Sistine Chapel

Me and Anna went to the Sistine Chapel for art history class, and little did we know, it turned out to be one of the last weeks you could go in it before the conclave! Of course, Professor Massini had to explain every statue in the Vatican Museum, so we didn't quite make it into the chapel very quickly.

Once you enter the museum, we went outside into this huge courtyard which was actually really pretty, except for this giant ugly metal ball that looked completely out of place. Professor Massini didn't even go into what it was, just that it was really ugly and she hated it. I found out later that it is called the "Sphere within the Sphere." Something about the inner ball being the earth and the outer the heavens or something. Either way, I agreed with my professor.

Hercules in Bronze

She then moved onto one of the various poster sign things that are posted all over the outside of the courtyard, surrounded by various groups of tourists. Since you weren't really allowed to talk inside the Vatican, she had to explain all of the art outside and then we would go in to see it later. I think she probably talked for like, 40 minutes. It was painful. When we finally entered the museum, we had to go through a serious of statues. I actually liked the statues. I've kind of figured out which pieces of art I like the best, and I think I'm definitely leaning toward oil paintings and statues. Frescoes are cool, and I like how complex and intricate mosaics can be, but I really find the statues beautiful.

Belvedere Torso

We saw a statue called the "Belvedere Torso" and it was first documented to be in the pope's collection in the 1430's. It is signed by some Athenian sculptor that was also undocumented in any other writings, and is alleged to date back to the first century BC. There was some controversy over who it could have represented- some believed that it was Hercules, but now it is believed to be Ajax, an esteemed warrior in Greek mythology. Ajax was Achilles's cousin, and was shamed after Achilles's death when he embarrassed himself (I think after he threw a fit when he didn't receive honor to take Achilles's place). The statue has been highly influential on artists, especially those in the late Renaissance such as Michelangelo and Raphael. On our midterm exam last week, our professor made us do a compare/contrast using the statue of the torso and a figure painted by Michelangelo! Luckily I really liked the statue, so I remembered it.

We also saw a bronze gilded statue of Hercules which was pretty cool, and walked through a really beautiful hallway that eventually lead to the entrance of the Sistine Chapel. The hallway was covered in paintings and gilded ceilings and these huge tapestries. Apparently, tapestries were extremely expensive in ancient Rome because of the intricate details and the dying of the materials involved.

Very illegal pictures..

Finally, we entered into the Sistine Chapel. It was a little anticlimatic. It was still really cool though, and the more I focused in on all of the details, the more surreal it was. I couldn't believe that Michelangelo actually free-handed the ceiling. No sketches on the walls, nothing.

The craziest part was the guys who were in charge in there. There were straight up freaking out. "NO FOTO!" they kept yelling every five minutes. They were actually kind of scary, and I kind of pitied them for having to sit around angry at everyone all day. Of course, we still took photos secretively with our iPhones. A kid next to me that wasn't with my class was taking some pictures, and this guy just appeared out of no where and yelled, "ONE MORE AND YOU'RE OUT!"

Sistine chapel ceiling with Anna

We got to the back of the chapel near the exit, and Professor Massini told us that the guards pretty much hated her because every time she came in, she tried to talk about the art even though she was always yelled at to be quiet. Me and Anna started quietly going through the pictures on our phone, and all of the sudden, one of the guards was standing directly in front of me. I wasn't even taking pictures anymore! At least catch me in the act...

We literally just stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds. Longest seconds of my life. I couldn't figure out how to respond, and I'm sure he was either 1) trying to scare me 2) about to take my iPhone and smash it or 3) trying to think of the right thing to say in English. Anna said she literally wanted to burst out laughing, because my expression was a combination of defiance and a little kid who got in trouble. When he finally said something, I was still silent, and he directed his remark to my professor. She said something in Italian, and the boys in my class were literally cracking up. Of course, I got caught. When we finally got out, Professor Massini told us that they were always giving her problems the most. Oops.

The Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel