Hercules Mastai

Description

This colossal bronze-gilded statue was found in 1864 under the courtyard of Palazzo Pio Righetti in Campo de’ Fiori in the area of the ancient theater of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. It was donated to Pope Pius IX (Mastai). At the moment of the retrieval of the work, the statue was horizontally inside a pit, covered by travertine slabs with the engraved letters: FCS, or F(ulgur) C(onditum) S(ummanium). Lightning struck the statue, and it underwent a ritual burial according to the custom of the Romans. Pietro Tenerani extensively restored the statue with additions made mainly in plaster. A young Hercules leans on the club with the apples of the Hesperides in his left hand. Perhaps a model of the Scuola Attica (390-370 B.C.) inspired the work. Scholars previously dated it between the end of the I and beginning of the III century A.D.

State of Preservation

The restoration of this monumental work is very complex because the structure and size (almost 4 meters high) of this colossal bronze is from early the II-III century A.D.

Restoration Procedures

The intervention aims to accomplish conservation and aesthetic restoration. Restorers will clean the gilded surface of the bronze and verify the superimposed layers. They will then consolidate and revise the previous integrations and add final protection. An in-depth scientific investigation campaign, which included checking the static nature of the sculpture, was previously carried out by the Scientific Research Laboratory during the year 2020.