Monday, May 25, 2009

'Michelangelo' Crucifix Debate


BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Controversy over "Michelangelo" sculpture

The Italian art world is in a messy 'is it or isn't it' debate over a wooden sculpture that may or may not have been made by Michelangelo.

Standing just 40cm (16 inches) high, it depicts Christ on the Cross, but leading art experts simply cannot agree who made it.

This is not a tale about fakery or imitation - everyone says the statue is a Renaissance piece of art from around 1495, when Michelangelo would have been 20.

But who actually crafted it? That is the question.

The controversy has been rekindled because of a new exhibition in Naples to display the cross, which incidentally has itself disappeared somewhere in antiquity, leaving the figure of Christ these days hanging mid-air connected to a sheet of transparent plastic.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed the almost perfect anatomical knowledge reflected in the figures big toe? These art experts are eating entirely too much dog food!

"Among the elements that it shows is an almost perfect anatomical knowledge of the human body. Its structure, muscles, tendons, skin compose a harmonious and strong image," said Cristina Acidini, head of the Polo Museale Fiorentino or Florentine Museums group.