"Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality's surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery. The intuition itself springs from the depths of the human soul, where the desire to give meaning to one's own life is joined by the fleeting vision of beauty and of the mysterious unity of things.
All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardour of the creative moment: what they manage to express in their painting, their sculpting, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendour which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit." Letter to Artists, John Paul II
This quote best encapsulates the reason I came back to Rome to live and study. I returned to the Vatican Museums today for the first time in four years. Two hours, three rosaries, and lots of eavesdropping after I stepped in line, I stepped into halls and rooms which perfectly synthesized every class and spiritual experience I've had since I arrived.
Down long corridors of Roman busts and figures.
Through the map room, a masterpiece of green and blue detail.
A ceiling fresco depicting St. Thomas Aquinas. The figure below is Aristotle, upon whose work St. Aquinas based his thought.
(Hate to insert the profane here with the sacred, but Aristotle really reminds me of the President of the first organization I worked for in DC).
The ceilings are pure delight.
The Lancoon, the statue which revolutionized sculpture.
A slice of yet another perfect ceiling.
This image made me stop in awe. In the words of my friend, "Never has such a simple image said so much."
The background shadow-work in this series of frescos is breathtaking.
The Battle of Lepanto.
My second favorite discovery of the day. What an image of a man.
Raphael's theological Disputatio.
Its accompanying fresco, The School of Athens.
Inexpressibly beautiful.
My favorite image from the Modern Art section.
The jagged texture seamlessly meshes with this tender moment:
This incredible piece of ivory work, measuring about three inches in diameter, is a "case" (help me out here, theology folks) for carrying a single host of the holy Eucharist.
And finally, the exiting staircase.
Photos and videos are forbidden in the Sistine Chapel (as we repeatedly heard yelled at dense and disobedient visitors), but I have a neat experience to share - not too long after the Pope's Sunday Angelus, the back doors of the Chapel were closed and visitors were forbidden from exiting for a few minutes so that Pope Benedict could pass through!
4 comments:
WOW! Now I *have* to go back. My group was rushed through the museam as it was closing early. I vaguely remember some of the those rooms, and the staircase, but we ran past works such as Lancoon and told we'd come back. We never did :(
Amazing picts! Glad you had a good time ;)
The case for the single host is called a pyx.
Oh I love the pictures!!!! Thank you for posting these to remind us. I miss it!
Ooooh, beautiful. *sigh of envy* :)
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