‘Sexy’ statue sparks outrage as artist admits using ‘least clothing possible’
An Italian artist has been left 'shocked and disheartened' at people finding his statue 'too sexy' and 'historically inaccurate'.
The 'unnecessarily sexy' statue is causing quite a stir with passing residents and visitors – as a photo of a group of men admiring the 'loosely dressed' woman went viral.
The new statue, paying tribute to an 1857 poem written by Luigi Mercantini, was unveiled on Saturday and left some excessively randy people aghast.
Former Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte shocked residents in the southern province of Salerno as he pulled the cloth from the statue, revealing more than most people were expecting.
Depicting the poem's narrator, the sculpture shows the woman covering her breasts with one hand as an imagined sea breeze reveals the curvature of her bottom, LADbible reports.
The famous poem, La Spigolatrice di Sapri, is commonly taught in Italian schools and tells the story of a woman who falls in love with historical figure Carlo Pisacane.
Some critics have questioned why the artist chose to depict the poem in this 'rude' way.
Laura Boldrini, an MP with the centre-left Democratic party in Italy, said the artwork was "an offence to women and to the history it is supposed to celebrate".
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The sculpture depicts a gleaner, someone who collects grains after it has been harvested – but some residents have called out the historical inaccuracy of what she is wearing.
An example of another depiction is artist Jean-François Millet's The Gleaners', where he showed the workers with more clothes on and looking a lot more worn-out from their hard graft.
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Emanuele Stifano, creator of the statue, spoke out in a Facebook post claiming he was “shocked and disheartened” by the criticisms of his work.
He explained that “when I make a sculpture, I always tend to cover the human body as little as possible, regardless of gender”.
“I took advantage of the sea breeze that hits it to give movement to the long skirt, highlighting the body,” he added.
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