Michelangelo’s Italian Renaissance masterpiece David-Appolo an earlier example of the famous Statue of David, which is located in the city of Florence and considered one the best early examples of his sculptural work, has had his genitals pixelated with a digital mosaic on Chinese television. This shows the world just how far censorship in modern China has come along.
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Museum of China 67 masterpieces of renowned artists, mostly fine works from the Renaissance period are on show. The exhibition features works by artists including Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello Sanzio and Michelangelo. It opened its doors last Friday and is said to be the most valuable collection ever to be put on show at Beijing’s National Museum of China. The move stirred debate on the Internet, with netizens mocking CCTV’s alleged lack of respect toward the work.
In a report about the opening of the exhibition editors from China’s CCTV decided to blur-out parts of Michelangelo’s ‘David-Apollo’ statue, triggering criticism and a barrage of jokes from hundreds of thousands of internet users.”The exhibition makes it possible for Chinese people to enjoy a journey to Florence in the Renaissance without travelling abroad and to deepen their understanding about Italian history and culture,” the website of the museum, located in Tiananmen Square, says. CCTV’s decision to cover parts of the Italian artist’s 1530 marble statue in its Monday morning report prompted a major online stir. Subsequent broadcasts of the story dispensed with the digital mosaic used to cover the statue.
The question is raised by the chinese government’s action, is this desecration of a masterpiece just reducing art to porn? A blogger responded, “Without the mosaic, it is art. With the mosaic, it has become porno,” complained Yiteng Kaisi, on the Chinese internet portal, NetEase.
Photo composite: Shows the more famous Statue of David pixelated. Insert actual Chinese television screenshot.