Art lover cringes at mistake set in stone; Sculpture to remain with artist's name split in two.Byline: Claire Tolley DESPITE a multi-million pound restoration, one of Liverpool's premier cultural attractions has misspelt the name of a master of the Italian Renaissance. Visitors to The Walker Art Gallery are greeted by a sculpture still bearing the engraving Michael Angelo Michael Angelo can refer to:
But the name of the 16th century painter, sculptor, architect and poet should be spelt spelt Subspecies (Triticum aestivum spelta) of wheat that has lax spikes and spikelets containing two light-red kernels. Triticum dicoccon was cultivated by the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Swiss lake dwellers; it is now grown for livestock forage and used in baked Michelangelo. The mistake was made when the sculpture was engraved 120 years ago, but no one has spotted it until now. Art lover John Michael Corfe, of West Kirby, Wirral, said: "I cringe every time I am about to enter our magnificently refurbished Walker art gallery and see the monument labelled simply Michel Angelo. "Who wrote Hamlet? Mr Wil Liam. "We would howl with indignation or laughter if the Italian nation was to split Shakespeare's Christian name Christian name n. 1. A name given at baptism. Also called baptismal name. 2. A name that precedes a person's family name, especially the first name. in such a dreadful faux pas This page has been divided into the following:
Two sculptures of Michelangelo and Rafael have graced the entrance to the Walker for 120 years. When the gallery was re-opened in February, the two were left in pride of place. A spokeswoman for the gallery said: "I would imagine that it's the sort of thing that annoys people, and I'm very sorry that anybody is disappointed. "It has been there over 120 years, and I imagine a lot of names are spelt differently over the years. "People change the spelling of things. Take for example the artist George Romney whose exhibition is being held at the Walker at present. "For many years he was known as George Rumney with a "u". "Because language was very infrequently written up until about 150 years ago a lot of people will have spelt things the way they sounded. "Even some of the names and pictures change over the years. "One of our most famous pictures is the Punishment of Lust. "If you look at the frame there's a panel with the inscription The Punishment of Luxury. I wouldn't think we would redo To reverse an undo operation. See undo. the engraving." It is a traditional quirk confined to Italian artists that they are referred to by their Christian name. Critics speak of Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Rafael rather than di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Da Vinci and Santi. Graeme Edwards, a lecturer in Italian at Liverpool John Moores University Originally founded as a small mechanics institution (Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts) in 1825, the institution grew over the centuries by converging and amalgamating with different colleges and eventually became the Liverpool Polytechnic. , added: "Italian visitors would possibly think it was a bit strange. "You do see some mistakes at exhibitions but mostly that would be with types of paintings because names should just copy straight across from different languages. "I have been to a couple of galleries in France and seen English paintings whose titles have been oddly translated, so it happens both ways, " added Mr Edwards. CAPTION(S): WHAT'S IN A NAME? The statue of Michelangelo outside The Walker Art Gallery Picture: TONY KENWRIGHT |
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