Raw materials and art – 28. Marble and the Venus de Milo

2023-06-05 06:00:13

Switzerland is a hub for commodity trading. Did you know that this activity represents 4% of Swiss GDP, and even 22% of tax revenue for the canton of Geneva. This week, focus on marble. We will examine its etymology. Then, we will discuss the history of marble. This gives us the opportunity to marvel at the Venus de Milo statue which can be admired at the Louvre Museum.

Etymology of marble

Marble takes its name from the Greek marmaros, which means “shining stone”. Its shiny and luminous appearance enchanted the ancient Greeks and Romans, and before that, the peoples of Mesopotamia, who decided to build the most important buildings in this stone, due to its beauty and long life.

A distant story

The history of marble begins thousands of years ago, when the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia found the ideal stone to support imposing public buildings and form the columns of religious temples. From the Pantheon in Rome to the Parthenon in Athens, the most important buildings in human history have been constructed of marble.

White marble was considered the finest, as it was homogeneous and free from impurities and mostly quarried in the Luni quarries in Carrara, a center of the marble trade since the time of the Roman Empire. Even colored marbles were sought after and those imported from Egypt, Tunisia, Persia, Anatolia and the Pyrenees were considered particularly valuable.

In his natural HistoryPliny wrote that the first to declare the beauty of Apuan marble was Mamura, prefect of the workers of Julius Caesar.

Strabo stated that after 48 BC. BC, the richest houses in Rome and its surroundings and the main monuments were made of Luni marble: the Pantheon, the Pyramid of Cestius, the Portico of Octavian, the Temple of Apollo, the Palatine, the Temple of Concord, the Arch of Claudius, the Trajan Forum, the Trajan Column, the Temple of Jupiter, the Arch of Domitian, as well as the bridge over the Volturno.

The Venus de Milo

The Venus de Milo, a Hellenistic masterpiece, is on display at the Louvre. The statue was discovered in 1820 by a peasant and continues to attract visitors to Paris from all over the world today. It can be dated to around 130 BC, reaches a height of around two meters and is made of Paros marble.

In the same series, “Raw materials and art”: