Alexandros of Antioch
Encyclopedia
Alexandros of Antioch was an otherwise unknown artist of the Hellenistic age
who is best known today for the Venus de Milo
(Aphrodite
of Milos
) at the Louvre
Museum in Paris
, France
. He is known from several ancient inscriptions including one from a now missing plinth
that was a part of the Venus de Milo but was removed and "lost" due to museum politics and national pride at the Louvre Museum in the 1820s. The inscription and the style of its lettering cast into doubt the claim that the statue was an original by the master sculptor Praxiteles
from Attica
.
Alexandros appears to have been a wandering artist who worked on commission. According to inscriptions at the ancient city of Thespiae
, near Mount Helicon, in Greece
, he was a winner in contests for composing and singing. The inscriptions date to around 80 BCE. His father's name was Menides according to all the inscriptions. Alexandros is also thought to have sculpted a statue of Alexander the Great that is also displayed at the Louvre Museum. This statue was discovered at the Greek island of Delos
. His dates of birth and death are unknown.
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
who is best known today for the Venus de Milo
Venus de Milo
Aphrodite of Milos , better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created at some time between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly...
(Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
of Milos
Milos
Milos , is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete...
) at the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
Museum in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He is known from several ancient inscriptions including one from a now missing plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
that was a part of the Venus de Milo but was removed and "lost" due to museum politics and national pride at the Louvre Museum in the 1820s. The inscription and the style of its lettering cast into doubt the claim that the statue was an original by the master sculptor Praxiteles
Praxiteles
Praxiteles of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue...
from Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
.
Alexandros appears to have been a wandering artist who worked on commission. According to inscriptions at the ancient city of Thespiae
Thespiae
Thespiae was an ancient Greek city in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which runs eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, near modern Thespies.-History:...
, near Mount Helicon, in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, he was a winner in contests for composing and singing. The inscriptions date to around 80 BCE. His father's name was Menides according to all the inscriptions. Alexandros is also thought to have sculpted a statue of Alexander the Great that is also displayed at the Louvre Museum. This statue was discovered at the Greek island of Delos
Delos
The island of Delos , isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece...
. His dates of birth and death are unknown.