Paintings in the Vatican FROM THE PUBLISHER
The Vatican Museums comprise three bodies that were once distinct but are now linked so that the visitor may tour them without interruption: the Vatican Museum proper, of which the Picture Gallery in an annex; the exhibition rooms of the Vatican Library; and the sections of the Vatican Palace that are open to the public, including the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Stanze, and the Borgia Apartments. This volume presents these bodies in a unified way, so that the complementary descriptions and color illustrations of the works selected are arranged in chronological order. Particular attention has been given to the painters who worked under Gregory XIII, Sixtus V, and Clement VIII, that is, during the most splendid years of the High Renaissance in Italy. The resultant artistic overview is comprehensive, spanning the entire history of painting from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century. Presented here are a great number of world-famous masterpieces, including Giotto's Stefaneschi Altarpiece, Giovanni Bellini's Lamentation over the Dead Christ, Raphael's Transfiguration, Leonardo da Vinci's Saint Jerome, Caravaggio's Deposition, Nicolas Poussin's Martyrdom of Saint Erasmus, and a highly important group of paintings by Titian, Guercino, and Guido Reni. To these are added many works that have long been in storage in the "secret" rooms of the Pontifical Apartments, for a unique representation of one of the greatest and most precious painting collections in the world.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Written by directors of various Vatican Museum collections, this splendid catalog of the monumental collection housed within the walls of the Vatican offers insight into the political, social, and aesthetic history of Vatican City. The works described include those more familiar frescoes and altarpieces created specifically for the decoration of Papal apartments, Apostolic Palaces, the Sistine Chapel, Raphael Stanze, and the Borgia Apartments as well as works that have been unavailable for public viewing. The great accomplishment here is the listing of all works in chronological order, regardless of physical location, to create a comprehensive historical catalog of what is one of the world's greatest collections. The color plates are fresh and bright and the short biographies of the artists are excellent. A fine combination of scholarship and elegant production and at a reasonable price-quite a rarity these days-this is essential for academic and art libraries and belongs in most public collections.-Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York
Home
