Sarcophagus of Jonah

The ‘Sarcophagus of Jonah’, nowadays property of the Vatican Museums, adorned the gardens of Villa Medici until the 18th century. Discovered during the construction of the new St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, it was purchased by Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici in 1584. The sarcophagus was newly presented at Villa Medici in the exhibition Shared Sacred Sites.  On this occasion, the Vatican Museums Laboratories made a plaster cast of the original that will become part of the collections of the French Academy in Rome. This acquisition is in line with the Academy’s long tradition of copying. Its collection, formed between the 17th and 20th centuries, is one of the most important in Rome. Updating this practice, the contemporary cast, made according to tradition, will breathe new life into the Villa Medici Plaster Cast Gallery, inaugurated in 2009 and included in the guided tour itinerary.

The conference organised to mark the entry of the cast of the ‘Sarcophagus of Jonah’ in the Academy’s collections presents the history of this masterpiece of early Christian art and recounts the creation of its copy.