Mormon church condemned for 'photoshopping' Italian master's painting of Virgin Mary to cover up cleavage
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: A famous 17th-century portrait of the Virgin Mary titled 'The Holy Night' has been altered by the Church of the Latter-day Saint (LDS) to make her clothes more modest, drawing criticism. In addition to the modified photo of the artwork from the 1650s, painted by the Italian master Carlo Maratta, the LDS has also offered 18 nativity scene photos to its members, available for download during the Christmas season.
Mary, as depicted in Maratta's original artwork, is accompanied by three angels as she holds the baby Jesus close to her chest. She also shows a hint of cleavage as she bends over her baby in the artist's rendition. Before being made available to churchgoers, the vintage artwork's photo was altered, with the angels removed and the woman's neckline raised, Daily Mail reports.
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The 'Holy Night' is one of the stunning works painted by Maratta and presents a beautiful nativity scene. Mary is pictured holding Jesus to her chest, while five small angels are seen admiringly watching the son of God from behind Mary. When Our Lady uncovers the child so the small angels can look at him, she has a pleasing smile on her face.
The Salt Lake Tribute claims that the LDS photograph of the artwork was first modified in 2016, but the changes weren't seen until recently. The church's decision to 'photoshop' the famous painting has drawn criticism from dissidents, notably columnist Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune. Monson claimed that the change conveyed "aforementioned message to women that there’s something shameful about their bodies." As cited by Daily Mail, "We get it. The church is all-in on modesty. But the attendant shame put upon women coming alongside that overemphasis on keeping themselves covered backfires on the church, not just in the harm it creates among women and women’s self-esteem, but also in sexualizing them as objects or, even worse, possessions,"
Monson also contended that there was "nothing wrong with respecting women; nothing wrong with modesty, but when the church drapes a shirt over the Virgin Mary in classic art, eliminating the slightest bit of cleavage, what exactly does that do? It draws more attention to that form, sexualizes it, even in a rendering that depicts the mother of the Lord in complete innocence, adoring her newborn." The columnist claimed the church's use of the image to convey its message was "overwrought and overbearing" and "more harm than good."
Carlo Maratta was one of the masters of Baroque classicism
Carlo Maratta was one of the greatest masters of Baroque classicism and one of the most prominent painters of the Roman school in the latter half of the 17th century. His final paintings are an early example of "arcadian good taste," a movement that would rule Roman art in the first half of the 18th century and is named after the Academy of Arcadians, of which he was a member. Maratta went to Rome early to begin his studies. His first piece of public art, the Nativity, earned him his reputation as a talented artist. A few years later, Pope Alexander VII took notice of him, and from that point on, he received a steady stream of significant commissions for altarpieces for Italian churches including 'The Mystery of the Trinity Revealed to St. Augustine' (c. 1655), 'The Appearance of the Virgin to St. Philip Neri' (c. 1675), and 'The Virgin with SS. Charles and Ignatius' (c. 1685), as per Britannica.