I might be too literal or realistic and not enough of a fan of art in general so maybe that's why my observation might sound a bit weird.  But ... has anyone else ever wondered how it came to be a kind of standard in religious art to have the robes and mantles and head scarves of the subjects appear sometimes to be almost about to fall off?!  I want to see statues as representations of real people, because that's what they are.  But it's hard for me, for some reason, to imagine them so because many times their drapery is shown in such a flowing way that I find it mildly disturbing.  At least, I find it a bit of a stumbling block, so I just look away.  I wish this wasn't the case!

I'm familiar with the Renaissance tradition of artists being very competitive with their skill, and I understand that drapery is a challenge that many artists simply can't resist trying to outdo one another on when it comes to making the hard statue appear to be vulnerable to the slightest breeze!  But still ... don't these artists themselves use statues for meditation, and if they do, how can they keep from worrying about the drapery coming loose?!  

I'm also aware of the ceiling of the Sistine chapel and the controversy over that.  So I know there are far worse things in the art world!

I'm also familiar with the Byzantine and medieval traditions that don't do this as much, and I'm a big lover of Blessed Angelico, whose work never disturbs me.  

Here's one contemporary artist that seems to understand me!  There are many others also, even from the Renaissance period.  I'm just wondering what your thoughts are about this!