Nude Christ by Michelangelo, long incognito, to be shown in London

Italy

IT might seem odd that a nearly 7-foot-tall statue of Christ by Michelangelo - and a nude one at that - would go unnoticed for centuries. But that's what happened to "Risen Christ" which was transferred to a country church in the 17th century and that fell into oblivion until 1997, when scholars attributed it to the Renaissance master.

"It was thought to be an imitation" of a Michelangelo, and "not a faithful one at that", said the Rev Cleto Tuderti, prior of the San Vincenzo Monastery on the outskirts of Bassano Romano, near Viterbo, where the statue was taken in 1644.