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GreekReporter.comEuropeThe Marble Statue of Medici Venus Once had Impressive…Make-Up

The Marble Statue of Medici Venus Once had Impressive…Make-Up

The Medici Venus, one of the world’s most celebrated classical statues displayed in Florence’s Uffizi Galleries, would originally have had a rather gaudier make-up on, a new study has found.

The chemical analysis of the statue, which originated in the Hellenistic period, indicates that it was decorated – like most ancient sculptures – with a fine make-up, such as ruby red lips, and gold leaves. Aphrodite’s lips would have been painted a rich red, her sculpted hair would have shined with gold leaf and earrings would have hung from holes in her earlobes, according to researchers from the University of Modena, Reggio and the Uffizi Galleries.

According to the analysis results, the make-up of the marble goddess had not been worn down naturally. On the contrary, the paint and gold leaf was scrubbed off during “an overly zealous” restoration carried out around 1815 by Italian archaeologists, when the statue was brought back to Italy from France, after being taken by Napoleon. The white color was a trend ‘must’ concerning statues during the early 19th century in most European countries.

The statue – believed to be a 1st century BC copy of an original Hellenistic bronze sculpture – was and still is considered a rather tantalizing one, as it harmonically and unexpectedly combines the nude body with intimidation. Her pose, with the arms used strategically to conceal the breast and pubic region, helped bolster her huge popularity. That erotic nature of the statue is believed to be the reason why, according to the legend, it was “banished” by Napoleon Bonaparte, but was returned to Florence after Napoleon’s loss in the Battle of Waterloo.

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