More Vatican Museum stuff from Wednesday, October 5th

I took a picture of the ceiling (#1) from the map corridor. It reminded me of Versailles and the Hall of Mirrors.

Earlier, I showed a painting by Raphael Transfiguration and here is another The School of Athens

Aistotle and Plato are the two people in the center of the painting. On the right are the scientists and on the left are the thinkers. One of the main figures may look very familiar because Raphael painted Leonardo da Vinci to represent Plato. Another figure I’d like to point out is Michaelangelo, who is the figure sitting on the steps propping his head up with his arm. Raphael had already finished this painting but after seeing the Sistine Chapel he added Michaelangelo. Also, apparently all sight lines lead you to Aristotle and Plato which I think is just a really cool extra that shows the forethought of Raphael.

The Disputa (#2) is on display on the other side of the room. I should add these two paintings are each about 17x25 ft. I should also clarify that The School of Athens and The Disputa are not paintings but are in fact frescos. I always thought that frescos were just wall murals called frescos b/c they were made in Renaissance times, but one of the museum descriptions taught me the true definition. A fresco is a painting that has been drawn directly on wet plaster. By painting on the wet plaster, the color is sealed as the plaster dries. (Also frescos have been around since Ancient times but

The Disputa was painted before the School of Athens yet people often compare it as if it followed the School of Athens. The Disputa has Jesus as the teacher like Aristotle and Plato are in The School of Athens.

After passing Raphael’s room, we moved into the section of Modern Christian art (#3). The Matisse piece looks like a canvas of repeated images, but thats just the background because in the center is a simple outline sketch of the Virgin and infant Jesus.

I posted the pics of the pieces I photographed just to share. I don’t really have a story to them. #6 I photographed because I have never seen paintings by Marc Chagall. I have only seen his stained glass, in particular, the set featured in the Art Institute of Chicago. I’ve lived in Chicago for the past four years and visited the Art Institute at least once a year, yet this past July was the first time I had seen Chagall’s stained glass. After Mucha’s stained glass in Prague, I have a new interest in stained glass and I wanted to highlight Chagall to build some interest.

After passing the modern Christian art, the end of the Vatican Museum, we finally arrived at the Sistine Chapel. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures—which  I did not know—so I got yelled at by the guard. I hate getting in trouble so that sucked. If I had gotten in trouble while taking pictures of the Beauty and the Beast library in Prague then I would have understood and deserved it. But, I didn’t know so I do not like being yelled at.

The Sistine Chapel was amazing. It was just amazing. I’m really behind on this blog and I remember last week being anxious to hurry up and get to this day so i could write about why the Sistine Chapel is so cool. But I’ve had a lot of time to think about it and I realized that I’ve been describing all these places because I wanted to share my enthusiasm yet by doing so I. Instead, I’ll just say that you can’t go to the Sistine Chapel without an audioguide or a written guide. It may seem overwhelming but if you understand why Michaelangelo painted everything that he did then you can’t leave feeling awed. ALSO! Take the side corner exit out marked for group exits (just pretend you are part of group like Teddy and I did)!!!

After the Sistine Chapel, we headed for St. Peter’s Basilica. #8 was taken from just outside. By this time, it was close to 2pm and we were starving.

We took a seat under the building’s shade and ate our apple and PB sandwiches before going inside St. Peter’s Basilica.