The Vatican Museums are among the greatest museums in the world. They were established in 1506 by Pope Julius II. They are visited by over 4 million people a year. They have tons of sculptures (literally), paintings, and even mummies. Why not?
The museum has a whole lot of stuff, aka art. The Roman Catholic Church has been accumulating works for its collection for quite some time.
In fact, the museum began with one work of art in 1506. The statue seen above, called Laochoon and His Sons, was found in a vineyard near Santa Maria Maggiore. Pope Julius II sent Michelangelo and Giuliano da Sangallo (who were working at the Vatican) to investigate. They suggested that the pope buy it immediately, and he put it on display in the Vatican a month later. It was sculpted between 160 B.C. and 20 B.C., probably by three sculptors from Rhodes.
This is the Belvedere Torso. It's believed to be from the 2nd century B.C. That's pretty much what my torso looks like. Really.
It takes a while to get through the museum. Even once you realize that you are on the path towards the Sistine Chapel it seems to take forever.
Having a room full of large painted maps of different countries, cities, and regions seems to have been the thing to do. The Palazzo Vecchio had a room for them, as did some other places I've been. I think this hall was the biggest I've seen though. There's Italy with a blurry Bonnie.
Sarah stands by Venice. See.
Just before you get to the Sistine Chapel you walk through a series of rooms called the Raphael Rooms. They have frescoes by Raphael and his workshop (who completed some of them after his death) from around 1508 to his death in 1520. The one above is The Deliverance of Saint Peter, if you can see it. It shows how Peter was freed from Herod's prison by and angel.
Then you come to The School of Athens. That's right. It's the one we had up in our bathroom in our first apartment in Savannah. It shows the Greek philosophers, and some Romans, and some other thinkers. It is also supposed to show Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci as two of the philosophers (Heraclitus and Plato, respectively).
Then you finally get to the Sistine Chapel. Enjoy these few pictures because you're not supposed to take pictures in there. There's Jonah at the bottom of the picture and the Creation at the top.
Here's Michelangelo's Last Judgement.
The chapel is named for Pope Sixtus IV who restored the old Cappella Maggiorein 1480. It was worked on by the greats: Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and others. Michelangelo, of course, painted the ceiling, which originally showed a blue sky with gold stars.
After that excitment there are still many rooms to walk through.
I don't know if you can tell, but this picture shows a series of rooms that have lined-up doorways. These buildings just keep going, and going...
Then you exit down this cool stairway. Being the genius that I am I told Sarah to go down ahead of me a couple of spirals and put her head against the wall. Then I whispered her name (in this big, loud room) and she heard me. It's a pretty cool affect. We whispered back and forth for a bit. Try it next time you're in the Vatican.
No comments:
Post a Comment