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Vatican Museums

Coordinates:41°54′23″N12°27′16″E/ 41.90639°N 12.45444°E/41.90639; 12.45444
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(Redirected fromPio-Clementino Museum)
Vatican Museums
Musei Vaticani
The Vatican Museums as seen from the dome ofSt. Peter's Basilica
Map
Established1506;518 years ago(1506)
LocationVatican City
Viale Vaticano 6, I-00192,Rome[1]
Coordinates41°54′23″N12°27′16″E/ 41.90639°N 12.45444°E/41.90639; 12.45444
TypeArt museum
Collection size70,000[2]
Visitors6,764,858 (2023)[3]
DirectorBarbara Jatta[4]
Public transit accessOttaviano – San Pietro – Musei Vaticani
Websitewww.museivaticani.va
Part ofa serieson the
Vatican Museums
The New Wing, built byRaffaele Stern.
Artists
Architects
Architecture
Paintings
Sculptures
Frescoes
Artifacts
Collections
Outside of the Vatican Museums
Vatican Museums from outside

TheVatican Museums(Italian:Musei Vaticani;Latin:Musea Vaticana) are the public museums ofVatican City,enclave ofRome.They display works from the immense collection amassed by theCatholic Churchand thepapacythroughout the centuries, including several of the most well-knownRoman sculpturesand most important masterpieces ofRenaissance artin the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display,[2]and currently employs 640 people who work in 40 different administrative, scholarly, and restoration departments.[5]

Pope Julius IIfounded the museums in the early 16th century.[6]TheSistine Chapel,withits ceilingandaltar walldecorated byMichelangelo,and theStanze di Raffaello(decorated byRaphael) are on the visitor route through the Vatican Museums.[7]

In 2023, the Vatican Museums were visited by 6.8 million people.[8]They ranked second in thelist of most-visited art museumsin the world after theLouvre,and third on thelist of most-visited museums.[9]

There are 24 galleries, or rooms, in total, with the Sistine Chapel, notably, being the last room visited within the Museum.[10]

History

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The Vatican Museums trace their origin to a single marble sculpture, purchased in the 16th century:Laocoön and His Sonswas discovered on 14 January 1506, in a vineyard near thebasilicaofSanta Maria Maggiorein Rome. Pope Julius II sentGiuliano da SangalloandMichelangelo,who were working at the Vatican, to examine the discovery.[11]On their recommendation, the Pope immediately purchased the sculpture from the vineyard owner. The Pope put the sculpture, which represents theTrojanpriestLaocoönand his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being attacked by giant serpents, on public display at the Vatican exactly one month after its discovery.[12][13]

Benedict XIVfounded theMuseum Christianum,and some of the Vatican collections formed theLateran Museum,whichPius IXfounded by decree in 1854.[14]

The museums celebrated their 500th anniversary in October 2006 by permanently opening the excavations of aVatican Hillnecropolis to the public.[15]

On 1 January 2017,Barbara Jattabecame the Director of the Vatican Museums, replacingAntonio Paolucciwho had been director since 2007.[16][17]

Pinacoteca Vaticana

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Tourists in the Pinacoteca Vaticana

The art gallery was housed in theBorgia ApartmentuntilPius XIordered construction of a dedicated building. The new building, designed byLuca Beltrami,was inaugurated on 27 October 1932.[18]The museum's paintings include:

Collection of Modern Religious Art

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TheCollection of Modern Religious Artwas added in 1973 and houses paintings and sculptures from such artists asCarlo Carrà,Giorgio de Chirico,Vincent van Gogh,Paul Gauguin,Marc Chagall,Paul Klee,Salvador Dalí,andPablo Picasso.[19]

Sculpture museums

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The group of museums includes several sculpture museums surrounding theCortile del Belvedere.These are the Museo Gregoriano Profano, with classical sculpture, and others as below:

Museo Pio-Clementino

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The Braschi Antinous is in the Sala Rotonda (Round Hall) of Pio-Clementine Museum.
Hall of Animals, Pio-Clementino Museum
ARoman navalbiremedepicted in arelieffrom the Temple ofFortuna PrimigeniainPraeneste(Palestrina),[20]constructedc. 120 BC;[21]in the Museo Pio-Clementino

The museum takes its name from two popes:Clement XIV,who established the museum, andPius VI,who brought it to completion. Clement XIV came up with the idea of creating a new museum inInnocent VIII's Belvedere Palace and started the refurbishment work.[22]

Clement XIV founded the Museo Pio-Clementino in 1771; it originally contained artworks ofantiquityand theRenaissance.The museum and collection were enlarged by Clement's successor Pius VI. Today, the museum houses works of Greek and Roman sculpture. Some notable galleries are as follows:

  • Octagonal Court(akaBelvedere CourtyardandCortile delle Statue): this was where some of the first ancient classical statues in the papal collections were first displayed. Some of the most famous pieces, the Apollo of the Belvedere and Laocoön and His Sons have been here since the early 1500s.
  • Sala Rotonda:shaped like a miniaturePantheon,the room has ancient mosaics on the floors, and ancient statues lining the perimeter, including a gilded bronze statue ofHerculesand the BraschiAntinous.
  • Greek Cross Gallery(Sala a Croce Greca): with theporphyry sarcophagiofConstanceandSaint Helena,daughter and mother ofConstantine the Great.
  • Gallery of the Statues(Galleria delle Statue): as its name implies, holds various important statues, includingSleeping Ariadneand the bust ofMenander.It also contains theBarberini Candelabra.[23]
  • Gallery of the Busts(Galleria dei Busti) Many ancient busts are displayed.
  • Cabinet of the Masks(Gabinetto delle Maschere). The name comes from the mosaic on the floor of the gallery, found inVilla Adriana,which shows ancient theater masks. Statues are displayed along the walls, including theThree Graces.
  • Sala delle Muse:houses the statue group of Apollo and the nine muses, uncovered in a Roman villa nearTivoliin 1774, as well as statues by important ancient Greek or Roman sculptors. The centerpiece is theBelvedere Torso,revered byMichelangeloand other Renaissance men.[24]
  • Sala degli Animali:so named because of the many ancient statues of animals.[23]

Museo Chiaramonti

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TheMars of Todiis an ancient Etruscan bronze statue from the late 400s BC; in the Gregorian Etruscan Museum.

This museum was founded in the early 19th century byPius VII,whose surname before his election as Pope was Chiaramonti. The museum consists of a large arched gallery in which are exhibited several statues, sarcophagi and friezes. The New Wing, orBraccio Nuovo,built byRaffaele Stern,houses statues including theAugustus of Prima Porta,theDoryphoros,andThe River Nile.It is in theNeoclassicalstyle and has a wide arched roof with skylights. TheGalleria Lapidariaforms part of the Museo Chiaramonti, and contains over 3,000 stone tablets and inscriptions. It is accessible only with special permission, usually for the purpose of academic study.

Museo Gregoriano Etrusco

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The inside of this Egyptian 'Yellow Coffin' Sarcophagus is filled with intricate iconic and textual symbols; in the Museo Gregoriano Egiziano.

Founded byGregory XVIin 1837, this museum has nine galleries and housesEtruscanpieces, coming from archaeological excavations in the territory of the Papal State as well as other works already held in the Vatican.[25]The collection include vases, sarcophagus, bronzes, terracotta, ceramics as well as works from the Falcioni and Guglielmi Collections.

Museo Gregoriano Egiziano

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Statue of the Nile recumbent, 1st–2nd century AD; in the Museo Gregoriano Egiziano

This museum houses a large collection of artifacts fromAncient Egyptand also many Egyptian works of Roman production in nine rooms. The Carlo Grassi Collection of bronzes is part of the collection.[26]Such material includes papyruses, sarcophagi, mummies, sculptures and reproductions of theBook of the Dead.[27]

Vatican Historical Museum

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TheVatican Historical Museum(Italian:Museo storico vaticano) was founded in 1973 at the behest ofPaul VI,[28]and was initially hosted in environments under the Square Garden. In 1987, it moved to the main floor of theLateran Palace,where it opened in March 1991.

Highlights

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Photo of a long wide corridor filled with a crowd of people in casual dress. The ceiling is arched and is elaborately decorated with gilt stucco and small brightly coloured pictures. The walls have frescoes of large maps, each of which has a brilliant blue background.
Gallery of Maps
Bramante Staircase;spiral stairsof the Vatican Museums, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932

Visitors

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On the last Sunday of each month, the Vatican Museum is open to the public for free. It is popular and common for people to wait in line for many hours. The other days of the week tickets are available online or in person. This image is a panoramic view of one small stretch of the entire queue on Sunday 29 April 2007, which continues for some distance in both directions beyond view.

Incidents

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On 18 August 2022, two members of the climate activist groupUltima Generazioneglued themselves to the marble base of the Laocoon statue and unfurled a banner calling for an end to fossil fuels while a third member filmed them. Conservationists said that the act resulted in permanent damage to the sculpture, with restoration works costing 3,148 euros. A Vatican court subsequently sentenced the three to a nine-month suspended prison sentence and fines of up to 28,000 euros ($30,000).[29]

On 5 October 2022, an American tourist was arrested after hurling a Roman bust at the Chiaramonti Museum and damaging another bust.Il Messaggeroreported that the man damaged the artefacts in anger after he was informed that he could not have an audience withPope Francisas part of his vacation wish. The museum's press director Matteo Alessandrini said one bust lost part of a nose and an ear, while the other was knocked off its pedestal. Conservation and repair works on the sculptures were estimated to cost 15,000 euros ($14,800 US) and took about 300 hours to be completed.[30]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Vatican Museums."How to get to the Vatican Museums".vaticanmuseumsrome.com.
  2. ^ab"Meet Antonio Paolucci".Divento. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-12-29.Retrieved2016-12-28.
  3. ^TheArt Newspaper,March 21, 2024
  4. ^Bowles, Hamish (February 13, 2018)."Meet Barbara Jatta, the First Woman Director of the Vatican Museums".Vogue.Retrieved2018-02-13.
  5. ^Jatta, Barbara (16 October 2016)."The Vatican Museums: transformation of an organisation"(PDF).Vatican Museums.Archived(PDF)from the original on 30 August 2017.Retrieved29 August2017.
  6. ^Bianchini, Riccardo (30 August 2017)."Vatican Museums – Rome".Inexhibit.Archivedfrom the original on 9 December 2022.Retrieved30 August2017.
  7. ^"Musei Vaticani and Cappella Sistina".Time Out Rome.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-05-30.Retrieved2021-10-17.
  8. ^"Vatican Museums: attendance 2022".Statista.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-01-28.Retrieved2024-01-28.
  9. ^The Art Newspapervisitor survey, March 27, 2023.
  10. ^"The Vatican Museums".www.romesightseeing.net.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-10-17.Retrieved2021-10-16.
  11. ^Shattuck, Kathryn (2005-04-18)."An Ancient Masterpiece or a Master's Forgery?".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-10-17.Retrieved2021-10-17.
  12. ^Lapointe, Joe."Muralist has grand plans for Cobo fresco".The Detroit News.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-10-17.Retrieved2021-10-17.
  13. ^Grovier, Kelly."Laocoön and His Sons: The revealing detail in an ancient find".www.bbc.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-10-17.Retrieved2021-10-17.
  14. ^Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Christian Museums".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  15. ^McMahon, Barbara (10 October 2006)."Ancient Roman treasures found under Vatican car park".The Guardian.Manchester.Archivedfrom the original on 10 March 2024.Retrieved29 August2017.
  16. ^Glatz, Carol (20 December 2016)."Pope names first woman to head Vatican Museums".The Catholic Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 16 July 2017.Retrieved29 August2017.
  17. ^Rykner, Didier (7 December 2007)."Antonio Paolucci, the new Director of the Vatican Museums".The Art Tribune.Archived fromthe originalon 17 October 2018.Retrieved28 August2017.
  18. ^"Pinacoteca".Vatican Museums.Archivedfrom the original on 29 December 2015.Retrieved29 August2017.
  19. ^"The Vatican Museums".Vatican City State.Archivedfrom the original on 11 June 2017.Retrieved28 August2017.
  20. ^Saddington, D. B. (2011)."Classes: the Evolution of the Roman Imperial Fleets Plate 12.2 on p. 204".In Erdkamp, Paul (ed.).A Companion to the Roman Army.Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 201–217.ISBN978-1-4051-2153-8.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-11-20.Retrieved2020-11-22.
  21. ^Coarelli, Filippo (1987).I Santuari del Lazio in età repubblicana[The Sanctuaries of Lazio in the Republican age] (in Italian). Carocci. pp. 35–84.ISBN9788843006793.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-05-26.Retrieved2020-09-27.
  22. ^Bertoldi, Susanna (2011).The Vatican Museum: Discover the history, the works of art, the collections.Vatican City: Sillabe. pp. 46, 96.ISBN978-88-8271-210-5.
  23. ^ab"Waking the gods: how the classical world cast its spell over British art".the Guardian.21 October 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 17 October 2021.Retrieved17 October2021.
  24. ^Montebello, Philippe De; Kathleen Howard (1983)."Sala delle Muse".The Vatican: Spirit and Art of Christian Rome.Metropolitan Museum of Art.pp.178–180.ISBN978-08-70993480.
  25. ^"Museo Gregoriano Etrusco".Vatican Museums.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-01-19.Retrieved2021-01-05.
  26. ^"Gregorian Egyptian Museum".Vatican Museums.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-10-27.Retrieved2014-08-21.
  27. ^"Monuments exhibited in Room II of the Egyptian Museum".Archived fromthe originalon 5 July 2011.
  28. ^Guide to the Vatican Museums and City.Musei Vaticani. 1986.ISBN978-88-86921-11-4.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-10.Retrieved9 May2013.
  29. ^Winfield, Nicole (25 December 2023)."Vatican court convicts climate activists for damaging statue, fines them more than 28,000 euros".Associated Press.Archivedfrom the original on 13 June 2023.Retrieved12 June2023.
  30. ^Chisholm, Johanna (20 December 2023)."US tourist arrested after smashing ancient Roman sculptures in response to not seeing Pope at Vatican".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 7 October 2022.Retrieved8 October2022.

Further reading

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