Travels in Italy: The Vatican in Rome (Part 2 of 2)

Our visit to the Vatican continues.

The Vatican Museums:   The Vatican Museums are like the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C.:  a lot to see and not enough time to see it.  Fortunately, our friendly and seasoned guide helped us see some of the very best artwork in the Vatican Museums. 

Our visit actually started outdoors in a large courtyard.  There, we learned all about the museums in general and the Sistine Chapel in particular.  (Since there is no talking in the chapel, we received a thorough orientation beforehand, which made the visit very meaningful.)

The museum was crowded, as one would expect during Holy Week.  So, we and hundreds of others filled the same galleries and together we managed to enjoy some amazing works of art.  Below is a small sample of the artwork we viewed. 

The School of Athens by Raphael (1509)

Detail from The School of Athens:  Leonardo da Vinci as Plato 

Detail from The School of Athens:  Michelangelo as Heraclitus.  (Raphael and Michelangelo worked at the Vatican at the same time.  Apparently, Raphael admired Michelangelo's work.) 

The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament by Raphael (1508-1509)

The Parnassus by Raphael (1509-1510)

The Gallery of Maps depicts the Italian peninsula and the regions of Italy, including Tuscany (Etruria) and Venice pictured below. 

Gallery of Maps:  Fresco of a topographical map of Tuscany

Gallery of Maps:  Fresco of a topographical map of Venice

The Martyrs of Gorkum by Cesare Fracassini (1867)

Deliverance of Saint Peter, by Raphael (1514).  What makes this painting especially interesting is the internal source of light illuminating the scene and the life-like prison bars painted into the scene. 

The coat of arms of the Medici popes

The Sistine Chapel ceiling and the west wall are amazing works of art by Michelangelo.  The ceiling was painted during 1508-1512 and was restored in the 1980's and 1990's.  Since photos were not allowed, below are photos of our guide explaining the Last Judgment and views of the ceiling (from the Vatican Museums website). 

Sistine Chapel:  the entire ceiling

Sistine Chapel:  The Creation of Adam (near the center of the ceiling) 

The Vatican Museums include a large collection of modern and contemporary religious art.  Below is a Matisse cut out made during the planning of the decoration of the Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence, Provence.

Papier decoupé sketch of a colored glass window by Henri Matisse (1948-1952)

Thank you for joining our visit to the Vatican.