Le passage de Vénus

With the famous Roman statue of Aphrodite, unearthed in Arles in 1651, at its heart, the exhibition Le passage de Vénus explores the enduring power of the myth. It weaves an unprecedented dialogue between works from antiquity and those of modern and contemporary artists, revealing how Venus's empire endures, inspires and reinvents itself. While the dazzling emergence of Aphrodite – Venus – in the history of forms has fed centuries of commentary and artistic creation, the exhibition now gives the stories she embodies a fresh resonance: tales of desire, power and beauty, but also of freedom and emancipation.

On exceptional loan from the Musée du Louvre to the Musée départemental Arles antique, and surrounded by a retinue of major works, the 'Vénus d'Arles' returns for the first time since 2013 to the places where it was first discovered. This imposing and magnificent Roman marble of the 1st century BC, inspired by a Greek model and offered to Louis XIV by the City of Arles, was first kept at Versailles before joining the national collections at the Louvre. Today this universal masterpiece of antiquity is displayed in the same room as the Vénus de Milo, where it is admired by millions of visitors from around the world.