Laszlo Toth ( hu, Tóth László; born 1 July 1938) is a Hungarian-born Australian geologist. He achieved worldwide notoriety when he vandalised

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

's ''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

'' statue on 21 May 1972. He was not charged with a criminal offence after the incident, but was hospitalized in Italy for two years. On his release, he was immediately

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

to Australia.

Early life

Toth was born in Pilisvörösvár,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, to a Roman Catholic family. After graduating in geology, in 1965 he moved to Australia. As his English was poor and his geology diploma was not recognized, he initially worked at a soap factory. In June 1971 he moved to Rome, Italy, knowing no Italian, intending to become recognized as

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

. He sent letters to

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

and unsuccessfully attempted to meet him.

Vandalism of ''Pietà''

On 21 May 1972, at 33 years of age (

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

's traditional age at death), on the Feast of

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

, Toth, wielding a geologist's hammer and shouting, "I am Jesus Christ—risen from the dead", attacked

's ''

'' statue in St. Peter's Basilica,

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. With fifteen blows he removed Mary's arm at the elbow, knocked off a chunk of her nose, and chipped one of her eyelids. He was subdued by bystanders, including American sculptor

Bob Cassilly Robert James Cassilly Jr. (November 9, 1949 – September 26, 2011) was an American sculptor, entrepreneur, and creative director based in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1997, Cassilly founded the idiosyncratic City Museum, which draws over 70 ...

, who struck Toth several times before pulling him away from the ''Pietà''. In view of his apparent

mental instability A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

, Toth was never charged with the crime. On 29 January 1973, he was committed to an Italian

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. He was released on 9 February 1975 and immediately deported back to Australia, where authorities did not detain him.

Literature and popular culture

* Toth is the eponymous inspiration for books of letters by

Don Novello Donald Andrew Novello (born January 1, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer, film director and producer. He is best known for his work on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1985 to 1986, often as the ...

. * Comic book artist Steve Ditko used Toth's actions as the central metaphor in his 1992 examination of issues concerning creation and destruction, ''Lazlo's Hammer'' (corrected to "Laszlo's Hammer" in subsequent reprints and revisions). * Australian cartoonist Michael Leunig published two Christmas cartoons in the ''Nation Review'' in 1975 under the ''

nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

'' Laszlo Toth. * Toth is referenced in "Dough, Ray and Me", the eighth episode of the thirteenth season of the animated television series '' Archer''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toth, Laszlo 1938 births Hungarian emigrants to Australia Australian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Italy Australian people imprisoned abroad Art crime Living people

Early life

Vandalism of ''Pietà''

Literature and popular culture

See also

References