2016 ITALY Vatican 12 - Raphael and Michelangelo

Frescoes --

So many paintings, frescoes and mosaics. Here are just a few frescoes in the Raphael Rooms. They were designed by Raphael and painted by him or his assistants in the early 1500s. Many more frescoes and paintings just as elegant and masterful are voluminously scattered throughout the Vatican.

Right panel is the Fire of Borgo. Pope Leo IV "miraculously" stopped a raging fire from spreading from the Borgo area through the rest of the city of Rome with only his benediction.

Santi Battle of Ostia documents the year 849 battle on the Tyrrhenian Sea (north of Sicily) between Muslim pirates and the Italian League consisting of the Papal navy and other Italian ships. The Italians won, but of course!
Repulse of Attila depicts the meeting of Attila the Hun and Pope Leo I. Peter and Paul in the sky wielding swords.

Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple as Heliodorus is ordered by the King of Syria to steal treasures from the Temple of Jerusalem, but God sends a horseman to drive him out.

Deliverance (Liberation) of Saint Peter from Herod's prison by an angel awakening him. The bars were actual bars if I remember correctly, with the painting behind them.

The School of Athens emphasizes science and philosophy. Plato and Aristotle are in the center, along with other recognizable "thinkers" of the day.

Disputation of the Sacrament presents Christ in the middle with the Madonna and St. John at his side, along with others discussing the meaning of Heaven.

The Coronation of Charlemagne being crowned by Pope Leo the III on Christmas Eve in 800.

Sistine Chapel --

The Sistine Chapel (named after Pope Sixtus IV and completed about 1480) was near the end of our tour. This is the place where the conclave of cardinals meet to chose the next pope. Building up the anticipation, I guess. The entire Vatican tour was VERY crowded. Hard to get good photos without some dang "tourist" getting in the way. I supposed others felt the same about me. 

This 133 foot x 40 foot (40mx13m) room, however, was the worst. Shoulder-to-shoulder people, necks craned back idolizing the dazzling and mystical ceiling.

As we entered the chapel, a "minder" was reminding everyone to stand in silence, but he had to remind people with ssshs" and "quiets" about every two minutes. No keeping this crowd down! 

This is the mother-of-all-mothers fresco. I guess I was so in awe of this work myself that I forgot to take photos. Here is the only one I have. But go to: https://100falcons.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/how-michelangelo-painted-the-sistine-chapel/ (for a description of each panel) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel (history).

Before Michelangelo's ceiling work here, Pope Sixtus commissioned Botticelli and others to fresco the long lower walls. One side tells the story of Christ and the other side tells the story of Moses.

Later Pope Julius insisted Michelangelo do the ceiling work, even though he considered himself a sculpture rather than a painter. Michelangelo was 37 years old when the work was completed after 54 months. The whole time he was standing looking up with only food, water, and a chamber pot nearby.

This work is in mezzo-fresco, a semi-dry plaster technique and covers 5,000 square feet of surface. Twenty-five years later Michelangelo painted the Last Judgment on the front wall (see blue background area at bottom middle).