Sistine Chapel and St. Peter Basilica Art

The art we saw this week was some of the most famous art in history. One of the pieces is the Sistine Chapel, which I can safely say, is probably the most popular chapel in the world. Its’ shear beauty and prestige alone; can cause someone to become paralyzed. The conflicting colors, and use of detail; is eye catching and yet so simple. The simplicity and complexity is so mystifying that one cannot help but to stop and stare. This also goes along with St. Peter Basilica, the size and mass of the building alone can cause a feeling of minuscule. These two pieces of art are the images of Rome and can be talked about for years.

The Sistine Chapel is made up of multiple paintings that tells the story of man. It is made up of; the creation of Adam, creation of sin, and the separation of light and dark, and many other stories. However, the large painting on the wall behind the altar is known as the Last Judgment. This painting was done by Michelangelo, and was started three decades after the famous ceiling was finished. It took Michelangelo four years to complete; between the years 1537 to 1541. The Last Judgment is supposed to be a representation of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. Where people are chosen ether to rise into heaven and fall to hell. There are a lot of symbols and secret messages in this painting; one being the man with the carcass is suppose to be St. Bartholomew and corpse is suppose to be Michelangelo. This is suppose to say that he will show himself as a saint by removing the fake skin. Another unique fact about this painting is when you stand at the opposite wall of the chapel, it takes on the shape of a face; which George Lucas used as Darth Vader’s helmet.

St. Peter’s Basilica is a thing of wonder and has a lot to offer, but the art I would like to talk about is not apart of the church, but actually protects it, and that is the Swiss Guard and their uniforms. Although this is not their everyday uniforms the colors are unique to the Vatican. The Medici Blue, Red, and Yellow are the three colors that make up the uniforms. These colors are supposed to represent light, when the Swiss Guards walk the bright colors shimmer and glow. The uniforms are also torn up because when the uniforms were created, the soldiers that were used as models had just came from war and there pants and shirts were torn up. So when they created the uniform they put in the torn up pants and clothes. This is very interesting because I wondered why they had torn up pants and shirts, when normal Swiss Guards uniforms are complete.

I found these last couple sites very interesting and educational. Seeing the Sistine Chapel and the Last Judgment was a very inspiring piece of art. Thinking that one man did all of this by himself is really moving. Also seeing the size, and magnitude of St. Peter Basilica; and witnessing distinctive Swiss Guards that protect the chapel, is something that not many people can say they’ve done. All in all, one of the most interesting trips yet.