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Why must art historians rely on old copies to study Giotto’s Navicella mosaic?
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Giotto
Lamentation, fresco by Giotto, 1303–05; in the Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy.
Art historians must rely on old copies to study the Navicella mosaic because the original work was almost entirely remade during the 17th century. Consequently, only two fragmentary heads of angels remain from the original creation, making it necessary to utilize historical copies to perform any meaningful stylistic deductions regarding Giotto’s work.1