The Hippolytus-statue. A Multidisciplinary Workshop (Leuven, hybrid 02-03.09.2021) The so-called 'Hippolytus-statue' is far more than one of the countless Roman antiquities to decorate the hallway of the Vatican Apostolic Library: it is the first known Christian, or Christianised, free-standing sculpture in history. Originating in the Pre-Constantinian era, it is one of the 'Last Statues of Late Antiquity'. Although the statue itself appears to be unspectacular at first sight, a closer look, however, reveals that it must be a ‘transvestite’: the bearded philosopher wears female underwear and is seated on a throne covered by inscriptions. The anomaly has its roots in the Renaissance reassembly of antique torso(s)/fragment(s) and in a 'modern' completion by the antiquarian Pirro Ligorio (1512?-1583), a papal architect under popes Paul IV and Pius IV. Once identified with Hippolytus, an influential theologian, martyr and bishop of Portus, it was installed at ...