Defacement in the Chapel!
Trivia brain teasers have some element of trivia in them, but they are not just pure trivia questions.
Art is to be appreciated from afar, rarely touched, and certainly never altered from the artist's original vision. One would never pencil in eyebrows on the Mona Lisa or dare to bolt mannequin arms to the Venus de Milo.
Yet, despite all this, there is a well-known piece of art that has been blatantly defaced. What is even stranger is that the offending defacer, though he meant to do his nasty work, did not WANT to. His identity was known, yet he was never arrested and never punished. Quite the opposite, his defacement was encouraged by the highest of powers in his day.
What is the piece of art?
HintIt's in the Sistine Chapel...
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Answer
The work in question is Michelangelo's "Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel. The fresco depicts the Earth, Heaven, and Hell. The figures are of various saints, all bearing the instruments of their deaths.
These figures, each and every one, is entirely nude. Or at least they WERE. Michelangelo originally painted every figure completely naked, saying that in the end times the fresco represents, there would be no secrets, nothing would be unknown.
These nude figures caused quite a stir even before the final masterpiece was revealed. Many called it shocking and obscene, but it wasn't until 23 years later that anything was done. Pope Pius IV brought in Daniele da Volterra, one of Michelangelo's students, against his will to cover up the objectionable parts with painted cloths.
Some of the cloths have since been professionally removed, but the debate over the decency of the painting continues to this day.
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Comments
Nedphoenix   
Apr 14, 2008
| Had an idea of what you were getting at, but not the specific art. Interesting explanation, I didn't know that. Thanks. |
Dontrelle
Apr 25, 2008
| Wow, great job! I had fun reading it although I have no clue when it comes to art. |
shmortcakerz
May 06, 2008
| Wow I didn't know that. Thanks for posting this. |
pn_16
May 08, 2008
| cool, i learned something...  |
dodger 
May 15, 2008
| As a fine art teacher i got it right away, but it's one of those rare riddles that i wish i'd written myself.
I'm adding to my favs. Great job |
AndrewWalker
Jul 04, 2008
| How could they, art is art!!!   |
dancingd3  
Jan 22, 2009
| I agree with AndrewWalker, but still that is a hard decision to make. Yes, its very old, and priceless and should be left unchanged, so that future generations can see its original beauty, but I can see where the pope was coming from. I'm sure there are many field trips and other events that take place in the Sistine Chapel, and you wouldn't want children seeing that. Really good question, I learned something. Maybe I can tell my art teacher next class! |
Lil_Dork 
May 16, 2009
| cool |
bradon182001
Jan 08, 2011
| Wonderful teaser. Learned something today I had never heard before. Thanks for posting. |
Babe
Jul 14, 2012
| Very informative and interesting, but what makes it a teaser?  |
cutebug 
Jul 14, 2012
| Babe-You are being teased to see if you know the answer, so that makes it a teaser.
By the way,I knew the answer. |
sbuske
Jul 14, 2012
| I thought Mt. Rushmore, and the culprit was the wind.
Oh, and art is art. If you don't want your children seeing nudes, shield them from one of the most important historical humanities. idiots. |
bestgirl
Jul 14, 2012
| It was interesting, and on the nudity, I totally agree with Sbuske. |
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