The arrival of Victory

Let your eyes begin with the ship. The base is shaped like a prow, the part that leads a vessel forward. Above it, the figure spreads her wings and leans ahead. Follow the cloth from chest to legs. Some parts seem pressed against her skin, while others lift as though wind were passing underneath. This is Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. The statue was made for a sanctuary on Samothrace, a place where offerings were made to the gods. The figure on the ship is associated with a naval victory. It dates to around the second century BC. The particular battle it commemorated has not been identified with certainty. The staircase is part of what we see. The figure was placed on its upper landing in 1883. As you approach, the wings and the whole movement appear first. Then the folds become visible. Your view changes with distance, so a slightly lower position can also help you take in the whole setting. Charles Champoiseau, a French diplomat, found the statue’s remains in 1863. Its head and arms were not recovered. The figure before us combines ancient fragments and restorations. The right wing includes a plaster reconstruction based on the left. The movement survives those losses. Look at the space in front of the body. The cloth and wings suggest that the arrival continues into that empty space. Follow the cloth where it touches the torso, then where it lifts away. Those changes give the marble the appearance of a body responding to wind.