Vatican Museums Presents New Series of Books About the Sistine Chapel

artknowledgenews.com ^ | Cindy Wooden

[GonzoII]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To really see the Sistine Chapel, it's more important to have a Bible in your hands than mini-binoculars, said Msgr. Roberto Zagnoli, an official of the Vatican Museums.The Italian monsignor is the principal author of "The Painted Word," a new series of books published by the Vatican Museums and the Italian financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. In the four-part series, the Italian monsignor quotes and explains the biblical passages that inspired the famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. The first volume focuses on Michelangelo's work on the Sistine ceiling.

"Fascinating the eyes and the spirit," visiting the Sistine Chapel with a Bible helps visitors appreciate Michelangelo's work and come to a more vivid understanding of the Scriptures, said Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the commission governing Vatican City State.

The cardinal presented the first volume of the new series Nov. 17 in the Vatican Museums, which plans to issue the series in English in December.

In the scene of the creation of Eve, she is shown with her hands clasped in prayer or thanksgiving with her mouth partially open, "underlining the awe and marvel of that first instant of life," the monsignor wrote.

[GonzoII]

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Anybody else remember the Mad Magazine Sistine Chapel floor?

[Cronos]

why doesn’t The Church sell this and give money to the poor? /sarc