“Apollo Belvedere” returns to the Vatican Museums

The Apollo Belvedere, one of the most famous sculptures in the papal art collections, is returning home after nearly five years of restoration. The “delicate procedure” aims to restore balance to the 1,900-year-old statue “without jeopardizing its magnificent harmony,” the Vatican Museums said, according to Cathapress. The newly revamped Greek God is scheduled to be unveiled on Tuesday, October 15.

The statue is an elaborate copy created in Rome in the 2nd century AD: around 330 BC. The original, created in Greece in the 1st century BC, is attributed to the famous Athenian sculptor Leochares. The statue has been in the possession of the Vatican Museums since 1503. At that time the god was missing his left hand and the fingers of his right hand. In the 16th century, the missing parts were replaced by the restorer Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli. He also incorporated the top of the tree trunk that the new arm rested on for stability.

However, problems arose in December 2019 that required a new restoration. A carbon fiber bracket is used mounted in the base. Meanwhile, the left hand inserted by restorer Montorsoli 500 years ago has been replaced with a cast of the “Hand of Baia”, part of a plaster copy made in Roman times of the original Greek statue.

The Apollo Belvedere also owes its fame to the German archaeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-1768). He described it as “the highest ideal of art among all the ancient works that have come down to us,” according to Cathapress.