests, while the left leg is drawn back as if seeking stability or to give itself the necessary momentum. The chest is pushed forward, almost swollen with inhaled air, and slightly rotated to the right with respect to the central axis, almost as if it were about to turn its torso, while the lower part of the body seems to hint at a rotation towards the opposite side: this slight torsion creates a sinuous line that runs along the entire body of the goddess, inspiring a strong sense of dynamism. This particular physical posture can be explained with an action that, due to the fragmentary nature of the work, we can only assume. The charm of this Nike is given by her very light dress, the chiton, that a strong wind seems to glue, almost dissolving it, to the beautiful body, allowing glimpses of her bursting breasts, the soft curves of the belly, the slight hollow of the navel. The pose recalls the sculptures of Lysippos.