SPQR Fellowship

Here is the post I wrote yesterday. We got a little busy seeing Rome so I ended up waiting to post it until today.

Today we made our way across town to the Vatican Museum. We got there by 9:50am (it opens at 10) and the line was already wrapping around several corners. Luckily, we had bought tickets with an agency that got us past the line.  So walk right in we did and began the epic journey that is the miles of museum the Vatican has to offer. Apparently a Saturday at the Vatican Museum means hordes of people because the place was packed – but more on that later.  This was Jenna and my second time visiting the museum and the first time for the rest of our group. I must start my summary of the visit by telling you that I find the museum staggering in both scale and beauty. I feel lucky to have had the chance to visit the museum again and found it simultaneosly inspirational and humbling. As we moved through the museum I continued to notice my fellow visitors in Rome and so I will muse on them at the end of this account. Finally, as we entered the museum I made the decision to not take any photos while in the museum. The more I travel, the less photographs I feel compelled to take. There is something too easy about it. So I stowed the camera and challenged myself to take the time to truly look at the remarkable works of art in front of me.  The following are my memories of what we saw described in snippets and phrases…

12th – 14th century paintings.  Halos. Golden halos displaying the worthiness of each paintings characters. These paintings were entirely symbolic, very zoomed in on individual figures. These paintings live in a flat world but are non-the-less meticulously detailed in every regard.

Raphael.  The colors of Raphael are seared in my mind. Their vibrance is still astounding in their present form. While I enjoyed immensely Raphael’s room of paintings on the life of Constantine and stood for some time wondering on the great faces and knowledge represented in front of the School of Athens, it was his painting, “The Transfiguration” that left me transfixed.  Here, not only the vibrance of colors, but light, shadow, and expression are used to create a painting that literally radiates, and transcends this world. The faces in this painting will haunt me – their wide eyes and extreme expressions cast in great light and shadow. Jesus and his surroundings exude holiness and otherworldliness; part heaven and part man.  One other important note. As i looked at The Transfiguration painting I heard a tour guide telling this group (and you should know that I love latching on to tour guides when possible ;)) that the artists of Raphael’s time could not simply decide to paint Jesus. In fact, they needed to become religious scholars, able to understand and work within the nuances, events, and symbolism of Christianity and then bring forth those ideas into their art. I have been enjoying thinking of the Renaissance master’s in this way.

Leonardo’s painting of St. Jerome.  I could stand at one point and view Raphael’s “Transfiguration” and DaVinci’s “St. Jerome” simultaneously which was really fun and heightened the contrast of the paintings.  The earthly tones of Leonardo’s unfinished work. The face of St. Jerome, in agonizing detail and expression. There are so few DaVinci works to see in the world. This is only my third or fourth. Every time I see one I am struck by how his representation of his figures goes beyond describing the event to inviting me to experience the emotions of his characters.

A statue by an unknown artist of Roman antiquity. Missing both it’s arms and legs but clearly of great power by the way in which it’s muscles and figure was shaped. I heard a tour guide telling a story of how Michelangelo was asked by the Pope to complete the statue by adding arms and legs.  According to the story, Michelangelo refused, stating that what was remaining of the figure was enough to tell all of the story.

The corridor of map paintings.  The ceiling filled with paintings tiled in a pattern that seems to go on forever.  The map paintings fascinate me. I’m drawn to their representative nature and wonderful colors, rich greens and blues with a striking amount of small medieval towns dotting the canvas. I wish I had one of these paintings as a wall in my home.

The Sistine Chapel.  What Michelangelo went through to accomplish it. What endless hours I could stand there looking up. The Sistine chapel was astonishing and it leads me to my final musings for the day.

People. Fellow tourists.  With as many people as there were in the Vatican Museum today, it’s impossible not to notice your fellow travelers as you move through the museum. In many parts of the museum, we were shoulder to shoulder with people. Observing other tourists led me to several questions for which i have no answer. Why is it so common for people to walk around with a camera in front of their face taking pictures of everything the walk in front of? Do they really take the time to explore them afterward? Why do so many tourists blatantly break the rules of the museum? I understand that everyone has their own way of enjoying the art but if I am being honest, I have a gross feeling throughout me as I leave the Sistine Chapel. The requests of the museum are for silence and no photos. I don’t understand why this is so hard for my fellow tourists and humans to accomplish. The experience has definitely made me think, and made viewing the Sistine Chapel less enjoyable than it might have been.

Viewing the Sistine Chapel brings me to one final musing. I am entirely blown away by the talent and dedication of these renaissance and baroque artists. Their work represents a combination of incredible skill, rich understanding, and unyielding stubbornness. Directly preceding the Sistine Chapel is a series of exhibit rooms showcasing art from the last 50 years. After standing in front of paintings by Raphael, Michelangelo, and DaVinci I have a hard time connecting to these works. I find that they do not transport me, they do not require careful hours, weeks, and years of study to perceive their details, they do not tell a story that I can pick up on. Certainly, art and its representation is bound to change with time but this direct contrast leaves me with questions.

Off to let my brain rest,

david j.