After the Fall: The Conservation of Tullio Lombardo's "Adam"

[@lucianocappellano8300]

i couldnt imagine the pride someone could feel knowing that, literally hundreds of years after the creation of your work, after some sort of inevitable mishap, people took literal YEARS putting it back just the way you made it. these people were using what they would have believed to be MAGIC JUST TO FIX this. that alone is extraordinary.

[@23daughters]

I wouldn't really call it an 'inevitable' mishap.

[@ujlt7198]

@@23daughters I would, nothing lasts forever.

[@MB20fangirl]

Great perspective!

[@Faustiste]

Just display the broken sculpture with a sign "This is why we can't have nice things."

[@charredtodeath2205]

Your comment made me laugh so hard xD

[@bevandarke2300]

😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😅😅😅😅😅😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂😅

[@SoundBlackRecordings]

HAHAHA Wow!

[@MarkH10]

That's exactly what the European curators said. Along with. "If we wanted Michaelangelos shattered we'd keep them here and do it ourselves", just like the hammer attack I recall from the news in the 70s, when I was a boy.

[@RehabProjectSRCB]

Signed... The Citizens of The United States of America

[@theohaegele9011]

Seeing as its Adam... this whole thing seems like a cosmic joke about "the fall of man"

[@Ricardo-fv2qi]

It wasn't the fault of the plywood pedestal. It was god himself giving it a little push because he's still angry about the whole fruit thing.

[@l.g.pichardo5482]

As an art student this entire situation is so infuriating, but holy fuck that joke is the best!

[@OhMyPearls]

Boris Pickett Good one. 😜

[@shelbyg.8553]

I like that way you think

[@niceplayground]

@Alexander the Great wow just wow

[@susanpolastaples9688]

The restoration of this the Venetian sculpture of Adam is in itself a work of art. The conservators and restorers have every right to feel pleased. I'd like to think that the creator of the piece, Tullio Lombardo (please forgive this scribe if I've misspelled his name) would be more than thrilled that his marble Adam has been kept for posterity.

[@TheAnimystro]

Guys plywood can be really strong or really weak, depending on thickness and how you build the structure. There isn't anything inherently wrong with plywood, all museums build most of their stands from the stuff. The problem is that they didn't make the plywood box well enough

[@azadalamiq]

plywood sucks. you don't put a heavy carved statue on plywood.

[@randomcommenter7343]

@@azadalamiq Some Roman shields were made with plywood, especially since it's quite flexible, light, but still strong. Plywood isn't inherently bad, and doesn't "suck". The plywood box just wasn't constructed too well, and plywood possibly shouldn't have been used for this specific scenario.

[@carolinepaquier8156]

Obviously the one that held the statue was....really weak. Hence the fact it collapsed, destroying the statue in the process. Brilliant conservancy decision, that one.

[@gonzalogonzalez4220]

If that was merely a hollow plywood structure, it was only a matter of time and highly predictable that it would eventually fail. I do hope they conducted a thorough review of ALL their support structures and fittings.

"A renaissance sculpture outside Italy is not common" yeah WeLl I WONDER WHY

[@orangutank626]

how come?

[@jaydentownsend5402]

@@orangutank626 If you dont get the joke you're it.

[@orangutank626]

Jayden Louise Nicholas Townsend that was the joke dipshit lol

[@jaydentownsend5402]

@@orangutank626 sorry my friend, sometimes people around here are just too good at sarcasm.

[@thisisAshtar]

HSVSVSHSBBS YEP!

[@grandexandi]

hopefully this led to a revision of all their plywood supports

[@Evergreen2219]

I think everyone’s being a little quick to judge about the plywood support. I’m not an art conservator and I’m pretty sure none of you are either. There’s no one that cares more about these works than these people. They dedicate their lives to them. There’s no way they would ever let a priceless artifact like this go up on something they thought was unstable. I firmly believe they were assured that the statue would be safe on that pedestal and that they never expected it to buckle and have the whole thing come crashing down.

[@TuckerSP2011]

They should evaluate these bases from time to time.

[@ack7956]

​@@TuckerSP2011It had held the statue for 65 years, and the base was heavily reinforced internally. It was so unusual that it collapsed that they did two forensic investigations into the collapse to deduce what happened. Paraphrased from another comment.

[@Shusha0029]

The work they put in makes it even more interesting to look at. It's like 2 works of master artist in one statue.

[@easilydistracted5192]

in the end, he will be back...on a cardboard box. don't worry, it's really strong cardboard. the heavy stuff.

[@linack5503]

They also used some really good Elmer’s glue

[@mainmast8955]

an accountant.

[@AasifHaque]

Why not in a wooden box? With soft fillings of course.

[@darkreik]

Lets put this amazing and unique sculpture on this cheap playwood pedestal, i think its a good idea.....

[@grezgu]

So for everyone talking about about the "cheap" plywood pedestal, I was a little intrigued, and did a little research. The video really doesn't go into much detail but from what I was able to find the pedestal was more than just plywood and was pretty heavily reinforced internally with several braces and supports. Also the pedestal had been holding the statue for at least 65 years without incident going back to 1936 when the museum acquired the statue and put it on display in that location. Whatever caused the pedestal to fail was unusual enough that the Met had 2 separate engineering firms conduct forensic investigations on the pedestal to determine why it suffered a sudden and catastrophic failure www.odonnellconsulting.com/project-view/statue-base-failure/ rapperport.com/case-studies/pedestal-collapse copy & pasted from centerioun so you could know this :)

[@pedrosousa8971]

@@grezgu didn't it deserve a marble pedestal? And drills with supports in case of hearthquakes?

[@CandaceStevens]

My thoughts EXACTLY! 😅

[@luckysloth25]

makes you cry when you think of all the other art lost and thrown away

[@graphiquejack]

That must have been devastating when they found the broken sculpture. The restoration is masterful.

[@starcrib]

"On a plywood pedestal" ? That's conservatory criminality. Send it back to Italy. The only saving grace was the dedication of the restoration team. A sad story nonetheless.

[@esterelina]

Marius M That's what I though immediately too. Plywood of all things for god's sakes. Americans.... smh

[@DanielSann]

@Anti-Federalist 1776 nope, tullio lombardo was italian, what they said is that the marble is one of the few high quality outside of italy and ome of the firsts nudes.

[@oh-totoro]

Yup, the sculptures in Italy have lasted for centuries, often outside in the elements. Tullio's Adam lasted for over 300 years in Venice unharmed, but gets taken to the USA and gets dropped on the floor after only 70 years. Ruined.

[@oh-totoro]

@@DanielSann Correction: WAS one of the few. Certainly can't be considered "high quality" now that it's been smashed and glued back together.

[@joydot.dot.dot.8040]

Do some research before you complain crybabys

[@WondrousEarth]

An exceptional effort by the conservators, the statue if someone did not know it had been broken in many places, likely would have no idea. And the masterwork lives on. Also, the new techniques they used, repairs which likely would have been nearly impossible perhaps only twenty years ago. Bravo!

[@k_a_y_l_e_e]

why. why would they put something like that on a _plywood box_

[@MrEcae]

Plywood does not automatically mean bad or cheap, its just how the wood was constructed. Layers ("plies") of wood are stack on top of one another with the grain rotated to increase stability, strength, and reduce warping. Quality plywood is stronger than and can sustain higher stress than regular wood

[@justinpinard6434]

@Kingston Anderson they received the statue in that condition. the plywood was of high quality and was reinforced internally with struts and other supports. literally no one could have predicted that the pedestal would have given out when it did.

[@torinjones3221]

Well it's a stone statue so should be on a stone plynth

[@k_a_y_l_e_e]

@@torinjones3221 my point exactly! thank you. *it's bloody stone.* i don't care what kind of wood it's on it shouldn't be on wood at all.

[@k_a_y_l_e_e]

@Anti-Federalist 1776 and yet that not-cheap-piece-of-non-home depot wood failed and look at the consequences. had the statue been placed on something that was literally more concrete, i'd argue we wouldn't even be watching this video.

[@Ilustrado649]

Thank you, Met Museum for this fascinating video. Thank you experts for your inspiring and worthwhile endeavours to preserve and restore beauty.

[@musikdoktor]

Even a museum is a dangerous place for a priceless piece of art..

[@supremereader7614]

I think it's very beautiful. The fact that the Met put it together is a sort brilliant 'work of art' from our modern age.

[@meandbigboy]

why would such a valuable sculpture be put on such a cheap pedestal. It was an accident waiting to happen.

[@nacs]

meandbigboy Hindsight is always 20/20.

[@Carsoniman]

nacs This is more than hindsight being 20/20. From a physics & structural engineering perspective, using a substandard wooden base was an imprudent choice that could've been realized relatively easily beforehand.

[@nebulonicon]

The pedestal always looked cheap/cheesy to me - you could see it was plywood painted gray; I never understood why they didn't have it on a beautiful stone pedestal, as it deserved to be. Now, in hindsight, it apparently was truly foolish. I don't understand why such a decision was ever made. As I remember it, the other large Renaissance sculptures in the Blumenthal courtyard were on similar plywood pedestals. The courtyard layout has been redesigned since then. Initially the story was that the sculpture was smashed as they were installing new pedestals, and the inadequacy of the handlers caused the fall. Now they say the pedestal gave way. I wonder what the truth is.

[@tumbledon]

Seems like common sense to me. I'd care about the artwork more than the floor.

[@TheLonesomeBricoleur]

Top-quality plywood is actually very strong and very durable. It should be a perfect material for pedestals, so long as each one is properly designed and carefully constructed. Stone pedestals, on the other hand, may very well have invisible faults - and their weight when combined with the sculpture above is potentially devastating to flooring underneath.

[@daschc01]

I would certainly hope that ALL similar display stands in the Met were re-evaluated for strength

[@DonDeDon445]

Weird how they invested large sums of money to restore the piece but barely spent any money to buy better support for the piece in the first place..

[@petebeingrenewed5731]

Lol yea

[@mannye]

Beautiful. No one told me about these kinds of jobs when I was in high school.

[@Kozmo24]

Nobody will tell you to go back or stay-in school either. But now you know what’s best for you.

[@DANBOLLENBACHER]

Okay, but did Adam really have a belly button?

[@JohnnyArtPavlou]

JBs POP, I think that they filled it in during the restoration in order to make it fit with the story of creation.

[@grokeffer6226]

That's an excellent job of restoring after a terrible misfortune. Congratulations.

[@mileyn.641]

That statue of David didn't seem ugly to me...

[@23daughters]

Right? Who gets to decide what work of art is ugly and what's not? I really hope that David statue wasn't very old.

[@mileyn.641]

@t fi from what they showed it looked like a nice replica of the David. I don't think saying it's kitche can count for something that purposely a replica of an existing piece.

[@mileyn.641]

@t fi well maybe, the way he said very "ugly" is what made me comment, I didn't think it deserved to be called that, that's all.

[@mileyn.641]

@t fi hm, in what ways? Sorry I don't know alot.

[@jbuckley2546]

Nor me. He's trying to justify the destruction of another work of art.

[@themchannel853]

This is the most complicated and sophisticated "it'll buff out" that I've ever seen.

[@niceplayground]

The ending was very sweet thank you for this vid!

[@gdhse3]

You can only imagine how much that cost in the end?

[@Sunshine-zm1fx]

It's a beautiful sculpture and the restoration is amazing. Great job, everyone!

[@tsvetomilivanov7618]

Great attention to the restoration process... How about putting half of that attention when choosing the stand for such invaluable masterpieces?

[@kamion53]

when you look at this graceful statue you easily forget how much it weights

[@TheFiown]

I suppose that the blame is being passed on from one to another and in the end some poor guy will be fired ,,, 'heads will roll'

[@hisaenvvy9973]

actually , when a person who works at the museum or the visitors break something on accident ( literally anything that isnt someone intentionally , consciously damaging a piece ) they have a lot of money to cover the damage and repair costs. Basically everyone is safe because accidents do happen be it because they failed to use a proper pedestal , or they bumped something or whatever it may be, accidents are inevitable. Plus I doubt most people would visit or work in a museums if they were terrified that they may have to pay a ton of money because they tripped or something. I guess that system lacks a sense of justice but that's how they decide to do things.

[@Tooch_ffs]

So they took so much time only to realise that they should glue the parts together

[@ethelryan257]

No, they took so much time because late 20th century and early 21st century restoration/conservation has the principle of total reversibility. There is also the problem of steel pins doing considerably harm in future falls. So, they took the time to find pins which would hold up but not do damage in a fall and acrylic resins which can be completely removed but will hold firm indefinitely.

[@888pil]

it must be an interesting feeling as a conservationist when something like this happens. on one hand it's tragic when beautiful art is damaged. but on the other, you're about to start an amazing project

[@Luckingsworth]

When they pulled out the 3D modeling and mentioned they kept every single piece I guess I was a little disappointed they disnt end up genuinely rebuilding the entire thing seamlessly using those fragments rather than just putting in a plaster filling in the gaps.

[@katrinashostakovich3607]

Same. I wonder what they did with the scaps

[@Johnmartin-vz7yc]

Sorry to be blunt but what genius put such an important and heavy sculpture on a wooden stand? Give it to an institution which knows how to treat such unique objects!

[@raliixaviero4674]

smh this shit's 600 years old have some respect

[@MrNakitjamuusi]

A sculpture of such importance should not have been put on a cheap plywood pedestal. I think it's highly irresponsible of Met to even use such materials. Concrete or stone is cheap and much more durable, and I think Met can afford it. It's just the American attitude of cutting corners to make things only appear to be good quality. Please, save money on other things, not materials.

[@starcrib]

MrNakitjamuusi ....like cut the Salaries of the Directors.

[@Tomatonator]

Fuck off. Don't make this about America my dude, but if you do, at least be right.

[@Tomatonator]

The pedestal was the highest bullshittery though.

[@evindrews]

Wood construction is fine, much more economical, easier storage, maneuverable. Moving 600lb of stone for each piece in an exhibit would be senseless. Plywood, though. Man wtf. I hope she was exaggerating.

[@azadalamiq]

@@evindrews not really there are supports and systems that makes moving tone/ marble pretty easily. and you should have to move it all that much or often.

[@VISUALARTVHD146]

Beautiful sculptures. Live to the MET 150 - Saint Paul Brazil

[@jacelight4350]

I saw this sculpture a few weeks ago and I had no idea about this... I'm not sure why but this video made me emotional

[@igorsoares13]

Is it still in the same room that’s shown at 7:28? I got to see it there back in 2014 just a few days after it came back on display.

[@alias3660]

"This very ugly sculpture of David, and we broke it" imagine being the sculptor of that lmfao

[@imperialphoenix]

Your conservators should be very proud of the work they did. They did a terrific job that respected the artist's original work, preserving as much of the sculpture as possible.

[@SuperMan-xy8ui]

WHO was responsible that a statue of such importance was installed on a PLYWOOD plinth?

[@louisc.gasper7588]

There's no mention of how the new pedestal is constructed. That would be interesting.

[@TheFiown]

Watching this again, I still cannot believe it ! That a museum cannot afford to make a solid base, the same museum that spends millions of things like the met ball ! this was an impecable priceless work !

[@SEELE-ONE]

6:31 the statue is like "you friking morons! look what your cheap base did to me!"

[@gasparocelloman9852]

Incredibly moving.

[@tigerwa]

It is disgusting that it was just on a cheap plywood plinth, who would have thought this went on at such a famous museum, they should be humiliated.

[@wallykimball8829]

Putting a marble statue on a plywood pedestal sounds kinda shady.

[@dwightbrown2808]

I hope they checked all the other pedestals on all the other heavy sculptures.

[@ANUJSHARMA-tc1ub]

What type of glue u have used in it?

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Keep in mind these guys just fixed a mistake they didn’t make the error in judgement. Thank you for your work and talent. FYI do you know New England has had the occasional earthquake?

[@madiemakes]

This was 10 years ago. I wonder how they would do yhings differently now.

[@Accio_Eloise]

Wow. This is a really stunning restoration. And such passion and dedication really shows.

[@Hexerik]

kudos to the consevators, but I can't help to be angry at the museum's display management. How is it that they didn't regularly check on the pedestal of a piece of such importance? Why would they trust a 60 year old structure so blindly? A solid pedestal should've been implemented. This was a highly preventable incident.

[@Mitch-cw8nd]

How could this happen?? The restoring process is great.

[@tonyeelee7329]

no perfect thing is exist, the most exciting thing is the way and process we pursue the perfection, especially the team work with all top scientists and professions.

[@gavinburnes6344]

How did it get broken ?

[@michaelwhite8031]

Who was the fool who put it on a plywood plinth ?

[@zabroshka]

Какого числа, месяца и года разбилась статуя? Ответьте пожалуйста!

[@shawnmika9275]

Were all the chips saved and stored with the statue, were there any pieces left that could not be reintegrated into the statue?

[@yourTSWgirl]

“This is the most important sculpture in the Northern Hemisphere “ **puts on janky plywood pedestal**

[@MarkH10]

So where is the documentary about the individual assessments on the hangings, pedestals, and surroundings of each single piece in the collection, with a view toward guaranteeing this doesn't recurr? I'd hate to have a second 'incident'.

[@Martin_Daniel]

Normally a marble sculpture sits on a marble or granite pedestal. Always stone however.

[@cliffdariff74]

no mention of the cost? does that not play into decisions or is art above this consideration?

[@centurion1945]

Well the museum had the piece insured for $80 million prior to the incident which covered the cost of restoration.

[@fabrizio483]

I still can't get over this.

[@JiveDadson]

Adam hadn't eaten the fruit yet, but he dressed up in a fig leaf anyway.

[@shannonhughes8488]

this is absolutely incredible work. someday i hope to be part of the world's conservation efforts

[@fredsalfa]

That’s incredible! I wonder how much that statue is worth?

[@lkmayhew9390]

Great job!

[@JohnnyArtPavlou]

Sad. Wonderful. Moving.

[@TheFiown]

And they are congratulating themselves ! God knows how many other things are damaged and repaired without telling !

[@susanarias6965]

Beautiful story ❤

[@phonotical]

This work should not have taken over a decade

[@bevandarke2300]

God how was the face not damaged at all

[@mainmast8955]

it's always the nose that gets it.

[@vima8680]

So important a piece and place on plywood! Ah, che stupito!!!!

[@Acquavallo]

Why did it have such a bad plinth in the beginning?

[@fabianfarbeyond558]

Hart braking! I was fantasizing about how I would have prevented the pedestal from giving out. How to make it much more stable, how it should have been reenforsed to keep it from buckling. Hope they evaluated other works that have the same pedestals and replaced them.

[@kagitsune]

What an amazing example of bespoke engineering and art coming together to fix a terrible mistake! Well done, 2002-2018 Met crew!

[@Ai-he1dp]

Wow great work!...at least it proves there was not a real person under a marble coating, well it's so beautifully made!...

[@random22026]

0:01 to 0:09 0:31 😉😜😏 0:36 to 0:41 cc 0:55 cc 1:24 to1:28 cc 👌🏻 1:40 1:45 vs 1:42 1:59 to 2:33 4:04 to 4:29 4:31 to 4:34 4:37 to 4:48 cc 4:48 to 5:04 cc 5:21 6:15 6:26 to 6:45 6:55 to 6:57 cc 7:04 7:17 to 7:22 cc 7:31 to end

[@romeblanchard3419]

This could’ve been avoided if they just displayed him directly on the floor

[@TRamp94]

Shouldn't supports be checked regularly?

[@blackwood3243]

A plywood pedestal? Really?

[@cristad.7295]

but... but... you could have measured the strength and resistance of the pedestal and compare it with the weight and density of the statue and you would have known that the thing wasn't appropriate support in the first place.... Am I missing some sort of crucial detail that justifies the incident? This seems like pure negligence to me.

[@madock345]

The statue had been on the same base for over 70 years, nobody thought to recheck the same stand that had been working for ages. Apparently it dry-rotted at some point and slowly gave way.

[@chuckadams8005]

I wonder what was the reaction of "The Italians"; from their Galleria Borghese for example? They would have wept

[@gertahnstrom784]

Where is the video of "Here is how we constructed the new pedestal for Adam"?

[@xyzllii]

Quite a story.

[@ch8gb16]

This is wonderful!!! You are amazings!!!!!!!!!!

[@patstokes3615]

I wonder how long that marble had been standing on that pedestal. And how many other marbles stand on the same material. It could have been standing for generations long before people even thought about material stresses. But everyone responsible for the "health" of these items dropped the ball. I bet they had a team working overtime to correct any other potential disasters.

[@Ntyler01mil]

According to the New York Times, the pedestal was 2 years old www.nytimes.com/2002/10/09/arts/met-s-15th-century-adam-shatters-as-pedestal-collapses.html

[@iulianispas8634]

Did any turists wore killed in the colapse?

[@NewMediaFormat]

Such a Beautiful Piece ... I was cringing throughout the video .. But.. Happy ending

[@Pfromm007]

You'd think people who consistently drop their unprotected iPhones shouldn't complain about them not having protected this statue better.

[@torinjones3221]

But why on earth was a statue put on a wooden stand

[@ovh992]

So we put a lifesize marble statue of Adam on a PLYWOOD pedestal..... What could go wrong?

[@WarrenFahyAuthor]

If you cause the damage the repair does not have to be reversible. There are very clear reasons for why repairs should be reversible. Causing the damage yourself does not qualify as "historically important" enough to reverse repairs.

[@InsanityVonMike]

If the repairs aren't flawless you might wanna make some changes in the future.

[@JeanPaulCorro]

They are reversible so that if, for some reason new and better materials or techniques are developed, they can undo the current ones with little effort and no damage to the piece. Also, restoring materials, even if they are top-quality, sometimes age differently from the rest of the piece and sometimes it is necessary to remove them.

[@margaritatabellini8806]

Those restaurators need credit for their great work

[@samanthamcgahan2066]

A marble sculpture on a plywood base ... I don't see any possible problem there ...

[@DrQuadrivium]

I hope the insurance company (if it *was* insured) paid out the full cost of the restoration. .