ART

An international group of conservators of Italian paintings has given its unanimous and enthusiastic approval to the controversial restoration of the Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, the New York Times reported Thursday. After a visit to the chapel, the group--which includes J. Paul Getty Museum paintings conservator Andrea Rothe--said the restoration is “totally in keeping with 16th-Century Italian painting.” Critics have charged that the restoration project is altering the Renaissance masterpiece and destroying the artist’s original work.