"Dying Slave", early 20th century. After MIGUEL ANGEL BUONARROTI (1475-1564). Sculpture in stucco. Measurements: 115 x 38 x 30 cm. This plaster sculpture faithfully reproduces the famous "Dying Slave" by Michelangelo. The Renaissance genius realized this statue as part of a commission to decorate the tomb of Pope Julius II. It is currently housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Experts have pointed out the influence exerted by the Laocoon on this magnificent piece, given the torsion and expressiveness of a body in which there are signs of having struggled but which in the end accepts its fate. Both slaves would meet a different fortune than expected. Instead of appearing in the monument of Julius II, they would pass through the hands of different collectors: Roberto Strozzi, Henry II, Anne de Montmorency, Cardinal Richelieu... Finally, they were confiscated by the French government in 1793 when they were intended to be sold by the widow of the last Marshal Richelieu. Since then, they have been in the Louvre.