VATICAN CITY – Last month, the Vatican Museums returned the Apollo Belvedere to public exhibit after a five-year restoration project that had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The statue has been a highlight of the Vatican collections since the 18th century.
Standing 7.3 feet tall, the Apollo Belvedere is a masterpiece of ancient sculpture, portraying the god of archery in a moment of poised triumph. With his left arm raised, Apollo appears to have just released an arrow. While the target remains unknown, art historians speculate it could represent the giant Tityos, whom Apollo vanquished with Artemis, or Python, the serpent that guarded the Oracle of Delphi.
Apollo is a major deity in modern Paganism and polytheistic religious practices, especially within branches rooted in Hellenic and Roman traditions. Apollo is revered as the god of many domains, including the sun, light, music, truth, balance, poetry, prophecy, healing, and plague. He is often depicted as a youthful, radiant figure embodying harmony and balance. The son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis (the goddess of the hunt and the moon), Apollo holds a central place in many spiritual, religious, and magickal communities.
“This is one of the world’s most celebrated and recognizable masterpieces,” said Sabrina Zappia, President of the Italian & International Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. The Patrons recently partnered with the Bank of America Art Conservation Program for restoration efforts at the Vatican Museums. “We are very excited to have entered into this strategic partnership,” added Amy Gallant Sullivan, Founder of the organization. “We hope to continue collaborating with foundations dedicated to preserving historic art.”
The statue’s fame owes much to Johann Joachim Winckelmann, an 18th-century art critic and pioneering Hellenist. Winckelmann, an openly gay scholar, championed the Apollo Belvedere as the pinnacle of Greek art, describing it as “the highest ideal of art.” He also highlighted the homoerotic undertones of Greek and Roman male statuary, bringing a fresh perspective to ancient works.
The Apollo Belvedere [Courtesy Vatican Museums]
Before Winckelmann’s acclaim, the Romantic movement had been less complimentary of the Apollo Belvedere. Esteemed English critic William Hazlitt (1778–1830) dismissed the statue outright, declaring it “positively bad.” Similarly, renowned art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) expressed his disappointment, finding the celebrated work underwhelming.
In the early 20th Century, Art historian Kenneth Clark commented, “…For four hundred years after it was discovered the Apollo was the most admired piece of sculpture in the world. It was Napoleon’s greatest boast to have looted it from the Vatican. Now it is completely forgotten except by the guides of coach parties, who have become the only surviving transmitters of traditional culture.”
The Apollo Belvedere was sculpted between 120 and 140 CE as a Roman marble replica of a 4th-century BCE bronze original by the Greek sculptor Leochares. Its dynamic pose, with shoulders and legs in contrasting alignment, epitomizes the classical style. Like many ancient works, the statue was lost after the fall of the Roman Empire but rediscovered during the Italian Renaissance. Unearthed in Anzio (ancient Antium) in the late 14th or early 15th century, it passed through private collections before being acquired by Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere. When he became Pope Julius II in 1503, he transferred the statue to the Vatican, forming the foundation of the Vatican Museums’ collection.
The Apollo Belvedere has undergone numerous restorations over the centuries, though not all have been universally praised. The first significant restoration occurred in 1532, when Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, a pupil of Michelangelo, reattached the statue’s hands and forearms. Subsequent major renovations followed in 1924 and again in 1999.
The most recent—and the most invasive—restoration began in 2019 when the statue was removed from public display after curators discovered small but troubling cracks in its legs. One staff member, Guy Devreux, Head of the Stone Materials Restoration Laboratory of the Vatican Museums, described the condition as “incredibly dramatic.”
The statue has also inspired other famous works, including Albrecht Dürer’s engraving Adam and Eve (1504 CE) and Antonio Canova’s statue Perseus with the Head of Medusa (1804 CE), a copy of which stands at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The Apollo Belvedere was even featured on the official logo of the Apollo 17 Moon landing mission in 1972.
Profile view of Apollo Belvedere [Courtesy Vatican Museums]
The current restoration focused on structural integrity rather than aesthetic changes, though it included a thorough cleaning. Supported by the Bank of America’s 2021 Art Conservation Project and other patrons, the restoration team repaired fractures in the sculpture’s legs and knees and restored its cream-colored surface using advanced laser technology. The statue was reattached to its base with a carbon fiber rod, ensuring its stability for future generations.
Restorers replaced Montorsoli’s left hand with a more accurate replica, created from a cast of the “Hand of Baia,” a fragment from another Roman copy of the Greek statue, made of plaster. They further enhanced the statue’s authenticity by thoroughly, yet carefully, cleaning it, uncovering a previously hidden purplish hue in the god’s flowing curls. Experts suggest this coloration may be residue from a solution used to apply gold leaf, either to Apollo’s hair or to a laurel wreath he once wore.
“This is an exciting moment for the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums,” said Rev. Kevin Lixey, International Director of the Patrons, thanking the Bank of America Art Conservation Project and other patrons for funding the restoration and preservation.
Dr. Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, emphasized the statue’s historic significance. “The Apollo del Belvedere forms the original nucleus of the Vatican Collection,” she explained, adding that the statue will now remain a marvel for generations to come. “We are now giving back to our visitors one of the icons, maybe the icon of beauty.”
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