The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-10-13
He FOUND THE VENUS,

Death Of Man Once Famous, But Len Z
Since Almost Forgotten
The recent death on the Island of
Melos of NJ. Henri Brest recalls the fact
that his name, many years ago, was a
celebrated one on account of his con-
nection with the statue of Venus, now
one Of the greatest treasures in the
Louvre museum, and brings to mind
some interesting souvenirs in connec-
ton with that statue. 1t was, indeed,
II. Henri Brest who discovered the
wonderful statue just after it had been
unearthed by a peasant in the island
of Mile. and who bought it Of him for
a mere song in 1920. He soon sold it
to NJ. de Marcellus. through whom st
reached the Louvre.
The wonderful statue remained undis-
turbed in the gallery of the Louvre,
of which IL was the principal ornament,
till the Franco-Prussian war in 1870.
when the means Of preserving it against
the possible pillage of the Germans
caused great anxiety to the curators.
Few, probably, are aware that the Venus
Of Milo was on that occasion placed
in an immense sort of padded oak cof.
fin, and buried mysteriously in great
trench made to receive 1t in the court
yard of the prefecture of police. This
was done IN tho middle of the night,
in the presence of very few witnesses,
with the object of keeping the hiding
place of the statue perfectly secret.
1t was thought by the officials of the
Louvre that the statue was in perfect
safety, but their anxiety for the fate
of the treasure was revived, after the
signature Of peace, by the outbreak Of
the commune and the setting fro to
the prefecture of police and to the
Paiais de Justice opposite. Fortunate
ly, however, when that insurrection had
been put down the curators Of the
Louvre, on once more unearthing the
statue, found it had suffered no de-
terioration. The inscription on the Pc
destal of the statue in the Louvre does
not even mention the name of N. Henri
Brest. 1t relates simply that it was
bought by NJ. de Marcellus for the Mar
quis de Rivicre, the French ambassa-
dor who presented it to King Louis
XVIII. in 1891.
The Pail Mall Gazette says that the
peasant who found the statue had no
idea that he had dug up what has sinca
proved to be the most remuneratve
ehhgy Of goddess that the world has
ever known. M. Brest, having a pretty
ehrewd notion of her value, asked the
peasant proprietor of the soil how much
The peasant proprietor could not I'M
derstand what NJ. Brest could possibly
arms, but this, instead of inducing him.
as it would nowadays, to ask an ex-
orbitant price, merely decided to sell
bis Venus for song, and N. Brest
took her gleefully to Paris.
There ell sorts of attempts, by all
sorts of eminent hands, were made 10
restore to her her missing members,
but as she persisted in looking ever
so much better without arms than with
them, the savsnts ultimately decided
that she must have been built that way
and that way she must be left
AS is we'll known, this unarmed Venus
has proved an immense commercial sue
cess. Millions Of copies Of her have been
made and sold. She has adorned the
virtuoso's gallery, the middle-clase
and the lodging house
back rarlor. She has descended IL
bronze to the prosaic use Of a paper
weight. She has acquired . Pile foa
many a peripatetic Italian image seller.
But all N. Brest got out Of her VISA
the academic palm. No doubt, if he
had lived a bit longer-he was only
buttonhole would have fow. !
cred with tho red ribbon Only, the |
other day, On the very spot where hs
found his Venus. the end found him |
London Standard.
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