Comparing Michelangelo's 'Van Eyck Brothers Madonna And Child'

There 's no exact tally of the art and culture snatched by the Nazis, and the commonly accepted number of 6 million bits and pieces excluding art and architecture that the Germans intentionally demolished. At the conclusion of the war and subsequently the Nazi admission of defeat, approximately 5 million items were reverted to their countries and owners, mostly due to the monuments program. “Who cares about art?” Lt. Frank Stokes says instinctively as he attempts to persuade Franklin Roosevelt to allow him to take a group of soldiers into war-torn Europe to protect and recover priceless works of art, including the van Eyck brothers’ Ghent Altarpiece and Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, from the escaping Nazis. Hitler took little concern for human lives but fairly a lot for art; he planned to take the whole of Europe’s
artistic legacy and keep it in a unbelievably enormous Führer Museum. As Hitler’s Reich was approaching an end in the spring of 1945, he wrote the Nero Degree, commanded his officers to eradicate everything. Albert Speer, Hitler 's Minister of Armaments and War Production, overlooked the order. Roosevelt then decided to let Stokes create a bantam set of specialists containing an architect, museum curator, and four other unlikely middle aged me, none of which should be in the combat zone, in an effort to curtail the current.
The Monuments Men is perhaps one of the most innocuous movies ever about World War 2. If not for the perpetual tobacco smoking, it may have earned a PG rating. It’s so strikingly unobtrusive. There are no lengthy combat scenes, diminutive swearing, and no nudity. However this is rightfully so, as the movie was more so about the art than the war itself. It is a film about the significance of art and culture expressed in a humorous and refined manner. The dialogue is cunning but not showy, the pace is gripping but not tense, and each character, even the malevolent ones have an impact.
The plot trails the customary collection of dupes plot: an amusing assemblage of characters thrown into an strange state of affairs. When they reach Normandy, well afterwards the combat, the commanding officer is irate with their instructions: “You want to tell my men what they can and can’t blow up?!” That’s just a roundabout summary. Fortuitously, they have better luck with French secretary Claire Simone who has knowledge of the location in which the Nazis veiled the art.
The expedition to discover these irreplaceable artifacts contains a range of humorous and often poignant vignettes.
For example, once the squad locates a sniper who’s been attempting to take them out, it’s a nine year-old. They toss him in a POW camp with the evident brashness of a parent setting a rebellious child on timeout. The conflicting dispositions, crafty writing, and light tunes produce a nostalgic retrogression to classic war comedies like Kelley’s Heroes. It’s a good family movie deliberated equally for the Greatest Generation and SNL fans.
A unexpectedly revitalizing component of Monument Men is the dedication that each squaddie has to their families. They are constantly chatting about their kids, their wives, and life across the Atlantic. There’s an particularly striking scene when Sgt. Richard Campbell gets a record as a Christmas present but cannot listen to it due to lack of equipment. While taking a shower that evening, he overhears the voice of his wife and kids singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” His teammate was able to find a way to air it throughout the camp so everybody could have a slight home away from
home.
In a different scene, Claire offers Lt. James Granger to come over to her apartment to rejoice in the end of the war and give him imperative information. When he wavers, she simply retorts, “it’s Paris.” When he gets there that night, she is elegantly dressed in fancy attire; he doesn’t even have a tie. She offers a tie and an request to stay the night. He reaches out his hand, obviously showing a wedding ring, touches her on the shoulder, thanks her for the tie, and graciously leaves. It’s a notable show of chastity and sensitivity. He is thankful for her assistance in recovering the art but true to his wife, even if it is Paris.
Towards the beginning of the film, Stokes expresses to his men that they need be very cautious and not take risks. “Your life is more important than art,” he tells them. Art expresses God’s splendor, but man is completed in the actual image of God. Nonetheless as Stokes observes the courageousness of his men and the dreadfulness of Nazi obliteration, he starts to understand that sacrifices could be necessary.
Expressly, Maj. Donald Jeffries has joined the war after discrediting his British upper-class family in some inadmissible scandal. He is apprehensive that the Nazis will steal the Madonna and Child and so goes behind enemy defenses to keep an eye on it. He finds the Madonna safe with numerous priests in a church. “Are you Catholic?” they inquire. “Today I am,” he grins. Unluckily, the Nazis discover the church, and Jeffries pays the ultimate price to guard his lady. Though it’s merely a statue, in doing this he becomes a martyrdom for art. He has a shot for redemption by defending the integrity of Mary, the heritage of Europe, and the representation of centuries-old spiritual devoutness. Ultimately, Stokes finds that individuals really do care about art as it leads to love of neighbor and God. That is worth dying for.

Works Cited
"The Monuments Men at the Met: Treasures Saved During World War II." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
Monuments Men. Dir. George Clooney. Perf. George Clooney Matt Damon Bill Murray Cate Blanchett John Goodman Jean Dujardin Hugh Bonneville. Columbia Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures, 2014. DVD.
"The Rescuers: Monuments Men." The Rape of Europa. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
"True Story behind 'The Monuments Men ' and Nazi Art Looting." SFGate. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
"The True Story of the Monuments Men." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.