|
| |
|
|
|
| Tourists visiting Rome will, no doubt
have the Vatican at the top or very near the top of their list of "must
see" sights. One of the main attractions within the Vatican is the Sistine
Chapel. It is located in the southwest corner of the old medieval part of
the Apostolic Palace, in the very heart of the Vatican. It takes its name
from Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere.
Sixtus started an ambitious programme of decoration within the chapel, by
employing a team of the most prestigious artists of the day, including
Botticelli, Signorelli, Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli and Perugino. Their
task was to cover the upper walls with frescoes depicting episodes from
the lives of Moses and Christ. The ceiling vault was painted dark blue,
and covered with gold stars. |
| |
|
 |
| |
| The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is a
shallow barrel vault, about 40 m long by 13 m wide, with windows in both
long sides which cut into the vault so as to produce a series of
pedantries between the windows, which are surrounded by lunettes, and
have triangular shaped areas, called spandrels, above them at the junction
of wall and ceiling. The central part of the vault is almost flat. In
1506, Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to redecorate much of the chapel.
He completed the famous ceiling frescoes in 1512 Commissioned by Julius II
in 1508-12, Michelangelo frescoed the vault with scenes from Genesis.
Together with the older frescoes of the lives of Moses and Christ, these
provided a complete history of Man, from creation to redemption.
Michelangelo was later commissioned by Pope Paul III to continue the story
with a fresco of the Last Judgement over the altar. |
| |
 The
architectural plans for the chapel were drawn up by Baccio Pontelli, with
the construction work being done between 1473 and 1484. During this time,
the work was being supervised by Giovannino de Dolci. The first mass in
the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on August 9, 1483, At this ceremony, the
Sistine Chapel was consecrated, and dedicated to the Assumption of the
Virgin Mary. |
| |
The Sistine Chapel becomes the centre
of attention when the time comes to elect a new Pope. The pope is elected
in a process called a "conclave." The word "conclave" is derived from two
Latin words which mean "with a key." It referred to the practice of
locking the cardinals in a somewhat confined space, and not allowing
them to emerge until they have elected a new pope. The rules governing the
conclave, have since been changed and the cardinals are no longer confined
to the Sistine Chapel, for both day and night throughout the election
process. They are now assigned more comfortable living quarters in a
suitable location within the Vatican. For the duration of the conclave, a
chimney is installed in the roof of the chapel. after each vote, the
ballot papers are burnt. If the ballot was unsuccessful, then the chimney
emits black smoke. Once a new Pope has been elected, the smoke emitted
from the chimney is white. Nowadays, to maintain security and the secrecy
of the conclave, the chapel is carefully searched to ensure there are no
bugs, recorders, or cameras, present. |
| |
|
 |
| |
| Many of the works of art within the
chapel were in need of restoration, so in 1980 a programme of test
cleaning and restoration work on Michelangelo's frescoes was initiated, a
year later full scale work started, and was completed in 1994. After this
the cleaning of the chapel frescoes by Botticelli, Perugino, and other
painters was carried out, and completed in 1999 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
