Michelangelo
Christ the Redeemer
1519-1520
Only Michelangelo had the power and courage to put a nude statue of Christ in a church at the heart of Rome. The muscled marble flesh of his all too human son of god flashes with life and pathos. It stands in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, an ancient temple that became a Christian church, and combines the heritage of an ancient world that revered male nudity with Michelangelo's personal faith. His daring portrayal of Christ as a real, vulnerable, fully enfleshed man has yet to find full acceptance from the church – the ridiculous gilded covering of Christ's genitals was added long after his death, and still blemishes this sacred nude.
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