#michelangelo

#michelangelo

Pebble Picasso: Portraits Made From Found Pebbles and Stones by Justin BatemanBritish artist Justin Bateman specializes in creating artwork using pebbles and stones found on site. During the pandemic, Bateman found himself stuck in Thailand - he was planning on staying in Chiang Mai for a week, but found himself remaining there for nearly ten months.So Bateman decided to create his pebble and stone portraits in various places around Chiang Mai that no one but the locals would find and appreciate."The farmer whose portrait I did was most perplexed when I showed him the work," said Bateman to The Sun, "He loved it, but he seemed confused as to why I did it. You can’t sell it, and few people get to see it live, so it’s a bit pointless… but that’s the point. A sandcastle or a snowman are just as important as Michelangelo’s David - even more important, because you made them."Image: @pebblepicassos#JustinBateman #pebble #temporaryart #ephemeralart #stoneart #landart #rock #ChaingMai #Thailand

Museum Used Flesh-Eating Bacteria to Clean Michelangelo's Statues Because They're Full of Human CorpseArt historians have long noticed that marble sculptures by Michelangelo on the tomb of Duke Alessandro de Medici were staining badly, but it was only in 2019 that they discovered the gruesome reason: the improperly embalmed corpse within was leaking.Thankfully, science has the solution in form of flesh-eating bacteria:Anna Rosa Sprocati, a biologist at the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, hand-picked from her catalog of more than 1,000 bacteria to test against the stains. They had successes and failures, with some of the bacteria eating not just the human remains, but the delicate Carrera marble, too. But the chapel's museum believed that bacteria would be more effective than harsh chemicals or abrasives.Sprocati's all-female team picked the eight most promising bacteria and tested them on a gridded section behind the altar of the church. The ones that worked were then put on the tomb of Giuliano di Lorenzo, specifically the statues of Night and Day. The bacteria successfully cleaned Night's hair and eyes of accumulated residue.Image: eos1/Wikimedia Commons#flesheatingbacteria #Michelangelo #Medici #marblestatue #bacteria