Winged Victory of Samothrace, Louvre (September 2009)
The approach to the Winged Victory of Samothrace is as dramatic as the statue itself.
No matter how many times I see the Winged Victory, she still has the power to take my breath away.
(See more pictures of the Winged Victory on Journey Photographic here)
Winged Victory of Samothrace
Forget the Mona Lise or the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace is far and away my favourite item in the Louvre. Imposing as she is, the statue is perfectly complemented by her environment – the magnificent Daru Staircase, which remained incomplete until it became the home of the Winged Victory in 1884.
I have more traditional shots of this statue, which may do a better job of showing the scale and detail of the statue herself (and I’m sure they will end up on here in due course), but I think this might be my favourite, with the way it captures the balance of statue and architecture.
(I’ll also note that I was inspired to post this image today because of a recent post by Brian Q. Webb – he mentions trying for different compositions of static objects, and this was the first thing that came to mind. Plus I just wanted to have an excuse to post this picture!)
