Image · Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Winged Victory of Samothrace
Unknown · c. 200–190 BC
About this masterpiece
This monumental Hellenistic sculpture depicts Nike, the goddess of victory, alighting on the prow of a warship. Her drapery whips around her body as if buffeted by sea winds, while her great wings seem caught in mid-flap. The dynamic torsion of the body and the virtuosic carving of windswept fabric over flesh make her one of the supreme achievements of Greek sculpture.
Historical significance
Discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace by French diplomat Charles Champoiseau, the statue was probably erected as a votive monument to commemorate a naval victory. Since 1884 she has crowned the Daru staircase in the Louvre, where her dramatic pose against the rising stair has made her a symbol of the museum itself.
