PRESENTATION of VATICAN MUSEUMS' INTERNET SITE [new web access to Vatican art treasures]

VATICAN CITY, JUN 20, 2003 (VIS) - On June 24 at noon in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference will take place in which the Vatican Museums' internet site will be presented. Among those who will participate in the conference: Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka, president of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and Francesco Buranelli, director of the Vatican Museums.

Thank you for posting the link! Truly outstanding site, carefully organized and scrupulously detailed!

The North Wall

The stories of Christ were originally distributed over eight panels, each one presented by a title in the upper frieze. They began with the Nativity painted by Perugino on the altar wall, subsequently destroyed to make room for Michelangelo's Last Judgement. Thus, today, the events of the life of Christ start from his Baptism (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34), which is followed by the Temptations of Christ (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1-13) and the Cleansing of the Leper (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16). The third shows in the foreground the Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, while the call of James and John is shown in the background (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11). The next fresco illustrates the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Ch. 5-7; Luke 6:12-49) and the curing of the leper (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16), while the fifth shows the Handing over of the keys (Matthew 16:13-20), that is to say the transfer of power from Christ to Peter, his vicar, as well as the two episodes of the Payment of the tribute (Matthew 17:24-27) and of the Attempted stoning of Christ (John 8:31-59;10:31-39) in the background. The series on this wall ends with the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-23; John 13:21-30) in which, beyond the windows we can see three episodes of the Passion: the Agony in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46), the Arrest of Jesus (Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:1-11), the Crucifixion (Matthew 27:32-50; Mark 15:22-39; Luke 23:33-46; John 19:17-30). The cycle ends with the Resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28,1-8) on the entrance wall. Each panel of the stories has a corresponding false drape in the lower section with the enterprises of Sixtus IV. The series of Pontiffs ran along all the walls of the Chapel starting from that of the altar, in the centre of which could be seen Christ and the first pope Peter, as well as Linus and Cletus. The four figures were lost when Michelangelo, by order of Paul III, painted the Last Judgement on this wall in 1536. The Pontiffs are arranged in couples in niches beside the windows. The series does not run along the one wall, but they alternate with the opposite wall. The authors of the series are the same as those of the cycles of the lives of Moses and of Christ, that is to say, Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Cosimo Rosselli and Domenico Ghirlandaio. The position of the various personages differs only slightly. They are usually shown as a full figure, in three-quarter profile with a book or scroll, or in the act of conferring blessing. In the lunettes and webs above, Michelangelo painted the Forefathers of Christ, the forerunners of his coming and therefore of the Redemption. They are listed at the beginning of the Gospel of St Matthew (Matthew 1:1-17), which, starting from Abraham, gives the names of forty forefathers of Christ (differing from the other version of the evangelist Luke, which, beginning from Adam, gives 75 families), shown here not so much as historical images but as symbolic figurations of mankind caught in various attitudes and above all in its formation into family units. Numerous attempts to link the names written on the labels to the personages depicted have not yet permitted them to be identified with any certainty.

Zenit

Code: ZE03062406

Date: 2003-06-24

Masterpieces of Vatican Museums Now on Internet

Virtual Galleries Included Those Now Closed to the Public

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 24, 2003 (Zenit.org).- An ambitious multimedia project has made it possible for Internet users to get a glimpse at the Sistine Chapel and other immortal works of Vatican art.

The novelty, offered on the Holy See's Web page (www.vatican.va) in the Vatican Museums section, took five years to complete. It was presented to the press today in the Vatican.

The most important works of Renaissance artists Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and galleries of Egyptian and Classic Greco-Roman art are presented, with technical explanations given by experts who catalogue and conserve them.

Cardinal Edmund Szoka, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, observed that the new site "further enriches the Holy See's Web site, created years ago and in continual and progressive expansion."

"For some time, the Church has paid great attention to the means of social communication, in order to more efficaciously perform her universal mission," the Michigan-born cardinal said. "The Internet, with its enormous potential, allows us to approach an ever greater number of people and to spread throughout the world our message of evangelization."

Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, secretary of the administration of the patrimony of the Apostolic See, which oversees the Vatican's Internet Office, noted the imposing work carried out by Vatican computer technicians to block viruses or cybernetic attacks.

Francesco Buranelli, director of the museums of Vatican City State, explained that the site "will allow the public to access the inestimable artistic heritage that these museums have preserved and protected for centuries," and highlighted the "effort to make it possible in five languages: Italian, French, English, Spanish and German."

Thanks to this new site, the Ethnological Missionary Museum can be visited. This museum has been inaccessible to the public for some time because it is being restructured.

The digitalization and presentation of the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms makes it possible for browsers to amplify aspects of the paintings.

Pictorial explanations have been prepared by directors of various sections of the museums. The sources of biblical texts that inspired the artists are also indicated.

Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls noted two aspects of the project: "the possibility of the virtual visit for people who live outside from Rome, and the possibility to personally choose the itinerary that will be followed in a real visit to the museums."

Nicola Aliperti, a representative of Hewlett-Packard Italy, the company that gave technical assistance in the project, remarked that "in the future the patrimony presented in the Vatican Museums, which UNESCO defined as 'the patrimony of mankind,' will be accessible through the wireless means of palm pilots."

Internet users cannot download the pictures on the Web page. If an attempt is made, the images will disappear automatically.

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