The Vatican

Classes finished this past Thursday. The Italian teachers called me "cattivo" for scheduling an exam on the last day of classes. I thought nothing of it and the kids didn't complain one bit. However, the final academic requirement of the year for the students was a last trip to Rome this past Friday. The trip I had yet to go on was a tour of the Vatican. I had been there back in 2007 when I was here for a wedding, but this time, it became a game of "oh, we studied that piece in Art History" almost everywhere I turned. So, here we go, it's kind of a hodge podge of a bunch of pieces from the entire year in Art History.

The cupola of St. Peter's Basilica.

First piece, the base of the column of Antonius Pius. On the right side, the apotheosis of Antonius and his wife Faustina, which is firmly in the classical tradition. On the left, is the decursio, or ritual circling of the funerary pyre. Note the break with classical traditions. Artists had become bored with classical art and were breaking with it. The decursio adopts non-classical traditions and brings in art of the lower classes.

Apoxyomenos, aka The Scraper, by Lysippos. This marble copy of the 330BC bronze stands in a large niche just before entering the octagonal courtyard. The young man is scraping the oil off his body after exercising.

Lysippos introduces a new canon where the head is one-eighth of the body, instead of one-seventh. The viewer is encouraged to view the statue from all angles instead of just frontally.

The Greeks LOVED order and balance. Here Praxiteles has created the "Apollo Belvedere." Although this is an action shot, Apollos is totally in control and serene. He's the mix of real person and god. Totally Greek!

The Aphrodite of Knidos, by Praxiteles, was major because it showed female nudity. And not just any woman, a goddess. Aphrodite isn't openly erotic, but she is sensuous and inviting.

This is Mithras (the symbol of order and salvation) taming the bull (representing chaos and unrest).

Ahh, yes, this brings back memories of a joke we had in class. This is a detail of the statue shown above where the bull is biting the balls of the bull thereby giving sending the bull into spasms and metaphorically giving chaos one more chance.

Raphael's "Transfiguration". The face of Christ might be the last thing Raphael ever painted as the rest of the painting was completed by his students.

This unfinished work (apparently Leonardo had artistic ADD and moved from piece to piece having a hard time finishing them) shows his ability to show psychological emotion and power. It's anguish of the body but ecstasy of the spirit through the eyes.

My favorite room in the Vatican museums is the long corridor called the map room. I could stand for hours looking at the huge maps of Italy that break up the country into chunks that show in great detail what was present on the peninsula during the time the maps were painted.

This is the map of the area called Tuscia, which is southern Tuscany and northern Lazio. Viterbo is located between the small lake (Lago di Vico) in the center and the big lake in the upper left (Lago di Bolena).

The facade of St. Peters was designed by Carlo Maderno between 1606 and 1612.

The size of St. Peters is enormous. This is the "balcacchino" (silk from Baghdad in Italian) that Bernini created in 1624-1633. It marks the high altar and St. Peters tomb. It's scale is perfect in bridging the human to the lofty vaults of the huge church. Interestingly, Pope Urban VIII ordered bronze taken from the Pantheon to be used for this structure. It's symbolic in taking from paganism it summarily rejects it.

St. Peter's Square is actually an ellipse. If you stand at one of the foci.....

.....the three deep rows of columns line up and appear as one. Math and architecture as art. AWESOME!

So, I have to admit that I missed some of the famous pieces that I wanted to see. Specifically, "The School of Athens" by Raphael. I did so with the knowledge that next year, I will be able to get into the Vatican with the school at least three times. I'm spoiled and lucky, I know.