Bad Sculpture Restoration Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

It is difficult enough as it is to create an artwork worthy in the eyes of others of restoration that one hates to criticize such restoration. Still . . . I wrote earlier on this blog that The Florentine newspaper reported that in early March, someone broke off a finger in Pio Pedi’s beloved composition of four figures in marble.

This happened one night in Florence, Italy’s, Loggia dei Lanzi, next to where the mime, gReY, performs. [I wrote about gReY yesterday.] The finger belonged to the slain brother in the marble carving titled “The Abduction of Polyxena” and I was anxious to see the damage done.

Make no mistake about it: the real criminal is the one who had no respect for this artwork. Even if one could justify this vandalism as an accident, an honorable person would have retrieved the stone finger from the ground and turned it in to some Italian authority or Loggia volunteer guard.


Still, my main point with these images is to show all artists, and anyone who works with detail, that one must STAND BACK from the work to see what is really happening. Up close, I do not doubt that the person(s) reattaching this marble finger thought that there was a good match in the alignment. (See the first image)

However, when one stands about two meters away, as I did, and looks at the entire hand, it is clear that the finger should have been reattached in a way that was more consistent with the shape and direction of the bones in the human hand. The index finger looks distinctively bent backwards in an unnatural way (even for a newly dead guy). One of the beauties of sculpture is that we have many more views to consider. It is also what makes creating sculpture so challenging.



I am sure that when I was visiting Florence, Italy, in 2004, I must have photographed this sculpture from a similar vantage point. Alas, those images are on my computer in Texas and cannot serve me now. Sigh . . .

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Giambologna Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I mentioned sculptor Giambologna’s famous composition “Il Ratto delle Sabines” in my last post. It is one of my favorite sculptures. The final artwork is in stone and is one of the few original sculptures still on exhibit in the main piazza of Florence, Italy. Unfortunately, that public privilege keeps getting debated as more pollution makes it difficult to protect the marble.

Also, vandalism reared its ugly head recently when someone broke off a finger from Italian artist Pio Fedi’s marvelous stone carving of four figures, which is also one of the original artworks still on exhibit in this same space, the Loggia dei Lanzi. The discovery of the finger nearby is what clued in authorities about the damage. Horrible.

Back in 2004 during my first visit to Florence, I saw Giambologna’s original clay sculpture that was later translated into marble in the Academia. He was seeking to create a perfect composition in 3-dimensions. The spiral was the answer. The composition as seen from each viewing position would entice the audience to want to see what other views were offered.

As an artist it made sense to me that Giambologna did not start out with the famous (in his time) story of the abduction of the Sabines as his tema (theme). Someone suggested this titolo later and Giambologna had to design the bronze bas reliefs depicting more of the story for the tall stone base of his original sculpture.

Yes, sometimes the titles come first, but just as often, they come afterwards, or even during the creation of art. As visual artists, we communicate with a different language that consists of visual and tactile elements, such as line, shapes, tones, and texture.

The images you see here were taken at various times over the course of several years. The first one shows Giambologna’s “Il Ratto delle Sabines” in front of a projected image taken during the famous flood of 1966. I took this during the 40th anniversary event of the flood, November 4, 2006.



This last image is part of my giclée fundraising series to help the young man Rudy Sanchez that I have mentored since 1992. Rudy was born with Treacher Collins’ Syndrome. Years ago, the facial reconstruction doctors removed the last of Rudy’s teeth in order to reshape his jaw. However, through some Medicare law, teeth are considered cosmetic and therefore optional surgery (not paid for). So, Rudy needs $13,000 for a complete set of teeth. His family does not have that, nor do I.

If this image or any of my Italy images appeal to you, please consider purchasing a giclée or more (quantity savings apply) and know that your new artwork will enhance more than the lives that you share the art with. For more information about the art and about Rudy and Treacher Collins, please visit: Treacher Collins’ Art Project

Thank you so much!