Jago strips Pope Benedict XVI sculpture in artistic protest

Italian artist Jago has modified his 2009 marble sculpture of Pope Benedict XVI, removing the papal vestments and adding eyes to the face, renaming the work from 'Habemus Papam' to 'Habemus Hominem'. The intervention was documented in a video released following the death of the former pope on December 31, 2022. Jago stated that he wanted to 'destroy attachment to material things' and 'seek the Man behind the character'. The original portrait took eight months to create. The modified work was presented as a commentary on the pope's renunciation of the papacy in 2013, which Jago described as an act of great humanity and humility. The video documents the artist chiseling away at the marble surface of the bust, stripping it of its papal symbols. Jago's action has been characterized as a 'revolutionary intervention' on his own artwork, challenging the permanence of artistic achievement and institutional recognition.