A Day at the Vatican Museum

Today was a big day; we were all really looking forward to checking out the Vatican Museum as well as the Sistine Chapel. Steve strategically planned for us to go on a Wednesday because on Wednesday, the Pope addresses the people. The intention was to go while everyone else was listening to what he had to say. With that in mind, we started the day rolling. There looked like a suggestion of rain on the forecast and I initially planned to leave the hotel with only a sweater. As a last minute thought due to my roommate Kaitlyn packing a raincoat, I decided to lug around my own.

You might be wondering how my back is doing today. The answer is Not GoodTM; one could even say it is even worse. I took some ibuprofen but that honestly did nothing. RIP. But it's okay because art is my life and apparently three other people are also experiencing back problems. Misery loves company, I guess.

Within seconds of leaving the hotel, I was sure glad Kaitlyn had a good head on her shoulders because it started raining and it continued to pour the rest of the day (thanks, girl). We got our tickets for the museum as well as headsets so Steve could lecture over a microphone and got started on the day.

Every student was astounded at just how many people were at the museum. It was just packed no matter what room we were in. People kept getting in my pictures when I was trying to snap a work of art. I wanted to scream.

The first work of art we studied was the Augustus of Primaporta. The original artist is unknown, but we do know that this was a highly replicated work of art. The original would have been bronze. This sculpture was intended to be used as propaganda. Augustus was the great nephew of Julius Caesar. As a 16 year old, Augustus joined the navy and got shipwrecked. He was a sly boi though and was able to slip through enemy lines. This impressed Great Uncle Julius (you know, the guy that got stabbed a bunch by the senate? Honestly, it's kind of like when you're in a group project and they stab you in the back) so he decided to name him his successor (I just think that if you're naturally very cool, you don't need propaganda but whatever).
Anyway, that lil baby to the left of him is a reference to his divine ancestry. Julius Caesar claimed to be descended from Aeneas (see the first few posts) who was the son of Venus. This baby is the deity Cupid.

We checked out a few more works of art but one that I found particularly noteworthy was the Apollo Belvedere. This work of art influenced artist Bernini (we'll probably talk about him tomorrow). This pose would have a massive influence on the art commissioned under Napoleon Bonaparte (Fun fact, Napoleon was actually Italian (or Corsican; Corsica is an island just left of Italy). He really hated France and hated the French language but we'll talk about him more later probably).

One work of art I was really looking forward to was The Laocoon. This sculpture tells a story from the Trojan War. There's this guy named Laocoon who was telling the guys in charge not to let the wooden horse into the city. After such a long battle (10 years), accepting such a suspicious gift from the enemy was a bad idea. Well, a goddess wasn't having any of it and sent sea serpents to silence him. In the end, our dumb homies all died because they let the flipping horse into the city. What's really interesting is that Greeks view the story as a man being punished for doing wrong while Romans view it as a man being punished for doing the right.
The scene this sculpture depicts is the moment Laocoon is struggling against the sea serpents with his sons. It is dynamic and emotional, which is a huge aspect of Hellenistic art.
It was discovered in 1506 in a vineyard and Pope Julius II sent Michelangelo to check it out who made drawings. This had a great influence on his later art. Raphael would use this sculpture for his work on someone's tomb.

Now hold onto your horses because it's time to talk about Napoleon.

Now, about Napoleon. So Napoleon was from Corsica, an island just of Italy, right? Well, his dad was kind of an elite during the French Revolution (bad move, TBH) and I think his dad died because of it. Anyway. Napoleon joined the French army because France kinda took over Corsica. Napoleon was just wild. First of all, he hated the French language and also he hated how flipping cold France was at the time. But most of all, he was very good at what he did. Along the way, he met the island beauty Josephine. He was kind of a poor boy and she was widowed due to the French Revolution. She had a bad spending habit and thought he had money. He didn't have money but he sure had promise. They start dating but then he heard a rumor that she was someone's mistress--which she was. She wrote to him and was like. "Why did you stop writing me. I miss you." Napoleon told her that he heard some rumors and she denied them so he kept dating her. She ended her mistressing and Napoleon marries her. Less than 36 hours later, as a gift to Napoleon for getting Josephine the heck away from him, the guy who she was a mistress to gave Napoleon a station in Italy for the military.
Napoleon went crazy with this, even though everyone involved in the background wasn't really planning on him succeeding. He starts this insane art heist. He lifts all this art from Italy and has it sent back to France. This would form the foundations of the Louvre museum. The Laocoon is one of the pieces that Napoleon lifted; however, it was returned back to Italy shortly after Napoleon's exile in 1816.

A pic of me and Kyndle.

Here's a hint of just how insane today was. Everywhere we went it looked just like that. The worst part of all these people was just how many people would take a picture of just everything. They would take a picture of a ceiling if there wasn't anything on it. Some people took a GoPro video of the museum but like, they won't watch that video and if they do, they won't know what they're looking at. It's like a trophy or bragging rights. Stupid. To the reader, before going to a museum, check out what things are going to be there and learn just a bit about it. That way, you'll have a better experience. If you're just looking at pretty things, it's stupid and people like me are OVER IT.

I really like Pre-Renaissance works of art. Sometimes it is just because it's beautiful, other times it's because it is super funny. This is the Stefaneschi Altar which was done by artist Giotto. He was an artist way ahead of his time. He used chiaroscuro (ligh and dark) in order to create a sense of depth, shape, and form. He also made use of the foreground. He still is doing that gold background which gives the sense that the viewer is looking at a more heavenly or mystical place.

I'm pretty sure I've studied this work of art, but I can't say for sure because I know for a fact I had to go to the bathroom when we covered this work of art two years ago.

The next thing we checked out was Raphael's Transfiguration. Now hold on, I talked about that yesterday! Surprise attack, that was a mosaic. I didn't even realize it. So now I know that I wasn't breathless because of the work of art, it was just because of my back. Honestly, my back was really ruining things for me at this point, so I had a hard time taking notes. Here's a pic of it, at least.

Next on our agenda was Caravaggio's Entombment. Unfortunately, that work of art is apparently on loan to another museum; in its place was the worst replica I have ever seen. I can't even talk about it.

We were all at the end of our straws and took a lunch break. After spending way too much money on food that wasn't too good, we were ready to rumble. I also took more ibuprofen. Between that and the coke I drank, I suddenly felt invincible. We met up as a group and headed to the labyrinth for the Sistine Chapel and the School of Athens. Sierra, Jessica, and I had particular feelings about the rain today and this picture really makes it clear.

The maze to get to the Sistine was insane. At some point along the way, Sierra, Laura, Rylie, Rilee, and I got separated from the group. We had our headsets on so we could still hear Steve but soon his face crackled into obscurity. There was only one way to the Sistine so we kept moving forward. Along the path though, we were supposed to stop and check out the School of Athens by Raphael. Somehow we missed it! There was no point in being mad because there would be time to check it out later in the day and the guards wouldn't let us double back anyway. We kept moving forward. I was in mid-sentence when we walked into the Sistine Chapel and that, for sure, took my breath away.

So the Sistine Chapel. Before this, Michelangelo had a major reputation for being THE artist of the Renaissance. He was an absolute star for his sculptures; it was what he was known for. The guy did not paint. One day, Pope Julius II calls up Mich and asks him to design a tomb that would end all tombs. Mich starts writing up the plans and heads down the to marble quarry in order to hand select the rock he was going to carve from. The stone arrives in Rome when PJ decides to change his mind and asks Mich to paint the Sistine ceiling without paying for the stone.
The Sistine Ceiling was to be done in fresco (painting on wet plaster) and it was going to be over 12,000 square feet. Mich was pissed and told PJ that he needed need him and Mich packs up his bags and heads home. Mich believed that he was being set up to fail by competing artists Raphael and Bramante; he was absolutely paranoid, and it makes sense. Why ask a sculptor to do a massive fresco compared to painters who had actual experience?
PJ sent messengers for Mich and he wouldn't return to Rome. When PJ sent messengers to the city officials that he needed Mich, that's when those officials asked him not to cause problems and to please go.
Mich gathered up a team of artists to help him out. He designed a genius scaffolding which would allow them to paint and the set out to work. Mich goes home for Christmas and when he came back it was dripping and the figures looked awful. Pissed, Mich fires all of them and grabs people from Florence who knew what was up. These people formed the dream team and they set out to work again. Mich makes the figures on the ceiling fewer and larger.
PJ decided that he wanted to do a big unveiling and when he told Mich this, he lost his mind. He took down the scaffolding, packed his stuff, and went home to Florence. While he was gone, PJ brought people inside and one of those people was Raphael. Now, Raphael kind of didn't like Michelangelo but when he saw the genius that was his work of art, he couldn't deny that he was absolutely incredible. It's because of this, that Michelangelo is included in his School of Athens.
When Mich came back, he was just a powerhouse. He got 1 large scene done a day, which is absolutely insane compared to the beginning when Mich got maybe 10 feet done in a day. By the end of it, Mich stopped using his sketches and was just doing his work freehand. When Michelangelo finished the ceiling, the only thing he said was in a letter, "I've finished the ceiling and I am coming home." He doesn't even stay for the big unveiling!

This masterpiece is absolutely mind boggling. It creates the illusion of architecture when all there is, is just a slightly barreled ceiling. It is absolutely unprecedented; it foreshadows the Baroque like no other. It left a major impact on the rest of the art Michelangelo would create for the rest of his life. His figures are just massive and make impossible poses.
The center of the ceiling tells the different stories of Genesis. Mich started his work going backwards; he painted Noah and the flood and moved toward the creation of light and dark. This is clearly evident as the figures in the scenes of Noah are many and they are small. Compared to the expulsion of Adam and Eve and the creation of light and dark, there is no comparison.

In the 1980's, a restoration project went underway and it revealed incredible colors. It was a Japanese TV company (I think) that funded it and apparently they got the copyright for the ceiling. That's why they say you can't have photos. But what they don't know can't hurt them. The company used the same scaffolding design that Mich created. How sly.

When we realized that we missed the School of Athens, Sierra and I went back to the start of the line and eventually made our way to this incredible painting. Because of the opportunity we had to see everything again, we saw works of art we never noticed before, even a Rodin!

Now, the School of Athens. Raphael came from a classy background and he knew how to work the system. Artists like Michelangelo just didn't care. Raphael included many philosophers and mathematicians in this work of art. He even included himself! Raphael had never created anything so complex.

Tonight's dinner was weird spinach and bird seed. I liked the potatoes. I accidentally sat by the door and it was freezing.

Tomorrow I am giving a presentation and I am ready to go. If only it would stop raining.