European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Art masterpiece resurrected Veronese on display in Paris by Marilyn August the associated press a colossal banquet scene by venetian master Veronese has returned to Public View at the louvre in Paris after a near fatal crash that sliced the Canvas in five places. But some prominent French artists Are crying foul saying the three year restoration that removed centuries of Patina and grit altered the work s character and May have changed some of the original colors. The marriage at Gina the largest Renaissance painting in France has been put on display until March 29 along with 15 other Veronese works from the museum s permanent collection. Completed in a record 15 months Lime in 1563 to decorate an entire Wall of a Benedictine monastery in Venice the giant painting a 22 feet by 32 feet a depicts the biblical repast at Cana where Jesus Christ miraculously transformed water into wine. The painting has been hailed As the first banquet scene of modern times and considered a masterpiece because of its spectacularly symmetrical architecture perspective and attention to detail. However the meticulous cleaning Job which has Laid Bare magnificent hues of red Blue Green and Gold has drawn fire from Art purists who contend it has destroyed the work s ambiance and fundamental character. A group of 160 artists calling themselves the. Association to protect the integrity of artistic heritage headed by the respected artist Jean Bazaine published a statement accusing the louvre of violating the painting s integrity. A similar controversy erupted during the restoration of Michelangelo s sistine Chapel in Rome. Yet curators critics and Art historians have argued convincingly that the cleaning has breathed new life into the work. Quot i think that viewers will now be Able to appreciate Veronese s painterly skills As Well As the work s complexity Quot said Pierre Schneider Art critic for the weekly news Magazine i express. A team of restorers wielding Cotton swabs and experimenting with special solvents removed countless layers of grime dust and varnish that had accumulated Veronese s Quot marriage at Cana Quot has been restored and is Back on display at the louvre. A amps file on the surface of the Canvas Over the centuries turning Bright reds greens and golds into a gloomy study in dark yellow and faded Browns. Visitors need just turn their Heads to see the toll that time takes on fragile Art. Several of the other Veronese on show have not been restored. The restored work is breathtaking. For example the sumptuous patterns of the silk and brocade fabrics Are clearly visible As Are the musical instruments eating utensils dishes food on the table Quot this in t a restoration it s a veritable resurrection Quot said Nathalie voile the chief curator who oversaw the project. Quot the main discovery was that the work was a veritable symphony of  voile told reporters that the most dramatic change in the painting involved a Large male figure standing in the forefront and wearing a turban. Quot for centuries this figure was dressed in a Reddish Brown Robe that turned out be Green once the top layers of paint and varnish had been removed Quot voile said. A hazy brooding sky turned into the Lapis Lazuli Blue of a Clear summer Day. Also on show a on the opposite Side of the Salle Des stats where the restored work is on show a is a life size a Ray of the painting. The a Ray tells the Story of the tempestuous history of the marriage at Cana. First there Are dozens of holes from the wooden nails which attached the mural to the Abbey Wall until Napoleon s soldiers Tore it Down to take Back to France As War Booty. The a Ray also reveals some of the work s Long hidden secrets. One stiff figure dressed in Black turned out to have been created on paper and then glued onto the Canvas. The a Ray however was taken before the painting s most recent Brush with destruction. Last june As workers checked its Wall anchoring a specially built Tower supporting the painting jiggled sending a powerful Ripple through the 2-ton Canvas which then crashed to the floor. Quot i was t there when it happened but when i arrived 20 minutes later everyone was in tears Quot recalled Pierre Rosenberg head painting curator of the louvre. Quot it was a very emotional and dramatic moment. Fortunately the damage turned out to be minor. But because the Canvas was wrapped in protective Gauze we would t find out until a few Days  artists who change the Ordinary into something Newby Graham Heathcote the associated press a Man s Necktie. Rubber boots an ashtray a tub of a tips and a Bank note painted red and framed. Yes some modern Art is hard to understand. Quot it is difficult just As the technology of the world around us is hard to understand Quot said Nicholas de Ville a lecturer in visual arts who organized an unusual show at Southampton England University s John Hansard gallery. The 15 artists from six countries who Are represented in the show turn everyday objects such As a Jar of preserves or a steel locker into something new either by changing them or simply by displaying them on their own. Quot the e University building next to the gallery is concerned with computer Chip manufacturing. If i was try ing to understand what is going on in there i would have As much difficulty As an Ordinary person in the Art gallery Quot de Ville said. Quot both require a late 20th-Century education to understand the significance of what is being done there is no Way round it. It s important for Art galleries to show what is going on now just As people in schools and colleges Are computer literate. That s part of a sophisticated culture. Quot Art like this is purposely a provocation As to what Art is. The intention is not to turn people off but to try to persuade them to ask questions Quot said de Ville of Goldsmiths College London University. Quot the sense of what is real and what is representation is becoming More difficult in our culture. We see catastrophes on television coming into our living rooms As if we were at the scene. Quot take one of these artists the american i Laim Steinbach who exhibits a shelf with a Cereal Box and two wooden hat holds f be presents these objects As a kind of sculptural Relief. Because we see them in an Art gallery we have to change our Frame of thinking about them. Quot we also have to consider that a traditional painting or sculpture May have taken years to make and is a repository of value that a Cereal packet is not Quot de Ville said. Quot the elements we see in everyday life have Little or no value but when they Are put together on a shelf in a museum they assume significance. First the artist is confronting the notion of value and precious objects. Second the value of everyday objects becomes More than their monetary value because we Are infusing them with our memories of them and their place in the Domestic  the Southampton show is called refusing to surface Art and the transfiguration of the Ordinary. Quot i think of refusing to surface As a reference to artists who because they Don t paint or sculpt in the traditional sense refuse to put themselves in the historical categories of Art. Their works Are problematic Quot de Ville said. Quot in making Art which is so close to the everyday they Are rejecting the Normal position of the Avant Garde which is to stand on a High Point and look Down on culture. Instead they Are embedded deeply in the culture using everyday artefacts for their Art Quot the show s Centrepiece is the earliest work a toy Globe which French artist Yves Klein painted Bright Blue in 1959 and called Blue Earth. Quot there Are two strands to the Globe Quot said Stephen Foster the gallery director. Quot one is that Klein took something Ordinary and by changing it with paint he gave it mystical significance. By putting it in an unusual context As Here in a display Case he gave it humor As  Klein a jazz pianist and judo instructor who had no formal Art training was one of the Foremost artists after world War ii to Challenge accepted ideas. Klein who died in 1962, produced pictures with a Blowtorch and directed nude models to press their paint covered bodies against a Plain Canvas and he once exhibited empty rooms in Paris. 12 stripes Magazine december 17, 1992