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In antiquity, statues of naked gods or athletes were taken for granted, while the human nude was frowned upon in the Middle Ages. In the Renaissance, the theme was rediscovered, culminating in Michelangelo's "David" (1501-04).
This enigmatic figure is a remarkable precursor and may represent Laocoon as he was imagined before the ancient statue was excavated in 1506. But it could also be Asclepius, the god of healing, or the constellation Serpentarius.