The 2,000-year-old, 4-meter-high statue of Hercules is set to shine again thanks to the skills of the Vatican Museum’s restorers. It is the largest bronze statue in the ancient world, which was buried after being struck by lightning, and then rediscovered at the end of the nineteenth century.
The 2,000-year-old, 4-meter-high statue of Hercules is set to shine again thanks to the skills of the Vatican Museum’s restorers. It is the largest bronze statue in the ancient world, which was buried after being struck by lightning, and then rediscovered at the end of the nineteenth century.
The long diagnostic work of the Scientific Research Laboratory in the Vatican Museums began, to analyze and study the metal structure, and to return the missing parts of it. This involved the reconstruction of stucco moldings created in the ninth century.
The restorers are working in the Laboratory of Metals and Ceramics in the Vatican Museums to remove all the crusts that have accumulated on the gilded surface as a result of burials for centuries, using special magnifying lenses. Visitors to the museum can once again see amazingly fine details in a statue of this size: the prominent veins on the abdomen and arms, and the finely carved beard on the face.
