The “Good Shepherd” at MuBa

The “Good Shepherd” marble statue, a symbol of early Christian art, is the most famous find in the collection of Christian antiquities of the Vatican Museums. Originally a pagan symbol, it was also used by Christians. The figure is a reference to an idealized bucolic world, in opposition to the urban life world, populated by fine shepherds who discuss profound existential themes. The shepherd’s figure was a symbolic representations of the god Hermes, the Roman Mercury, too. The image of a shepherd wearing a lamb (or a ram) on his shoulders (in greek kriophóros) remind benevolent Hermes, carrier of...