An Italian museum in Bolzano have defied and angered the papacy by refusing to remove a piece of art that the Vatican has condemned as blasphemous. The piece of art depicts a crucified green frog. The tongue hangs out of its mouth and it has a beer mug and an egg in its hands. The sculpture is about 1 meter 30 cm (4 feet) high The Vatican demanded that the piece should be removed from the exhibit and not be displayed again.

The statue is made of wood and crafted by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger (died 1997) and is called “Zuerst die Fuesse,” (Feet First). The artists considered it a self-portrait illustrating human angst.

The Museion (art and culture multitude) museum is as earlier mentioned located in the city of Balzano which is located in northern Italy. The board of directory discussed removing the painting and a majority vote decided that the frog is to be consider a piece of art and as such should not be removed from the exhibition.

Balzano is located in a heavily catholic area and the local resident Franz Pahl has started to hunger strike to get the statue removed from the exhibition. He says that the statue is to be considered as blasphemous and that it will upset a lot of people in the are. He further states that: “This decision to keep the statue there is totally unacceptable. It is a grave offence to our Catholic population,”

Art experts disagree as art must always be free and without restrictions.

You can see a picture of the frog here.