The famous and controversial Georgian
sculptor Zurab Tsereteli
is preparing a statue of Jesus, which, once completed, could become
the highest in Europe. The bronze sculpture was cast in St. Petersburg and is 33 meters high, a meter for each year of Christ's life.
Although coupled with the 50 metre pedestal the statue will set a new record of 83 meters, as the artist himself announced.
Tsereteli said that his sculpture exceed, the statue of Christ in Lisbon, today considered the highest in Europe by five meters.
The statue could be destined for Georgia, but the sculptor said he was confident that "it will find a place in Russia." "I have no doubt," he added.
Tsereteli is president of the Russian Academy of Art and his works are scattered all over the world.
Under the administration of the previous mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, Tsereteli filled the city with his sculptures, occasionally giving rise to protests from the capital's intelligentsia who criticizes his lack of taste for anything sober.
Among the works created for Moscow, the 16 doors of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the six crosses on the golden domes and the dome itself, which has become a symbol of the religious revival of the post-Soviet Russia.