Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Statue

There is a controversy surrounding the new statue of Blessed John Paul II. Liz Lev reports:
Regrettably, the statue resembles neither the handsome 58-year-old who charmed the Romans by speaking their dialect, or the suffering 83-year-old who inspired them with his courage. It evokes neither the warm sparkle in his eye seen during his 331 visits to Rome's 337 parishes nor the determined set of his face when he sternly denounced the mafia preying on the Italian people.

Mostly, the indistinctness of the work seems to be a betrayal of the man. John Paul II was clear and outspoken, never ambiguous. This is the man who restored the Sistine Chapel to return beauty to the world and the best Rome can offer is a befuddling bronze blob? For a city that immortalized Augustus with the Prima Porta statue, where Michelangelo left us Moses, and Bernini's sculptures seem to speak, Oliviero Rainaldi's efforts make one wonder where the proud tradition of art has gone.

Suddenly Pope Julius II, micro-manager of the arts, breathing over Michelangelo's shoulder or overworking Raphael, seems like a patron devoutly to be desired.
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3 comments:

Elan said...

I totally agree with you! That is a really ugly blob of bronze. One can hardly tell what it is supposed to be and that is a tribute to Pope John Paul II? It is a scar on the face of Rome.

Dymphna said...

Terrible. It looks like a combination of Mussolini and a vampire.

Julygirl said...

I get the symbolism, but it could have been depicted in a warmer way, It is not art.