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Tapestry

Who the Heck Were These Guys?

Ever think you know someone, only to catch them in a new light and suddenly all you thought you knew about them is turned upside-down? Today, a fresh look at someone long overdue for a make-over: Judas; a new take on the disastrous touch-up on a fresco of Jesus; and Luther's act of defiance at 500.
CBC Radio ·
Tapestry takes a fresh look at restoration, Reformation, and the reputation of Judas. Ecce Homo (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons, Martin Luther (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images), Judas (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) (Wikimedia Commons, Getty Images)

Everybody needs a make-over now and then. A staleness can settle in that leaves us feeling a little uninspired, or a flash of insight prompts the desire for a whole new approach to living. In this episode of Tapestry, we're taking a closer look at a couple of famous attempts at a make-over.

2017 marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's famous attempt at a new start for Catholicism. It didn't really turn out the way he had envisioned, but his hammering of the Ninety-Five Theses sparked a Reformation for the ages.

As Germany prepares to throw one heck of a party in a couple of years, James Reston Jr. takes us on the journey he recreated in Luther's footsteps to mark this monumental anniversary, with stops at the local pub in honour of Luther's fondness for feasting and libation. 

His new book is Luther's Fortress: Martin Luther and His Reformation Under Siege.

And from Reformation to a restoration. Further south - and a few hundred years later - we revisit the Spanish town of Borja, where in 2012 Cecilia Gimenez undertook one of the most wildly popular attempts at a restoring a fresco of Jesus that the internet has ever seen. Popular, not for its beauty, but for its botchery. 

Spider Monkey and Beast Jesus were just two of the mocking - and admittedly pretty funny - memes that her handiwork inspired. It has also become the basis for a new opera by libretist Andrew Flack.  He's here with some gorgeous music, and a wonderfully generous take on the up side of good intentions gone wrong.

And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone more in need of a make-over than Judas. Vilified for for two-thousand years as the betrayer of Christ, Peter Kavanagh is here to make his case for why it's time to give Judas a break.

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