RESTORATION OF RELIGION

RESTORATION OF RELIGION Much-needed Task I N 1509, Michelangelo (1475-1564), painter, sculptor, architect, and poet, was commissioned by Pope Julian to design and paint the frescoes for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The project was completed in 1512. In the 450 years that have elapsed since then, the original colours used by Michelangelo have become considerably subdued and, therefore, distorted. One reason for this was a coating of animal glue which was spread over the surface of the fresco in the 17th century to keep the plaster from flaking. This glue then collected centuries of soot from the torches used to illuminate the chapel before the advent of electricity. Under Pope John Paul II, the Vatican ordered restoration of the frescoes. At the beginning of 1986, the first results of the cleaning work were displayed to the public. Renovation revealed some startling things about Michelangelo’s original work. The master was previously believed to have used subdued, twilight colours, but it now appears that the colours he used were so vibrant, it was decided that softer lighting would be needed when the cleaning would finish in 1988. Art historians had to revise their whole concept of the Florentine school which Michelangelo represented, for the Florentines have been considered masters of design, but not of colour. American journalist, George Armstrong writes in The Guardian Weekly (February 16, 1986) that the axiom of Tintoretto (1518-1594) ‘draw like Michelangelo, paint like Titian’— ‘has been thrown off balance by the Sistine’s restored colours.’ The renovation, Armstrong says, “has revealed Michelangelo in a new light.” Further restorations culminating in 1999 had a profound effect on art lovers and historians, as colours and details that had not been seen for centuries were revealed. It has been claimed that as a result “Every book on Michelangelo will have to be rewritten”. In very much the same way, the nature of true religion has become distorted over the centuries. Originally, religion is revealed by God and taught in its pure form by the prophets. Then, when it falls into the hands of ordinary men, they corrupt its true message, making it True faith, as painted by the prophets, springs from the heart, but religion in its corrupted form becomes a mere enactment of rites and ceremonies, devoid of any true spirit.