alfieb
08-05-2014, 11:31 AM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11009729/Outcry-after-ancient-Greek-statues-snapped-in-tulle-and-feathers.html
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02995/Performance-Bronzi_2995275b.jpg
http://res.artnet.com/news-upload/2014/08/2014-august-4-riace-bronzes-2.jpg
http://res.artnet.com/news-upload/2014/08/2014-august-4-riace-bronzes.jpg
They are among Italy's most precious archaeological treasures.
The ancient Greek statues known as the Riace Bronzes were discovered off the coast of Calabria in 1972 and finally went on display in southern Italy last year after a lengthy restoration of the museum where the formidable nudes are now housed.
Now the 2,500-year old statues are at the centre of a new controversy after veteran photographer Gerald Bruneau dressed the virile, bearded warriors in a white tulle veil, fuchsia boa and leopard print underwear.
"I love to be provocative," Bruneau, who is based in Rome, said on Sunday.
"I am always looking for new adventures." Simonetta Binomi, Superintendent of Reggio Calabria's National Archaeological Museum, said the photos were in "bad taste" and was adamant she had not authorised it.
But Ms Binomi admitted she was a fan of Bruneau's previous shots of Antonio Canova's statue of Paolina Bonaparte at Rome's Borghese Gallery, and had granted the photographer permission to take one photo with the white veil draped on one of the statues during a visit by foreign media in January.
She was horrified to see several others published at the weekend.
"Without my knowledge, he took other images that are terrible," Binomi said. "When the guards realised what had happened they stopped him but evidently he had already taken several shots. I see they have been published and I don't know how." Earlier this week the statues made headlines when organisers of the 2015 Milan Expo including art critic Vittorio Sgarbi demanded they be transferred to Milan for the global event from Reggio Calabria, where he claimed they were "hostages of the "Ndrangheta mafia" and generated little tourist traffic.
The Riace Bronzes are remnants of Magna Graecia, the Hellenic civilisation that once flourished in what is now southern Italy, and have been painstakingly restored. They were discovered by a Rome chemist who caused a sensation when he found them while snorkelling in shallow water about 200 yards from Monasterace in 1972.
The superintendent said she feared the timely publication of the pictures was part of a broader campaign to remove statues from Calabria to other museums.
"Evidently they are forgetting that these statues are 2,500 years old and they have spent 2000 of them under water. They are fragile," Ms Binomi said.
At the Calabria museum the statues are displayed in a climatically controlled environment and visitors pass through a filtration room that cleans off dust and pollution. Once inside tourists can gaze at them for only 20 minutes to protect them. The museum had nearly 17,000 visitors during the month of July.
Personally, I think he should be imprisoned.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02995/Performance-Bronzi_2995275b.jpg
http://res.artnet.com/news-upload/2014/08/2014-august-4-riace-bronzes-2.jpg
http://res.artnet.com/news-upload/2014/08/2014-august-4-riace-bronzes.jpg
They are among Italy's most precious archaeological treasures.
The ancient Greek statues known as the Riace Bronzes were discovered off the coast of Calabria in 1972 and finally went on display in southern Italy last year after a lengthy restoration of the museum where the formidable nudes are now housed.
Now the 2,500-year old statues are at the centre of a new controversy after veteran photographer Gerald Bruneau dressed the virile, bearded warriors in a white tulle veil, fuchsia boa and leopard print underwear.
"I love to be provocative," Bruneau, who is based in Rome, said on Sunday.
"I am always looking for new adventures." Simonetta Binomi, Superintendent of Reggio Calabria's National Archaeological Museum, said the photos were in "bad taste" and was adamant she had not authorised it.
But Ms Binomi admitted she was a fan of Bruneau's previous shots of Antonio Canova's statue of Paolina Bonaparte at Rome's Borghese Gallery, and had granted the photographer permission to take one photo with the white veil draped on one of the statues during a visit by foreign media in January.
She was horrified to see several others published at the weekend.
"Without my knowledge, he took other images that are terrible," Binomi said. "When the guards realised what had happened they stopped him but evidently he had already taken several shots. I see they have been published and I don't know how." Earlier this week the statues made headlines when organisers of the 2015 Milan Expo including art critic Vittorio Sgarbi demanded they be transferred to Milan for the global event from Reggio Calabria, where he claimed they were "hostages of the "Ndrangheta mafia" and generated little tourist traffic.
The Riace Bronzes are remnants of Magna Graecia, the Hellenic civilisation that once flourished in what is now southern Italy, and have been painstakingly restored. They were discovered by a Rome chemist who caused a sensation when he found them while snorkelling in shallow water about 200 yards from Monasterace in 1972.
The superintendent said she feared the timely publication of the pictures was part of a broader campaign to remove statues from Calabria to other museums.
"Evidently they are forgetting that these statues are 2,500 years old and they have spent 2000 of them under water. They are fragile," Ms Binomi said.
At the Calabria museum the statues are displayed in a climatically controlled environment and visitors pass through a filtration room that cleans off dust and pollution. Once inside tourists can gaze at them for only 20 minutes to protect them. The museum had nearly 17,000 visitors during the month of July.
Personally, I think he should be imprisoned.