No fig surprises at Crawford

Mystery solved! The Crawford art gallery has finally uncovered the truth behind its fig leaf Canova conundrum.

So far the gallery has painstakingly removed five of the six leaves which were added to the Canova Casts when they arrived in Cork in 1818.

According to Dr Michael Waldron, Curator of the Recasting Canova exhibition, the leaves were added to “spare the blushes of the locals”.

“The fig reveal is on schedule. We have removed five of the six leaves. But then there's the aftermath and what must be done with what's underneath,” Dr Waldron told the Cork Independent.

“Take the Belvedere Torso for example. He has no head, no arms, and only has his upper legs, and when we removed the leaf, he didn't have much underneath either. Some visitors said it was the least of his worries,” he added.

The final leaf is set to be removed tomorrow at which point sculpture conservator Eoghan Dalton will begin the important task of rebuilding and remodelling the casts.

Dr Waldron said: “The next task is to remodel what has been lost, based on the originals. Many of the public have been asking if we are going to enhance them in any way, but we are going to be quite strict and keep them as they should be.”

The exhibits, which were gifted to Cork by King George IV, are casts of original marble statues from the Vatican Museums.