Global InformationVatican Splendors information
Vatican Splendors: A Journey Through Faith and Art is a touring exhibit of religious and historical objects from the Vatican, some of them nearly two thousand years old. In 2010-11, the exhibit toured six cities in the U.S.: Cleveland, St. Paul, St. Petersburg, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Fort Lauderdale, and continued to São Paulo, Brazil.
The exhibit includes armor, art, sculptures, relics of the saints, and papal objects. Penn Bullock wrote in the Miami New Times, "next year marks the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo's ascent to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, where he painted the world's most celebrated fresco. It's also the anniversary of the Catholic Church's Swiss Guard, the Vatican museums, and St. Peter's Basilica. To commemorate the occasion of its total institutional domination of Europe's art and culture, the Vatican will display many of its relics and valuables in a traveling exhibition."[1]
Vatican Splendors is an exhibit of armor, art from master artists, sculptures, relics of the saints, and papal belongings. As explained on its website, Vatican Splendors allows one to experience two thousand years of Vatican art and history through two hundred featured items.[2] The exhibit is divided into ten galleries, taking viewers on a visual and auditory journey "through the ages of artistic expression and religious iconography."[3] These galleries consist of Early Christian Dialogue Between Faith and Art; The rise of Christian Rome; The Early Renaissance; Michelangelo; The Renaissance Basilica; Art in the Service of Faith; The Art of the Liturgy; Dialogue with the World; The successors of Peter—Papal Portraiture; and Art and the Contemporary Papacy. The Vatican Splendors' website recognizes this exhibit as "one of the largest collections to ever tour North America."[4] Many of these artifacts were loaned by the Vatican Museums and have never been viewed by the public in or outside the Vatican.[4]
Viewers traverse Vatican Splendors on a self-guided tour beginning with an introductory video before entering the first gallery, which holds some historical pieces from Saint Peter's tomb. Moving onwards, viewers will encounter many historical artifacts including paintings from the masters, and the tools that they actually used during their life. In the Miami New Times, Bullock describes the display as follows. "[T]hree institutions that will be graced with the church's 700-year-old Giotto paintings and Gian Lorenzo Bernini baroque sculptures. The only thing better than this collection would be a tour of the Vatican vaults. Among the 200-plus priceless artifacts – many never exhibited before – are papal jewels; bone fragments belonging to Saint Peter and Saint Paul; personal effects of Pope John Paul II; and swords, armor, and uniforms of the papal Swiss Guard. Most stunningly, however, is the inclusion of the compass and tools Michelangelo used at the Sistine Chapel."[1]
- ^ a b Bullock, Penn. "Vatican Splendors: A Journey Through Faith and Art". Miami New Times. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ^ "About the Vatican Splendors Exhibit". Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ^ "Exhibition Gallery Layout and Artistic Highlights". Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- ^ a b "Exhibition Lenders". Retrieved April 14, 2011.