1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,279 Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. Start building 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: your website today at squarespace dot com. Enter offer code 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: History at check out to get ten percent off Squarespace. 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: Build it Beautiful. Join me Julie Douglas for the Stuff 5 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: of Life, a sound scaped podcast that explores everything that 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: makes us human that nothing is too beautiful to happen 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: in life. Look for a new episode every Wednesday in 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Stuff 9 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class from how Stuff Works dot com. Hello, 10 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frying and I'm 11 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: Crazy V Wilson, and today we're going to talk about 12 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: what is perhaps the most famous of all images in 13 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: Christian are are definitely one of the most famous, uh, 14 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: the Piata. And I was originally going to research just 15 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:04,200 Speaker 1: the attack on Michelangelo's piazza in nine two, and we 16 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:06,200 Speaker 1: are going to talk about that. But as I got 17 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: to researching that, I ended up down this sort of 18 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,440 Speaker 1: wonderful rabbit hole of this image in art history is 19 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: depicted by many artists over time, and specifically the ones 20 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: that Michelangelo worked on, because there were more than one. 21 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: And we will talk about all of those. So this 22 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: episode ended up really being a little bit of a 23 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 1: smartest board. There is a little bit of light art history. 24 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 1: There is a little bit about michel Angelo, but we're 25 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: not really doing a biography of him. We're just talking 26 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: about these works of art and kind of some of 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: his life surrounding them, not in great depth, and a 28 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: bit about art defacement more than one in fact. And 29 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: we're also gonna touch on the great care that is 30 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: needed to move a sculpture of the nature of the 31 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: famous piazza that michel Angelo worked on. So we're getting 32 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: a little bit of all of that in today's episode. 33 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: Just in case you don't know the Pieta and the 34 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: jed world senses any depiction or representation of the Virgin 35 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:09,120 Speaker 1: Mary morning over Christ's dead body. I don't know why 36 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: I suddenly was like that sounded so bleak, right, Well, 37 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: it is bleak. They're very sad, you should yeah. Well, 38 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: obviously the word derives from the Latin word for pity. However, 39 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: the use of this word to apply to these pieces 40 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: comes after they start to appear in art. Yeah, we 41 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: see them starting, these images of of Mary holding Christ 42 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: after the crucifixion around the thirteenth century, but that word 43 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:43,119 Speaker 1: doesn't really come in in that sense until I think 44 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: the sixteen hundreds. So another thing that's interesting is that 45 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: although this is a significant moment in the Christian religion, 46 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: this scene, in this this imagery, that scene actually isn't 47 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: present in the Gospels, Like there's not a specific moment 48 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: where they describe this. Uh. The Christ crucifixion is in there. 49 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: The descent from the cross, or the deposition as it's 50 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: often called uh, lamentation, Christ being laid on the ground, 51 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: and the intombment are all there in the New Testament, 52 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,440 Speaker 1: but there really is no description of Mary cradling her son. 53 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: Yet it became a really important image. An a lecture 54 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: given by the Right Reverend Lord Harry's at the Museum 55 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: of London in March, the speaker outlines the factors that 56 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,200 Speaker 1: he believes contribute to the origin of the pacha as 57 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: a significant scene in religious art, despite it not actually 58 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: being something that's ever mentioned in scripture. Harry's describes the 59 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: development of devotional images versus narrative images, and whereas narrative 60 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: religious art clearly shows a story playing out, devotional imagery 61 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: takes these images out of their narrative context, and this 62 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: came about in the thirteen hundreds in relation to an 63 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: intense religious reverence. These images were basically so that the 64 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: devoted could fixate and think on the suffering of Christ 65 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: as a part of personal prayer and meditation. So, as 66 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: part of a group of common devotional images to come 67 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: out of Germany, specifically during the hundreds, the scene of 68 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: the pat I emerged. This is due to the fact 69 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: that Mary, as a religious figure was gaining a greater position, 70 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: so her suffering too was to be contemplated in devotionals. 71 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: Mary's pain and lament over Christ's death had long been 72 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,840 Speaker 1: a part of religious writings before the visual of this 73 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: moment of grief became a standard. There are three main 74 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: types of Pieta. The first is the early German, in 75 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: which the torso of Christ is upright, with the head, 76 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,280 Speaker 1: arms and legs at diagonal placements. In relation to the torso, 77 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: Christ is often portrayed in a smaller size compared to Mary. 78 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: This hearkens back to his child state. Sometimes when you 79 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,159 Speaker 1: see these, they're a bit jarring because he looks like 80 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 1: an adult man, but he's very small in relation to Mary. 81 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: Uh and his self ring is usually depicted in in 82 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: great depth and with clarity. He looks like he's in 83 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: terrible pain. Mary, for her part, is often shown in 84 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: deep sorrow. Her face is often contorted with grief, and 85 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: the first of these images in this style date back 86 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: to again the early undreds. The second type, which came 87 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: about in the late fifteenth century, is characterized by Christ's 88 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: body depicted with a continuous curve. Mary's grief is often 89 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: more restrained in these, and she often holds her hands 90 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: in a prayer position rather than holding the body of 91 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: her son. And the third type, which also dates back 92 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: to the fifteenth century, is characterized by the body of 93 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: Christ in a horizontal, usually straighter position, and these often 94 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: feature more people in the tableau's not just Christ and Mary, 95 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: and there's often a peaceful landscape in the background, and 96 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: sometimes there is an architectural feature. Christ wounds are frequently, 97 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: though not always, less of a focus. It's a little 98 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: bit of a softer image, it's not so fraught with grief. 99 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:05,039 Speaker 1: Between thirteen hundred and fifteen hundred, personal iconography became a 100 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: lot more common. Previously to that art had been more 101 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: of a public concept, so during this period, works of 102 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 1: art representing the Pieta became more prevalent in people's private 103 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: homes instead of just out in public spaces. So it 104 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: is a little bit early on, but in the next 105 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: segment it runs kind of long, and we're going to 106 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: talk about the three different versions of the Pieta created 107 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:29,599 Speaker 1: by Michelangelo. So we're gonna pause and do our sponsor 108 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: break now so we can keep all of that chunk together. 109 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: So to get back to the story and discussion of 110 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:40,640 Speaker 1: Michelangelo's work. In the fourteen nineties, Michelangelo, still very young 111 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,120 Speaker 1: at this point, traveled from Florence to Venice and to 112 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: Bologna and eventually ended up in Rome. In fourteen, when 113 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: Michelangelo was commissioned to create his famous Pieta, he was 114 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: only twenty four. The contract was signed on August. That 115 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: document is actually now part of the Attican's collection. The 116 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: work was intended for the funeral chapel of St. Petronia 117 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: in St. Peter's Basilica. The person who requested that art 118 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: was the French ambassador, Cardinal bill Air de la Grela. 119 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: That piece would be part of the decor of the 120 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: chapel where he was to be interred and where funeral 121 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: services would be given for other people as well. Once 122 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: tasked with this piece, uh the artist Michelangelo set out 123 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: to find the most perfect block of marble he could find. 124 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: He found one eventually, which he claimed had no faults, 125 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: and he set to work. Michelangelo worked on Jean de 126 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: Blare's commission from hundred and he worked in the round, 127 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: so he was able to access all sides of the 128 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: piece at once, and the finished sculpture waste three tons. 129 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: Blaire had died in he did not get to see 130 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,480 Speaker 1: the completed work. This sculpture, which a lot of our 131 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: listeners have probably seen at least in pictures of Spectacular, 132 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: will include a link to the show notes with a 133 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: virtual tour of it online. It's really unique in its peacefulness. 134 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: Mary appears to be very young. It's an appearance that 135 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,800 Speaker 1: Michelangelo attributed to her purity when people criticized his choice 136 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: to show her as a youth. The torso wound of 137 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: Christ is minimized, and there is, above almost all else 138 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: the sense of serenity to the work. Rather than suffering, 139 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: Mary is not directly touching the body of Christ in 140 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,640 Speaker 1: this sculpture. There's actually a cloth carved in between her 141 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: hand and the side of his torso where she's supporting him, 142 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: and this denotes the sacred nature of his physical body. 143 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,439 Speaker 1: The relative sizes of the two figures is also something 144 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: to note. While her head is proportional to her son's 145 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: in the sculpture, Mary's body is larger, unlike in the 146 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: early German style of pH i works, it appears to 147 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: be more of the visual and logistical need. In Michelangelo's sculpture, 148 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: Mary's body needed to be large enough to support her son, 149 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: and the depth of the cloth draped around Mary gives 150 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,560 Speaker 1: the sculpture an incredibly realistic effect, but also hides the 151 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: size disparity. And this commission Peace was also intended to 152 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: sit above the altar in the Funeral Chapter chapel, so 153 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: part of the size disparity was possibly to add to 154 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: a visual illusion both of Mary offering up Christ just 155 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:26,320 Speaker 1: as mourners were offering up their deceased loved ones uh 156 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 1: and also if she had been a normal size in 157 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 1: the sculpture, like if you were standing near it, uh, 158 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: she then would have appeared unrealistically tiny. Once the sculpture 159 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 1: was placed in its intended position in the chapel, and 160 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,480 Speaker 1: we know michel Angelo kind of thought about these things 161 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: and other sculptures. It comes up. People will talk about 162 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: the David sometimes and how it was meant to be 163 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: displayed and how the proportions were affected. So we know 164 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: that he thought about this kind of thing, uh, and 165 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: that you know he was keenly aware of how I 166 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: and sightline and presentation would affect the need for size. 167 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: This was the only one of michel Angelo's sculptures that 168 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: he carved his full name into. Allegedly, he had overheard 169 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,839 Speaker 1: visitors attributing the work to another artist after it had 170 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: been installed in the chapel, and so he made his 171 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,680 Speaker 1: mark on the ribbon draped across Mary's chest by night. 172 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: Later on, though, he regretted having done that, and he 173 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: vowed to never again put his name on his work 174 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: because he found it to be prideful. And this sculpture 175 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: was so well received that it was a really significant 176 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: factor in the launch of michel Angelo's career. This was 177 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 1: again very early on, he was in his twenties. Immediately 178 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: upon its reveal, this was seen as a masterpiece, and 179 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,840 Speaker 1: other artists flocked to the chapel to see it. And 180 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:43,080 Speaker 1: this is sort of one of those wonderfully rare cases 181 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: of an artist actually appreciate being appreciated in his time 182 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,200 Speaker 1: rather than after it because michel Angelo lived another sixt 183 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: or four years after completing the Pietas, so he was 184 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: able to see the effect his work had on people 185 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: and how beloved it was from basically day one of 186 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: his existence. It kind of made him a rock star. 187 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: So the Pieta that you think of when you hear 188 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 1: the name Michelangelo, that one that we have just been 189 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: talking about. It's his most famous, but not his only 190 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: depiction of that moment. His second Piazza, also known as 191 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,959 Speaker 1: the Florentine Pieta, and the deposition was worked on over 192 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: a number of years, beginning in fifty seven, and this 193 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 1: piece was not commissioned. It was intended by the artist 194 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: to adorn his own final resting place, and as such 195 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,719 Speaker 1: was something of a passion project. The Florentine Pichi is 196 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 1: kind of a puzzler. It's meeting is not immediately clear. 197 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:35,839 Speaker 1: Both the stage of the Christ's narrative and he was 198 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,439 Speaker 1: included in the tableau have really been debated by art 199 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: historians at great length. In the narrative context, some elements 200 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: of the piece indicate that it's a representation of the deposition, 201 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: Others hint that it's more of a Pieta, and yet 202 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: others lead people to interpretation that it's supposed to be 203 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 1: the entombment of Christ. It's even possible that Michelangelo intended 204 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: to blend multiple narratives into this one work. And there 205 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: are four figures in this sculpture, so already we're at 206 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: a departure from the classic marry in Christ set up. 207 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,720 Speaker 1: One is Christ, one is the Virgin Mary, and another 208 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:16,840 Speaker 1: person is Mary Magdalene. But the fourth figure is where 209 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: the confusion and the variant interpretations really come into play. 210 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 1: This fourth figure is a hooded figure and its male 211 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:25,720 Speaker 1: and stands above the other three. And it is not 212 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,080 Speaker 1: entirely clear to everyone who's supposed to be. I will 213 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: say when I say that, there are people who believe 214 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: very firmly that they know who it's supposed to be, 215 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: but debate continues. It could be the biblical figure Joseph 216 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,240 Speaker 1: of Arimathea, who provided his own intended tomb as the 217 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,760 Speaker 1: resting place for Jesus after the crucifixion. It could be Nicodemus, 218 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,679 Speaker 1: the Pharisee, who appears in the Gospel of John and 219 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: assists in the burial of Jesus. The Nicodemus interpretation is 220 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 1: a common one. If the figure is Joseph of aramassay 221 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,319 Speaker 1: that that figure combined with the presence of Mary Magdalen, 222 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,200 Speaker 1: would suggest that this is an intombant piece, as those 223 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 1: two figures are traditionally more associated with art depicting that 224 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: phase of the narrative. If it is Nicodemus, it may 225 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 1: hint more strongly at being the deposition, as both Joseph 226 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,080 Speaker 1: and Nicodemus are featured in that element in the narrative 227 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 1: traditionally in art, but Nicodemus is not normally featured in 228 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: depictions of the entombment. In fifty five, michel Angelo attempted 229 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:32,439 Speaker 1: to destroy the Florentine pat He was successful in breaking 230 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: off Christ's left leg and arm, and he chipped other sections. 231 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: And why he did this is unclear, but there are 232 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 1: a number of theories, and the truth may lie in 233 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: some combination of several or all of them. One is 234 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: that the artist was troubled by a particularly problematic vein 235 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: in the marble, which frustrated him to the point of despair, 236 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: and he just got angry and wanted to smatch it. 237 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,439 Speaker 1: Anybody who's done something creative can know that those moments happen. 238 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,959 Speaker 1: Another is that his servant had been nagging him to 239 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: finish the piece, which made him irritated with the whole 240 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: enterprise again to the point where he was just frustrated 241 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: and angry. Those two reasons were given by Michelangelo himself 242 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: when pressed on the matter in the account written by 243 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: one of his contemporaries, Georgia Vasari. The third and fourth 244 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: theories and exactly what happened are a little bit more involved. 245 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: So the first of these involves the placement of Christ's leg, 246 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 1: which is slung across his mother's lap, and that this 247 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: was a problematic symbol that michel Angelo believed could be misconstrued, 248 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 1: or that he felt that he hadn't properly captured. So 249 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: at this point in our history, a leg placed in 250 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 1: another's lap held a sexual meaning. It suggested that the 251 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: pair involved in this crossing of legs across laps were 252 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: romantically or erotically entwined, and for Christ to have his 253 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: leg in his mother's lap, though actually easily fit in 254 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: with the symbolism of Mary representing the church as the 255 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:59,840 Speaker 1: bride of Christ. So this was not necessarily an issue, 256 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: and there was existing art at the time that included 257 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: the leg of Christ draped across Mary as he was 258 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 1: taken down in the deposition, and and as in a 259 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: state where the body is not supported by the self, 260 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: so it's it's drooping and it's falling. It is possible, however, though, 261 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: that michel Angelo was concerned that there could be confusion, 262 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: and so he intended to alter this piece by first 263 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: removing the leg, so it was less of a destruction 264 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,800 Speaker 1: situation and more of a let's a race and start 265 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: over and fix some pieces. The fourth theory involves the 266 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 1: figure again. It's often been discussed that the Nicodemus figure 267 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: was also intended to be a self portrait of michel Angelo. 268 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: As Nicodemus had connections to sculpting, this would have been 269 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:47,280 Speaker 1: a pretty natural move on the part of the artist, 270 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:50,640 Speaker 1: but michel Angelo had become more involved with the school 271 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: of belief known as Nicodemism, which didn't wish to separate 272 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,320 Speaker 1: from the Catholic Church, but also held beliefs more in 273 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: line with Protestant values. He may have intended to remove 274 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: his likeness as Nicodemus from the work in order to 275 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: avoid suspicion that he was actually a religious dissenter. Eventually, 276 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: Michelangelo consented to allow one of his pupils, to Burriocalcani, 277 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: to restore the piece, but not the leg, which may 278 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 1: give credence to the slung leg theory. Cal Kani's work 279 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: was eventually completed. He did restore the other elements that 280 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: have been broken, and it is now on display at 281 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: the Museu dela del Duomo in Florence, Italy. In the 282 00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: fifteen fifties, michel Angelo began yet a third Pieta sculpture, 283 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: the Rondanini Pieta. He worked on this piece right up 284 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 1: until the week of his death in fifteen sixty four. 285 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: Like the Florentine Pieta, this work was intended for himself 286 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: rather than as a commission, and it breaks from the 287 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:55,520 Speaker 1: structure of the earlier works, depicting this moment. Instead of 288 00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: Mary holding her son in front of her, she stands 289 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: behind him, not supporting him. It almost looks from some 290 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: angles as though he is actually supporting her. And this 291 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,120 Speaker 1: is a less refined and nuanced work than his two 292 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:11,639 Speaker 1: other pietas. If you look at photographs of them, you 293 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,080 Speaker 1: can tell obviously by comparison to the Roman Piazza, which 294 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: is just the spectacular, beautiful, realistic looking thing, this is 295 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: not at that level, And in part that was because 296 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: near the time of his death he hacked apart a 297 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 1: lot of this statue and intended to start over, and 298 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: he retained only one of Christ's arms from the original 299 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,919 Speaker 1: part of his work. In ninety four, the sculpture was 300 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 1: loaned to the New York World's Fair, where it was 301 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:41,160 Speaker 1: displayed as part of the Vatican Pavilion behind bulletproof glass. 302 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: More specifically, it was displayed behind seven sheets of bulletproof plexiglass, 303 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 1: each of which weighed about seven hundred pounds, which is 304 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:52,919 Speaker 1: about three eights But just to get the sculpture to 305 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: New York from the Vatican took an incredible and careful effort. 306 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: Properly packing and trans warding this priceless piece was a 307 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: work of really careful engineering. A special committee called the 308 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:09,719 Speaker 1: Vatican Pavilion Transport Committee was formed to address this task, 309 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: and one of the challenges involved here was that no 310 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:17,680 Speaker 1: one really knew for certain precisely how delicate or fragile 311 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: or strong the statue was. At this point it had 312 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,879 Speaker 1: been sitting in the Vatican for hundreds of years, and 313 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,479 Speaker 1: there was a danger of internal fissures in the marble 314 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 1: that couldn't be seen, uh just from external examination, but 315 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: that could cause it to crack if it was bumped 316 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 1: or moved in the wrong way. When the piece had 317 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: been moved within the Vatican roughly two centuries prior to 318 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 1: this New York adventure, the left hand of the Virgin 319 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,320 Speaker 1: Mary had suffered damage, so there was a very real 320 00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:49,639 Speaker 1: awareness of the danger involved in an overseas voyage. Radiologists 321 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: from Eastman Kodak were called in to make films of 322 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: the Pieta, and the marble was determined to be perfect, 323 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 1: although X rays did clearly show pins that had been 324 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,800 Speaker 1: used to repair the damaged hand. Just the same, the 325 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: engineers working on the packaging approached the job with the 326 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: assumption that there were indeed fissures, so they designed the 327 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:12,800 Speaker 1: most shockproof ride that they possibly could. There were three 328 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,440 Speaker 1: nesting cases initially made for the job. The exterior case 329 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 1: was steel and inside that were two wooden cases, and 330 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,879 Speaker 1: inside those was the pie top and the weight of 331 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: the cases. The statue and all of the packing materials 332 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: had to be carefully calculated to ensure that as the 333 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: parcel traveled across the Atlantic Ocean on a ship, any 334 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: shock would be at an absolute minimum, and that all 335 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:37,840 Speaker 1: physical extensions of the arts of the pieces that are 336 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:42,840 Speaker 1: separate away from the main central piece would be carefully 337 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:46,960 Speaker 1: cradled and supported, with the void spaces carefully managed and braced. 338 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: If you have access to j Store, one of my 339 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 1: sources on this is a very fantastic and very technical 340 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,840 Speaker 1: article about all of this, which includes tables of calculation 341 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 1: for static stress and all kinds of other testing laid 342 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,800 Speaker 1: out in graph and table form. So if you're interested 343 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: in the nitty gritty of the engineering around this, I 344 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:08,040 Speaker 1: highly recommend you go take a peek at that. To 345 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:12,920 Speaker 1: test the design, a plaster replica of another Michelangelo statue, Moses, 346 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:17,120 Speaker 1: was used to perform drop tests from heights ranging from 347 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: a hundred and seven to two hundred and sixty centimeters 348 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: in similar packaging. The combination of nesting cases and loose 349 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,240 Speaker 1: phone fill proved successful in this testing. Compression testing was 350 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:32,199 Speaker 1: also performed. Eventually, the second inner case was abandoned to 351 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: enable the use of more phone polystyrene, which added both 352 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:42,040 Speaker 1: cushion and buoyancy should things go awry at sea. I 353 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: can't imagine how stressed I would be if I were 354 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,440 Speaker 1: one of the people tasked with figuring this out. Why 355 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: are you doing this? It made me stress just reading 356 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: this guy and this the article I mentioned was written 357 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,199 Speaker 1: by one of the engineers that worked on this, and 358 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: it made me stress just reading his description of it, 359 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: even though he seemed very like, Okay, we're solving these problems, 360 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: we're figuring it out, we're being meticulous and thorough and careful, 361 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: but oh it was stressful. Uh So the packing procedure 362 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: to actually get the sculpture into this casing was just 363 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,359 Speaker 1: as carefully planned as the design of the packaging itself. 364 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: So for that previously broken hand that we mentioned, each 365 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 1: of the digits uh was wrapped in elastic bandage individually, 366 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 1: and then they carefully packed foam polystyrene in the gaps 367 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: between the fingers, and then the whole hand was wrapped again. 368 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: That's just one example of sort of the care that 369 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: they were taking. And the assembly of the wooden crate 370 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:42,600 Speaker 1: was carefully choreographed, like they had an exact number of 371 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 1: stages in order of stages that like, every piece had 372 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: to be put together as the sculpture was going into 373 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 1: the crate. Uh. And at multiple stages the foam polystyrene 374 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,400 Speaker 1: which was in the form of these dilute beads, was added. 375 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 1: And again there is more and more more detail of 376 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 1: this extraordinarily complex and careful effort in the article, which 377 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:06,480 Speaker 1: I can't stop talking about to everyone because I'm in 378 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:12,199 Speaker 1: love with that article. The exterior steel case was painted 379 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 1: white with blue markings and orange on top, because that's 380 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 1: the most easy to see color at sea. The case 381 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 1: was then escorted extremely slowly on trucks to the dock. 382 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: Police escorted it there, and it was cabled to the 383 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: deck of the transport ship with extreme care and precision. 384 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: And that journey across the ocean, like to get to 385 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: the docks, to get to the ship, to get across 386 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: the ocean to get to New York, was just incredibly kind. Uh. 387 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,080 Speaker 1: That engineer that wrote that article was saying, we did 388 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:46,120 Speaker 1: all this work, and thankfully our work, like our our 389 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:50,160 Speaker 1: skills were never really tested, because at no point did 390 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: the parcel ever shift like drop unprepared more than a 391 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: third of a centimeter so really all of that engineering effort, 392 00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 1: they were all happy to do it and they were 393 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: glad it was never we put to the test. But 394 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: we don't know if they really, like did everything perfect, 395 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,120 Speaker 1: Like if it had fallen, we don't know still if 396 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: it would have survived or not. Well in the sea 397 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 1: is also the sea moves a lot. There. I saw 398 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: a terrifying photograph of this case just strapped to the 399 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,359 Speaker 1: deck of the ship like it wasn't inside it was 400 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,359 Speaker 1: And that was all part of like the plan because 401 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:29,639 Speaker 1: it was waterproof, and it was determined that that was 402 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:31,159 Speaker 1: a safer way to do it than to put it 403 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: in a cargo hold. But oh my god, it was 404 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:39,119 Speaker 1: so stressful to look at these pictures. The p h 405 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: I was not the only art that was sent to 406 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,639 Speaker 1: New York by the Vatican. It traveled along with an 407 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:47,280 Speaker 1: even older sculpture, The Good Shepherd, But the p h 408 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,679 Speaker 1: I was really the star of the show. It was 409 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,960 Speaker 1: displayed against a blue lip background surrounded by vertical strings 410 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: of votive lights. Millions of people visited the pavilions to 411 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: view it, and you can find photograp grafts and home 412 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 1: movies taking up of the display online. Yeah, there are 413 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,440 Speaker 1: lots of those available. If you just do an Internet 414 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,160 Speaker 1: search for Pieta New York World's Fair, you'll instantly see 415 00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:14,920 Speaker 1: just dozens and dozens of in many cases really beautifully 416 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:19,199 Speaker 1: taken photographs of how it was displayed. And the World's 417 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: Fair appearance of the Roman Piezza was so incredibly popular 418 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 1: that the Vaticans started receiving a steady stream of requests 419 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: for the statue to be loaned for other events. And 420 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:32,880 Speaker 1: overwhelmed by all of this correspondence and unwilling to take 421 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,199 Speaker 1: the risk of having this prize work of art on 422 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:38,719 Speaker 1: a prolonged tour, the Vatican ended up issuing a statement 423 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: that michel Angelo's Pieta would stay in St. Peter's permanently 424 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:47,879 Speaker 1: once it returned home. Although the no travel announcement was 425 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,200 Speaker 1: made in part to keep the Pietas safe, trouble still 426 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,479 Speaker 1: befell the statue in nineteen seventy two. Uh And this 427 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: was originally the only thing I was going to talk about, 428 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: but obviously I got interested in lots of other stuff 429 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: along the way. Uh So, while visiting St. Peter's Basilica 430 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 1: in nineties two, a thirty three year old Hungarian man 431 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:11,400 Speaker 1: named Laslow toss, jumped over an altar railing and attacked 432 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,520 Speaker 1: the pieta. He was able to hit the statue twelve 433 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 1: times with a hammer. Mary's left arm and hand were damaged. 434 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 1: The arm was completely severed off, and her nose was 435 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,680 Speaker 1: broken into three parts. Her left eyelid, head and neck 436 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: were also damaged, and when the attack was over, more 437 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:30,160 Speaker 1: than one hundred fragments had been knocked from the statue. 438 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,600 Speaker 1: Poth was subdued by tourists and security guards and he 439 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,160 Speaker 1: was taken away. He yelled throughout the incident, I am 440 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. Christ has risen from the dead. He went 441 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,480 Speaker 1: on to claim that God had told him to destroy 442 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:48,280 Speaker 1: Mary's image because he, as Laslow slash Christ, is eternal, 443 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: he could have no mother. There was a great deal 444 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:56,199 Speaker 1: of debate about how to repair the statue, and in 445 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: fact whether it should be repaired at all. There were 446 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,680 Speaker 1: plenty of art historians making the case that it should 447 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 1: be left in its damaged state as sort of a 448 00:26:06,359 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: historical record of the attack. Eventually, however, the decision was 449 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,160 Speaker 1: made to perform a thorough and careful restoration which would 450 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 1: leave no obvious visual clues as to what had happened. 451 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: Over the course of five months, fragments and pieces were 452 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: identified and cataloged. Once that process was complete, a lab 453 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,879 Speaker 1: was set up around the statue so it could be 454 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: worked on without removing it from the chapel, and a 455 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,840 Speaker 1: combination of an invisible glue and marble powder UH was 456 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 1: used as a fixative, and restorers painstakingly placed each broken 457 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:43,480 Speaker 1: piece back into position. And they didn't even actually have 458 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: every missing piece, which they knew based on their months 459 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,959 Speaker 1: of inventory work that they had done prior to reassembly. 460 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 1: I'm so angry. I know, I know. This is the 461 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:58,639 Speaker 1: part where of like, oh, this did get sad at 462 00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 1: the end of a couple of reasons. One missing piece 463 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 1: did arrive in an anonymous parcel from the United States 464 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: of visiting tourists who had witnessed the attack took one 465 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,120 Speaker 1: of the pieces home, but then mailed it back over 466 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 1: feeling guilt over the superstitious souvenir. Many other tourists took 467 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,440 Speaker 1: shards as well, which were never never returned. And I 468 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: would like to say, what is wrong with you? Yeah, 469 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,479 Speaker 1: I as I was thinking about it, UH writing up 470 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:26,719 Speaker 1: these notes, I was just thinking about how many tiny 471 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: pieces of the Pieta are spread no telling where throughout 472 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: the globe, which is just an oddly shocking thought to me. Fortunately, 473 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: a mold of the piazza had also been made before 474 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,280 Speaker 1: this attack happened, and using that the remaining missing pieces 475 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,120 Speaker 1: were recreated and replaced. So after ten months of research 476 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: and restoration, so remember it took five months just to 477 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,000 Speaker 1: do the cataloging and then roughly another five to do 478 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:57,479 Speaker 1: the actual reassembly, the sculpture that had made michel Angelo 479 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: famous was back on display for public viewings, though once again, 480 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: as it had been at the World Fair, it was 481 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: placed behind protective bulletproof glass and it still is. As 482 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: for Laslow taught, his story is patchy and sad. At 483 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: the time of the attack, he was a former geologist, 484 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 1: unemployed at the time of the incident, and deemed to 485 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: be mentally unstable. He claimed, as he shouted during the 486 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:24,320 Speaker 1: assault on the Pieta to beat Jesus Christ and sometimes Michaelangelo. 487 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:26,680 Speaker 1: And I want to clarify that my what is wrong 488 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:30,560 Speaker 1: with you is about nondisturbed people who took pieces of 489 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,960 Speaker 1: a century old piece of art home with them. Yeah, 490 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: that was what I presumed you. I just wanted to 491 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: make sure because I know somebody's going to write us 492 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: an email about it. And I'm talking about the tourists 493 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 1: who took pieces of at home. Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. 494 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: Like I said, I just imagined how many tiny pieces 495 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 1: are spread throughout the world when they should be back 496 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: with statue. But uh yeah, talks. Story is continues to 497 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 1: be sad. Uh. In the years prior to this violent outburst, 498 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: he had moved from Hungary to Australia. Although he did 499 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,600 Speaker 1: not speak any English, his degree as a geologist was 500 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 1: not recognized in Australia and so he ended up having 501 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: to work factory jobs. He did, in fact, try to 502 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: unionize some of those jobs, and he worked on that 503 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: until he was in a violent fight in nineteen sixty seven, 504 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:20,080 Speaker 1: and in that fight he fractured his skull. He vanished 505 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: for some time after that injury, and then he would 506 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: turn up in familiar spots, though only briefly, before venturing 507 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: to Italy in nineteen seventy two. And it sounds like 508 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,920 Speaker 1: the people that knew him found him to be very 509 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 1: different when he reappeared than he had been prior to 510 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 1: that injury. No criminal charges were ever filed against him. 511 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: He was, and said, instead sent to a psychiatric institution 512 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: for two years. When he was released in nineteen seventy five, 513 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 1: he was deported back to Australia. His story goes cold 514 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,840 Speaker 1: after that. It's inspired various creative works, and there are 515 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 1: certainly corners of the Internet where tall tales of sightings 516 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: and theories about his life after he left Europe just 517 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 1: abound it. It appears that tough all but vanished once 518 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 1: he got back to Australia. Yeah, we just there is 519 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 1: like no thread of what happened to him after that. Uh, 520 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: troubling on a variety of levels. Um, So we don't 521 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,000 Speaker 1: know if he could still be alive, if he you know, 522 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 1: went on to let a completely different life, if he 523 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 1: lives a life of anonymity. We just have no idea. 524 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: It always seemed to me reading about this because I remember, 525 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,520 Speaker 1: I mean, I was born in the very early seventies, 526 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 1: so I remember this was an event that was talked 527 00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: about a lot in my family. My mother's side of 528 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: the family particularly is very devout Roman Catholic and and 529 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,040 Speaker 1: this was something that would come up in conversation often. 530 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 1: And I remember, like I always had questions about the perpetrator, 531 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,920 Speaker 1: and they never had answers but and now that I 532 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,640 Speaker 1: have done a little bit more research, it appears no 533 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 1: one has answers, and it always seems sort of cruel 534 00:30:56,840 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: that when he got out of a mental institution, he 535 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: was deported and there was no further care or concern 536 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,160 Speaker 1: about his treatment. Uh. But yeah, so we don't know. 537 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,720 Speaker 1: What we do know is that Michelangelo's Pieta is still 538 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 1: currently on display in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. You 539 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: can go visit it, and if you can't go visit 540 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: it in person, like I said, there is a Pieta 541 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: virtual tour that you can visit online and zoom in 542 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:25,320 Speaker 1: and see it fairly up close. There's also been a 543 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 1: number of just spectacular photographs taken of it over the years, 544 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: so it is easy to to look at and examine 545 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 1: and appreciate the incredible work for yourself. It's it's one 546 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:38,240 Speaker 1: of those pieces of sculpture that, um when you hear 547 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,320 Speaker 1: people talk about it, even people that are not religious 548 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:46,480 Speaker 1: speak about it, in incredible having a just an incredible 549 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: sense of a sort of otherworldly experience because it is 550 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: so just indescribably beautiful and sort of moving. So it's 551 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: a piece of love. I think it's gorgeous. I love 552 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,920 Speaker 1: to talk about a little bit of art here and there. Yeah, 553 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,280 Speaker 1: I heard you also have some cool listener mail. I do. 554 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: I have some fun listener mail. This one comes from 555 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: our listener, Joshua. He says, Hello, Tracy and Holly, thank 556 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:13,600 Speaker 1: you for your work on stuff you missed in history. 557 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 1: I've enjoyed it for a couple of years and have 558 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,640 Speaker 1: dived into the archives in search of little treasures. I 559 00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 1: just listened to the Mind Disaster episode in which someone 560 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: lamented about how most requests are about wars and disasters. 561 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 1: That was me. Yeah, that was Tracy. Some of it 562 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: may be morbid fascination, but some of it, and I 563 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,000 Speaker 1: speak for myself. Here is also a look back on 564 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,840 Speaker 1: what we survived and when humanity has shown its best. 565 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,120 Speaker 1: Even in the Mind Disaster, the countryside of two countries 566 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:40,680 Speaker 1: showed up to help. Also, those who do not learn 567 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 1: the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them. Besides, 568 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:45,680 Speaker 1: I also used a little gem of knowledge glean from 569 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,480 Speaker 1: your show to win a battle in Super Fight. So 570 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: he says, bring on the shipwrecks, the disasters, the wars 571 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:54,160 Speaker 1: and accidents, Bring on the plagues, the disappearances, the mythology, 572 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: and the crimes, because in each one of those we 573 00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 1: see many stand to make something wrong into something right. 574 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:01,360 Speaker 1: But what was really interesting is that we also got 575 00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: a parcel with this letter, and it says, as a 576 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:05,880 Speaker 1: thank you for all you've done for free for me, 577 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 1: I give you something to enjoy for yourself and a 578 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: few friends. I call it the hand Huggy the mitt 579 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: for lovers, and it is this ingenious and wondrous thing 580 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 1: which is a little sort of pocket with a cuff 581 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: on it so you can you and your beloved can 582 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 1: hold hands in the winter and nobody has cold hands 583 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: you can. It fits two hands together and that way 584 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,840 Speaker 1: everybody's got warmth. I love this idea. It's so cute. 585 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,240 Speaker 1: Uh If if you want to check it out, you 586 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 1: can hand Huggy dot com. And his mother, who works 587 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: at Eulogia Studio, made the prototype and now he produces them. 588 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,160 Speaker 1: I love it. It's so cute. We also got some 589 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,840 Speaker 1: really beautiful postcards which I won't read, but I'm going 590 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:50,360 Speaker 1: to put them on our social feed so people can 591 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: see them. From Sonja. We got a beautiful one from Canada, 592 00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,720 Speaker 1: and we got another lovely one from I think it 593 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 1: is Lynda aid at Lindy. I think it's a Lindy 594 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 1: and I'm sorry. It's once again a case where she 595 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:08,200 Speaker 1: probably wrote it very leegibly, but the postal service has 596 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:11,440 Speaker 1: put marks over it. And this is a postcard from 597 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,680 Speaker 1: Cape Town. So thank you for all of our listeners 598 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:17,480 Speaker 1: that send us wonderful fun things. I'm totally using my 599 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:20,320 Speaker 1: hand huggy, that's for sure, and I wanted to mention 600 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:23,239 Speaker 1: he Joseph talked about how this came about because it's 601 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: considered like a pocket for lovers. But when I was 602 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,040 Speaker 1: sharing it with Julie Douglas, who works here with us, 603 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:29,879 Speaker 1: her first thought was that her little girl would love 604 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,240 Speaker 1: it because little kids like the whole hands at their parents. 605 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:34,200 Speaker 1: But it's cold out and they know want cold hands. 606 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: So thank you, thank you, Thank you too, Joshua. I 607 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,959 Speaker 1: really appreciate it as though, Tracy. So if you would 608 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:42,480 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you can do that. We 609 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,919 Speaker 1: are in History podcast a house to works dot com. 610 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:47,560 Speaker 1: We're also at Facebook dot com, slash misst in history 611 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,360 Speaker 1: at misst in History, hindress dot com, slash mist in History, 612 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:53,640 Speaker 1: missed in History dot tumbler dot com and We're on 613 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,560 Speaker 1: Instagram at mist in History. If he would like to 614 00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,279 Speaker 1: visit us, you can do so at misston history dot com. 615 00:34:59,320 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 1: We have an archive I of every episode of the 616 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,680 Speaker 1: show that has ever happened. We also have show notes 617 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: for any of the episodes that feature Tracy and myself, 618 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:10,239 Speaker 1: and occasionally there's another goodie here or there. If you 619 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:12,759 Speaker 1: would like to do some additional research, you can visit 620 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:14,839 Speaker 1: our parents site, which is how stuff works dot com. 621 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,279 Speaker 1: So we encourage you come and visit us at how 622 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:24,280 Speaker 1: to works dot com and missed in history dot com 623 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,760 Speaker 1: for more on this and thousands of other topics because 624 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:40,320 Speaker 1: it how stuff works dot com.