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Museums of the Mediterranean Museums of the Mediterranean
The Sistina was built at the place of the former “Capella “Temptations of Christ” and the “Cleansing of the Lep-
Magna”, a fortification from the Middle Ages. The Sistine er” by Botticelli. The other paintings show the “Calling
Chapel was as well constructed as a fortified building in of the first Apostles” by Ghirlandaio, the “Sermon on
unsecure times: The rulers of Florence struggled per- the Mount”, the “Handing over of the Keys” from Jesus
manently with the forces of the Pope and the Turks at- to St Peter and the “Last Supper” by Cosimo Rosselli and
tacked the Italian coast. At this time the vaulted ceiling Biagio d’Antonio. 11
was painted like a blue heaven with golden stars.
Michelangelo finished the ceiling in 1512, and 20 years
In 1508, Pope Julius II engaged Michelangelo to paint later he painted the far wall. The “Last Judgement” il-
the ceiling. The themes were central scenes from the lustrates that some will see heaven but most are damned
Old Testament, and the “Creation of Adam” is known as to go to hell. At the day of the Last Judgment, angels
one of the most important artworks in history. Michel- wake the dead with trumpets, the skeletons become liv-
angelo painted figures in the triangles above the arched ing bodies. The Archangel Michael helds a book with the
windows and between the triangles. They included Da- names of the blessed and a large book with the names
vid, Josiah and Jesse, while portraits of the Popes were of the damned. Saint Peter helds a silver and a gold key,
painted at a lower register. his face is painted as a portrait of Pope Paul III. In this
approach, Michelangelo combined Greek mythology with
Between the triangles, Michelangelo invented portraits Christian belief: the boatman Charon who brought the
of pagan sibyls. This did not have an anti-Christian back- dead over the river Styx in pagan Greece pushes here
ground: Renaissance Christians interpretated the proph- sinners out of his boat to Hell.
ecies of these sibyls as predictions of the arrival of the
redeemer Jesus Christ. An outmoded, crowded labyrinth
Michelangelo’s paintings were unique in the Renaissance: The Vatican museums own, without question, one of
before painting the Sistine Chapel, he had been famous the most important collections of art, archaeology and
for his sculptures and not as a painter. Nevertheless, the historical objects in the world. Each of the numerous
huge figures in the Chapel were “painted sculptures” museums could easily be compared with museums of re-
with “lifelike” bodies. gional or national value.
Michelangelo’s paintings cover 800 m with themes like The Vatican is the last medieval city state in Europe
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the waiting for the Messiah, the prophecies about him ruled by a theocratic regime with the ideology to tell
and the Genesis. Unique were the quick brush strokes an absolute truth given by a supernatural being while its
and fluid colors. There are important scenes from the museums present themselves as touristic destinations.
Old Testament on the right like Judith and Holofernes, Therefore, they even put on show works by artists who
the fight of the Israelites against serpents when they re- were not known as strictly catholic like Van Gogh, Dali
volted against God; the left shows the struggle between and Picasso. But the hoarding of objects and the im-
David and Goliath and the story of Esther, the Jewish pressing architecture can not hide the fact that (as often
wife of a Persian king who convinced him to spare the in Italy) there is a lack of modern museum pedagogics
Jews from punishment. and facilities for visitors. The air conditioning is poor,
there are different confusing routes to the Sistine Chap-
The second part shows the seven prophets of the bible el, and it takes a long time to find these ways inside the
and the five pagan Sibyls, the third part nine scenes from crowds of visitors. 8) On normal days, it takes at least
the Genesis, creation, the lifes of Adam and Noah, in- three to four hours to enter the museum, and in the
cluding Michelangelo’s most famous work, the “Creation famous halls, visitors wait to see the objects as if they
of Adam” and the “Creation of Eve”. would be at a passport control in an airport, kicked and
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pushed by the masses of respectless tourists.
With the exemption of the Last Judgment, all lower
wall paintings are not by him, but works by other ex- The presentation in the Sistine Chapel cannot be accept-
cellent painters of the Renaissance: The left wall shows ed for such extraordinary artwork, the atmosphere is
the stories of Moses, the right wall stories of the New oppressive because the brillant colors of the paintings
Testament. The first painting on the left is ”The Jour- contrast the poor lighting.
ney of Moses in Egypt”, followed by the “Trials of Mo-
ses” with God in a burning bush and God appearing to The signposting in the huge complex does not give
Moses. They were painted by Botticelli. Other paintings enough orientation for visitors who do not use addition-
show the “Handling Over of the Tablets of the Law”, the al information from catalogues or travel guides. The of-
punishment of the Jews by God during their Journey to fered internet map of the complex is not really a naviga-
the promised land. Luca Signorelli painted the “Legacy tion help. In smaller museums such a lack of signposting
and death of Moses”. On the right wall the story starts would be a minor aspect: in the Vatican museums with
with the “Baptism of Christ” by Perugino, leading to the a 7 km walk flooded by visitors it is a toil to return to a
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EXPOTIME!, issue October / November 2017