Resistance to the True Colors

For years the art community has praised Michelangelo’s genius in using somber colors and tones in the Sistine Chapel. Such phrases as “Michelangelo has never shown himself to be a colorist”(1) has been the norm.

During the 1980’s a restoration project was launched to clean off the accumulated soot and dirt from centuries of burning candles in the Sistine Chapel. In the past, glue and varnish had been applied to Michelangelo’s famous fresco in order to protect it. Not only had this varnish protected it, but it had also provided a welcome home to accumulated layers of dirt.

As the layers of grime were slowly pealed off, the true colors of Michelangelo shone forth. Instead of being somber and dark, bright and vibrant colors screamed from the ceiling. The art community was shocked in disbelief. Some even reacted to this restoration project claiming that it was distorting and destroying a classic masterpiece! They proposed returning the paintings to the dark muffled colors of the “real” Michelangelo.

Restoration projects typically face this type of resistance. Often the encrusted layers of tradition and interpretation which “protect” the “truth” and which have become so familiar are frequently more important to a person than the actual truth. For this reason, restoration movements typically encounter opposition as they try to remove the accumulated grime.

The disciple of Jesus must never be afraid of searching for the truth which lies buried beneath layers of human opinion and tradition. Security exists in God’s Word, not in what is comfortable and familiar. Let’s renew our commitment to studying God’s Word and to discovering what He intended to communicate to us. Let’s continue to rediscover “what it meant” as opposed to “what I can make it come to mean for me.”

(1)Russell Sturgis, “Michelangelo” in The Encyclopedia Americana Vol. 19 (1949): 16.

Barry Newton, Copyright © 1998 - 1999

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