Venus of Arles Returns to Provencal Discovery Site for Louvre Exhibition

The Venus of Arles, a Roman marble sculpture discovered in 1651, has returned to the southern French city where it was found for a new exhibition at the Musée de l'Arles et de la Provence antiques. The show, titled 'Venus d'Arles: Beauty Revived,' traces the goddess of love's artistic legacy from Praxiteles to Man Ray. Co-curators Cécile Colonna and Ludovic Laugier selected highlights including a 4th-century BCE Praxiteles original, a 16th-century bronze by Giambologna, and Man Ray's 1936 photograph 'Venus Restored.' The exhibition runs through September 28, 2025, and explores how Venus has been reinterpreted across cultures and eras, from classical antiquity to Surrealism.