Nikeof Samothrace

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med god but he still needed to pay homage to the deities for his success. “These claims naturally involved the kings, in expense, for piety towards their own divine parentage had to be publicly manifested; and the most obvious means of making a show of piety was to create commissions that looked even better when made in the context of old sanctuaries.” (Spivey 208) The Winged Victory was placed in the Temple of the Great Gods long after it was built among older statuary.
The axes of the piece are asymmetrical because the right leg is placed in back and slightly to the left of the right leg. This creates a relatively straight axis starting at the right shoulder, passing through the right side of the body, and ending at the tip of the right foot. The top part of the axis is slightly more forward, creating a sense of forward movement. The second axis starts at the clothing folds directly under the left breast and continues straight down the left leg, to the left foot. On the upper torso, the two wings create two more axes jutting out in an angle, centered between the shoulder blades. The angle is approximately 120 degrees. The combined effect of these axes is a central point of focus at the statue’s breasts. All the axis move out and back away from this point. The piece is given movement because the axes draw the eye away repeatedly away from the central focal point.
Like the axes, the lines created by the drapery folds reinforce the eye to move from the breasts outward. A large amount of drapery between the legs forms many parallel lines heading from the top of the right hip bone radiating down, towards both feet at neat parallel folds. In contrast, both legs are relatively smooth and also create lines moving downward. In the upper chest, similar clothing folds radiate in from the breast to a bunch on the left shoulder. The right shoulder’s cloth has fallen off. The clothing folds are not completely straight. Many of them cur...