Page 247 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Rome

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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
Restorers used computers, photo graphy, and spectral analysis to inspect the
fresco before cleaning began. They were therefore able to detect and remove
the changes previous restorers had made to Michelangelo’s original work.
Analysis showed that the ceiling had been cleaned with materials ranging
from bread to retsina wine. The restoration then revealed the familiarly dusky,
eggshell-cracked figures to have creamy skins and lustrous
hair and to be dressed in brightly colored, luscious robes:
“a Benetton Michel angelo,” mocked one critic, claiming
that a layer of varnish that the artist had added to darken
the colors had been removed. However, after examining
the work, most experts agreed that the new colors
probably matched those painted by Michelangelo.

A restorer cleaning the Libyan Sibyl

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