One thing I learned in Italy is that most sculptures lose their fingers,
extremities and heads...
If they are lucky they get repaired........... correctly.........
(always look at the neck line to see where they lost their head!)
Some are still headless in The Vatican....
remember all those heads on the shelves in the prior post?
This one below...
HE lost his head...
but they attached a woman's head to his body
when they repaired him.
(We had a great guide at The Vatican!!!)
Laocoön and His Sons
Fascinating history of this piece here.
When the statue was discovered, Laocoön's right arm was missing, along with part of the hand of one child and the right arm of the other, and various sections of snake. The older son, on the right, was detached from the other two figures. The age of the altar used as a seat by Laocoön remains uncertain. Artists and connoisseurs debated how the missing parts should be interpreted. Michelangelo suggested that the missing right arms were originally bent back over the shoulder. Others, however, believed it was more appropriate to show the right arms extended outwards in a heroic gesture.
You can read what happened at the link above.....
but in 1906 an archaeologist found the missing arm.
In the 1980's the original arm was reattached.
Note that it was bent as Michelangelo said it should be
