Colton Westover March 7th, 2013 Art History Schwehm Student Eval.

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The Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace is often considered to be the pinnacle of graceful sculpture within the Hellenistic period. Carved in early 2nd century BC, this masterpiece of unknown authorship is the culmination of several centuries worth of Classical perfectionism a quest for the expression of mathematically and philosophically sound ideals. The Hellenistic cultures in the eastern Mediterranean, the provinces of Alexandria, Pergamon, and Antioch conquered by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, emulated the earlier Greeks with great zeal. (Kleiner, 77) In their fervor, they slowly eroded the tenets of the academic purists they succeeded. The serene formality and restraint of the High Classic sculptors, evident in Doryphoros and Diskobolos, yielded to extravagant appearance and sumptuous poses of the Nike of Samothrace and the Sleeping Satyr. The dichotomous results of this mimicry, in the end, were beautiful works, but the eventual decline of the noble pursuit of paragon humanism. The island of Samothrace (from which the carving receives its eponym), is the home of a large temple complex, the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. (Hamiaux) Though now assuming residence in the Louvre, Nike hails from this shrine to the gods of antiquity. Alighting from the heavens to descend upon the prow of a trireme, she was likely meant to commemorate a successful naval battle rather than directly honor the old chthonic gods of the temple. (Nike Monument) While Nike perched in elegance upon the ship, the prow was subject to the thrashing of artificial waves created by a fountain beneath. (Nike of Samothrace) In this way, Nike was immersed in her environment, rather than just existing as a solitary, sterile model of perfection. (Kleiner, 88) This synergy of model and surrounding resonates with the sweeping paradigm shift that would define Hellenistic sculptors from their Classic predecessors. This

transformation of perspective reflects the disillusionment of a world now embracing realism over idealism - a world that had lost a quintessential city of academia to the baseness of war. (Kleiner, 79) In the absence of a common enemy, the Greeks who unified to defend their civilization from the Persians fell into a period of internal strife which led to war between the individual citystates. Following the defeat of Athens to Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, Greece lost its leading cultural center. The victors failure to establish an undivided nation coupled with the dissolution of coherent governance left Greece a ripe target for the Macedonians to the north. King Alexander III of Macedon (Alexander the Great), conqueror of Greece and lands to the East, proved both a boon and a burden for Greek culture as he simultaneously diffused its glory and diluted it with Eastern aestheticism and mentality. (Kleiner, 76) These new cultures subjugated to Greek rule were receptive of its majestic art and architecture and overwhelmed by the novelty of its philosophy. These cultures preserved the basic methodologies and techniques of Grecian sculpture, but altered the purpose and intent behind the creation, corrupting the pure virtue of the medium. Thus, in style, Hellenistic art resembled that of Classic Greece, but lacked the intellectual integrity. (Kleiner, 80) Nike of Samothrace was carved in a fine white marble quarried from the isle of Paros. Standing over fifteen feet above her viewers, Nikes imposing presence is made more piquant by the converse delicacy with which she lands.(Nike Monument) A viewer might interpret this duality as the tenuous harmony between fierce yet honourable conduct demonstrated by the sailors in combat. Any way it is viewed, Nike is undeniably beautiful; her Periclesian wet drapery accentuates a sensuous form, and one can only imagine the heavenly visage that gazed over a worshipful throng of mortals. (Hamiaux) Her grandeur cannot be understated, it is

essential to the piece, and evokes an admiration worthy of a goddess. The theatric nature of her entrance lends a dramatic element that seems to capture the exhilarant aspect of the battle she deigns worthy the bestowal of a victory wreath, now missing from her right hand. The Nike of Samothrace is the embodiment of flawless pulchritude, and it is a shame that favor for this style of sculpture has come to pass. Type in modern sculpture or art into Google Images and one is deluged with abstract forms intended intimate emotion without direct reference to the visual world. While this method of composition is as arguably valid as any other, the beauty of reality, of the perfect natural form cannot be forsaken.

Bibliography
Hamiaux, Marianne. " uvre Victoire De Samothrace." Victoire De Samothrace. Muse Du Louvre, 2007. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. <http://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/victoire-de-samothrace?selection=2421> "Nike Monument." Samothrace. Emory University, 2013. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. <http://maa.missouri.edu/objects/castgallery/castnikesamothrace.html> "Nike of Samothrace." - Museum of Art and Archaeology-University of Missouri. The Curators of the University of Missouri, 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Mar. 2013. <http://maa.missouri.edu/objects/castgallery/castnikesamothrace.html>. Kleiner, Fred S., and Helen Gardner. "Ancient Greece." Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2009. 65-84. Print.