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 Michelangelo's The Pietà New York World Fair Issue Scott 384 and 386 (1964) A story appeared on Friday, November 29, on the Vatican News website, reporting on restoration work done at Saint Peter’s Basilica on the display of Michelangelo's iconic sculpture, The Pietà. The work included the installation of nine new shatterproof and bulletproof panes of glass to protect the work. The new glass also provides greater transparency, and new lighting to illuminate the scene has helped make this masterpiece “shine again”. As part of the upgrading done on the protective enclosure, the original glass, installed over fifty years ago in 1972 following an attempt to deface the masterpiece, was replaced. The work was undertaken by the Fabbrica di San Pietro, with the upgrades addressing both aesthetic and structural concerns, as the glass had naturally clouded over the past half-century. The resulting work provides both greater visibility and enhanced security for the statue. The In addition, since scaffolding was in place for the restoration project, the Fabbrica di San Pietro also completed a series of additional restoration works, including work on the frescoes within the Pietà Chapel by Giovanni Lanfranco (created between 1629 and 1632), as well as increased security for the arched stained-glass window at the back of the chapel. The restoration project was completed in less than six months. All this work within the Pietà Chapel brings renewed interest and focus on Michelangelo's Pietà, which depicts the sorrowful Blessed Mother cradling the body of her dead Son. The work was sculpted by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1498-99, when he was just 23 years old. An interesting historical note is the ribbon descending from the Virgin's shoulder reads: "michael āgelvs bonarotvs florent facieba" (“Michelangelo Bonarroti of Florence made it”), the only signed work by the great Renaissance master. The Pietà was placed in its current location on December 3, 1749, and has remained on display there since that time, except when it was transported to the New York World's Fair in 1964 and 1965. Funding for the restoration project was provided through donations from a group of entrepreneurs and professionals from Italy's Piedmont region.  Detail from The Pietà 40th Eucharistic Congress Issue Scott 532 (1973) REFERENCES: |
