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These forums are being phased out. The new, improved Michelangelo Forum is at classicalmusicforums.com.
Posted by Jessica Mang on September 19, 19101 at 11:27:42:
In Reply to: Need Help about damage to the Pieta!!!! posted by Jami on April 03, 19101 at 17:37:08:
Laszlo Toth was the thirty-three-year-old Australian geologist of Hungarian birth who single-handedly hammered out the first principle of mail art: NO MORE MASTERPIECES. On May 21, 1972, Whitsunday (or Pentecost, the celebration of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles), at 11:30 a.m., as a crowd of worshippers and pilgrims waited to receive the Pope's blessing, Toth dashed past five black-uniformed guards, climbed over the marble balustrade in front of the Pieta in St. Peters, and gave Michelangelo's 473-year-old Mother (valued at $10 million) fifteen s with a sledgehammer that had been concealed under his raincoat, all the while shouting "I am Jesus Christ! I am Jesus Christ!"
The Times ran a front-page photo of Toth (hammer in hand) astride the just one column over from Nixon and Kissinger chatting about peace in a Salzburg garden. The papers called Toth: Madman, Lunatic, in, Fanatic, Vandal, Sociopath, Nihilist, and compared him to Manson, Oswald, Sirhan, Ray, and Bremer. The media concluded that the incident raised two important questions: Can the damage be repaired? and Where did protective measures fail?
Many art lovers had a difficult time controlling their grief. One art historian devoted an entire lecture to Pieta slides, but with the first picture both he and his students burst into tears. Meanwhile, back at St. Peters, a bullet-proof plexigl screen was installed at the entrance to the chapel where the Pieta stood. Museums all over the world responded in horror and made expensive increases in security measures.
: For my Art cl we get extra credit if we can find out the name of the guy who damaged the Pieta, what year he did it, and why he did. I think it happened in 1972 but i'm not sure. If you know please tell me, I really need this points to help bring my grade up to an A!!!!!