Page 431 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

ROME : THE V A TIC AN AND TR ASTE VERE  429

Creation of the Sun and Moon
Michelangelo depicts God as a dynamic
but terrifying figure commanding the sun
to shed light on the earth.

Original Sin
This shows Adam and Eve tasting the forbidden fruit from
the Tree of Knowledge, and their expulsion from Paradise.
Michelangelo represents Satan as a snake with the body
of a woman.

Restoration of the Sistine Ceiling
The restorers of the Sistine Chapel used computers, photo­
graphy and spectrum technology to analyse the fresco
before cleaning began. They separated Michelangelo’s work
from that of later restorers and discovered that the restorers
had attempted to clean the ceiling with materials ranging
from bread to retsina wine. The new restoration revealed the
familiarly dusky, eggshell­cracked figures to have creamy
skins, lustrous hair and to be dressed in brightly coloured,
luscious robes: “a Benetton Michel angelo” mocked one critic,
claiming that a layer of varnish that the artist had added to
darken the colours had been removed. However, after
examining the work, most experts agreed that the new
colours probably matched those painted by Michelangelo. A restorer cleaning the Libyan Sibyl

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