Tour of Rome: A Guided Tour Through the Vatican Museum

By Breanna Jones

In the Vatican Museum resides a massive collection of some of my favorite works of art from both Renaissance and Baroque artists. This tour will guide you from the inside out through different artists, times, sculptures, paintings, and even architecture.

Begin Tour

Baldacchino, by Bernini

• As a young artist, Bernini was given the job of creating a “baldachin”, or canopy, for the altar of St. Peter. This is one of my absolute favorite pieces of Baroque architect, it’s so dramatic and is huge, standing at one hundred feet high. It’s made mostly out of gilt bronze, but also with marble, stucco, and even glass. What I might love most about this structure are the twisted columns, modeled after the old shrine of St. Peter in Jerusalem. This piece brings together architecture of Judaism and Christianity. Bernini created the Baldacchino to honor St. Peter and celebrate pope Urban VIII, who commissioned the build. It was started in 1624 and completed in 1633.

On to our next stop

1624 - 1633, Baroque; Vatican, Rome

Pieta,by Michelangelo

• One of his earliest works, Michelangelo sculpted the Pieta out of marble for a tomb monument at St. Peter’s. He hand picked all of the materials out of quarries, saying that the sculpture already existed within the rock, and that his job was merely to “set it free”. The sculpture shows the Virgin Mary holding and mourning for the dead Jesus, which was a popular subject in Northern Europe when he crafted it. Michelangelo’s Pieta was very unique, however, in the way he formed the bodies. The Virgin appears very young, and and Jesus’ body seems to be too small in comparison to Mary’s lap. I think these changes were done on purpose, to add to the meaning and the depth of the work. Looking at the strap across the Virgin’s chest, you can see where Michelangelo signed his name, supposedly after sneaking into the church after hours. My favorite thing about this sculpture, is the intensity and emotion he included on their faces/body language.

Continuing forward

1500, Renaissance; Vatican, Rome

• Next, we look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, as painted in Fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. There are so many small and extra images included in the ceilings, that you could talk about them for days and not cover all of the intricate details. Two of my favorites are the Libyan Sibyl and The Creation of Adam. I love the Libyan Sibyl because it’s so brightly colored, and you can almost see her moving from the way he painted her flowing dress and her twisted body, which shows his mannerist style. The Creation of Adam shows the moment God gave life to Adam. Michelangelo painted Adam to show how he was created in the image of God, by posing them in similar positions. I love that you can see Eve just under God’s arm gazing upon Adam, and how it foreshadows her creation to come next. In both images you can see Michelangelo’s extreme abilities to paint the form and muscles of the human body, results of his dissecting and studying of human cadavers.

Sistine Chapel: Libyan Sibyl and The Creation of Adam

On to the Next Room

1508 - 1512; Renaissance; Vatican, Rome

• Just next store to where Michelangelo painted the ceilings of the Sistine Chapels, Raphael was creating the School of Athens paintings. He painted the four areas of knowledge recognized by the sixteenth century; theology, philosophy (pictured above), poetry, and the arts. He used contrapposto poses, which means that the figures are at varying levels of relaxation or tension. Raphael actually used his colleagues to represent the figures depicted such as Da Vinci as Plato, and Bramante (who was constructing St. Peter’s at the time) as Euclid. Michelangelo is shown in the lower center leaning against marble and sketching, possibly to represent his skills at a sculptor and painter. One of my favorite parts of this painting, is the arch he created to frame the painting, and that the scene depicts all of these brilliant minds working together and teaching those eager to learn.

School of Athens, by Raphael1510 - 1511, Renaissance; Vatican Rome

Our Last Stop

St. Peter’s Square,by Bernini

• Even upon entering the Vatican, you’ll find an amazing piece of architecture, the colonnades. Although the original building of St. Peter’s was created by the design of Bramante, Bernini designed the colonnade to extend from the building around the piazza. There are four rows of columns extending forward, out, and around an Egyptian Obelisk from the Basilica. They were meant to be the “motherly arms of the church”, reaching out to embrace those in the square. In my opinion, I find it incredible that Bernini used the irregular space he was given to create this architecture that is not only a fantastic introduction to the art and spirituality found within the church, but it also has a deep religious meaning as well. The arms create this feeling of safeness and protection, but in a way that still allows plenty of room for many to gather and move freely.

From the outside, in, the Vatican holds one of the most outstanding collections of a variety of art from the both Renaissance and 17th century.

1656 - 1657, Baroque; Vatican, Rome

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Stokstad, Marilyn, & Cothren, Michael. 2005. Art: A Brief History. United Sates: Pearson Education, Inc.

Harris, Beth, & Zucker, Steven. Smart History. Khan Academy. Web, 01 July. 2013.