Read the article and then answer the quiz questions below.
[1] The Last Judgment is Michelangelo’s famous fresco in the Sistine Chapel. It is getting its biggest facelift in more than three decades. The goal is to remove a light residue left by sweaty visitors. The restoration of the 16th century painting aims to bring back the vibrant colours of the work, which is nearly 14 metres tall. Visitors will still be able to access the Sistine Chapel during the restoration. But the fresco is covered by a large scaffolding, which has a copy of the work for people to see.
[2] Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta described the white layer being removed as “a bit like a cataract”, during a press tour of the project. Jatta said the layer covered “the entire 180 square-metre surface” of the work. The renovation is due to be completed before Easter.
[3] The Vatican Museums said in a statement that the substance was “invisible to the naked eye” but had “dimmed” the piece’s original colours. The fresco is being dabbed with distilled water through a layer of Japanese paper to remove the substance. It has been identified as calcium lactate. “Perspiration has increased in recent years because of climate change. Due to perspiration we produce lactic acid ... which becomes calcium lactate,” Fabio Morresi told reporters. He is the head of scientific research at the Vatican Museums.
[4] Vatican Museums staff said measures had already been taken to reduce the number of visitors present at once in the Sistine Chapel. This is also the place where cardinals meet in closed-door conclaves to elect new popes. Morresi described the difference in the fresco before and after the treatment as being like “two different worlds”. He said working on the masterpiece was an “emotional” process.
[5] Morresi said the restoration felt personal for him because he was hired in 1988 when the last major facelift of the Sistine Chapel was just beginning, and he is now nearly at retirement age. “It’s marvellous ... There’s a piece of me in here,” Morresi shared.
[6] The Last Judgment was painted between 1536 and 1541. It is the centrepiece of the Sistine Chapel and is located just behind the altar. The pope at the time, Paul III, was said to have been so impressed by the work that he fell on his knees and asked for divine forgiveness when he first saw it. The current project is being sponsored by US donors and is part of a major overhaul of the Sistine Chapel that began in 2010.
[7] Work is normally carried out when the Sistine Chapel is closed to visitors and without the need for scaffolding. But Vatican Museums officials said this was not possible for The Last Judgment because of the scale of the work.
Content provided by the British Council
