| The Vatican Museums -
5 Centuries Of Magnificent
Art Treasures
If we were to list all of the galleries and museums that make
up the famous Vatican Museums, it would take up all our time
just reading them. And if we listed the many artists and famous
art works contained in those galleries, the list would be even
longer. The work of the Vatican to list and describe the vast
collection in those museums fills entire catalogs.
It was 1506 when Pope Julius II started the museum with a
humble acquisition of the sculpture of Laocoon and his sons,
as they fight off the grips of an aggressive sea serpent. From
that simple start, the Vatican Museums now consists of literally
dozens of galleries that can boast holdings of outstanding
artwork in the thousands.
One of the many Museums in the Vatican community of art is
the Etruscan Museum that was established in 1837. Despite the
older date to us, this collection is one of the youngest in
the Vatican family and holds many ancient works that were excavated
in southern Etruria and surrounding vicinities and brought
to Rome to be on display. The artwork of Etruria resembles
the ancient mosaics and historic sarcophagi of Egypt that were
collected at the height of the Roman Empire.
From that collection, it is a short walk to the Gallery of
Tapestries which, as the name implies, is a collection of beautiful
wall coverings that date back to the 15th century through the
17th. These amazing tapestries were first put on display in
1814 and they are so well regarded that any major collection
in the world would gladly accept them.
Not far from the Gallery of Tapestries is the Gallery of Maps
which is actually named for the amazing painted walls of the
structure itself. Here you will find 49 panels that artistically
display the many regions of the world and - taken together
- form a map that is as fascinating as it is artistically meaningful.
Before navigators had modern satellite tracking systems, this
kind of mapping was the modern technology of the time that
the church depended on to manage its affairs around the world.
The Raphael Rooms stand out of the many Vatican Museums in
popularity. These four connected rooms are the home to dozens
of works in this museum that was built between 1447 and 1455.
However the museum is not named The Raphael Rooms because of
the artwork on display, but rather for the work of the artist
himself in decorating the museum in the first decade of its
existence.
It is easy to know what is inside the Vatican Picture Gallery
part of the collection. But it is worth your time to stop by
this simply named collection to see classic art by such masters
as Poussin, Giotto, Van Dyck and Perugino.
You might blush for no reason if you want to visit the Gregorian
Museum of Profane Art. But in context, "profane" means
that the artwork you will find here is of a secular (or non-sacred)
nature. This gallery is quite new to the Vatican Museums, having
opened in 1970 to display Roman art work from the Imperial
and Republican eras, including statues and sarcophagi to name
just a few of the things you will find in this gallery.
Another aptly named collection is the Carriage Pavilion which
opened in 1973 in a building that was built under the Square
Garden. This unique collection holds the many carriages that
served to take Popes and other high church officials to their
appointments. In addition to the carriages, you will also find
a photographic history of papal transport, harnesses for the
horses and other paraphernalia and historic documentation related
to this topic.
But there is no question that the crowning moment of any visit
to the Vatican Museums will be the time you spend in the world
renowned Sistine Chapel, to take in the huge masterpiece that
Michelangelo painted on the Chapel ceiling. As you gaze up
you will know this is a moment you will remember for life.
But don't miss out on Michelangelo's Last Judgment, which he
came back and added to the chapel 20 years later.
That famous ceiling painting will fascinate you as it has
thousands before. The nine panels of the painting show various
biblical characters including various nude men, Sibyls and
Noah himself. But it is that depiction of Jehovah reaching
out to give life to man with a touch of his finger to Adam's
that is the best known image of this masterpiece. The famous
author Goethe said of the Sistine Chapel artwork:
"Without having seen the Sistine Chapel, one can form
no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving."
That beautiful sentiment could easily be applied to many of
the great works and the brilliant artists whose works are housed
and preserved in the Vatican Museums.
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