Michelangelo and Raphael in the Vatican [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Michelangelo The Pietá Tills famous Pietá is situated on the right as one enters the Basilica. It is the greatest work of Michelangelo's first period (1499). The Blessed Virgin, portrayed as a young girl, holds in her arms and contemplates the body of her Son, taken down from the Cross. The work conveys a feeling of profound calm, filled with sorrow and drama. Above: detail of the Blessed Virgin. On the sash across her breast can be seen Michelangelo's signature. For visitors to the Vatican Museums, this publication has been a bestseller, and leafing through its pages it is easy to understand why. Written by Francesco Rossi and Antonio P. Graziano, the clarity of its text and thoroughness of its pictorial documentation gives the reader an insight to the artistic meaning and historical context of the two most important Renaissance artists, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Raphael Sanzio of Urbino. As in the 16th century, the works of Michelangelo and Raphael in the Vatican are still, at the end of the 20th century, admired by viewers for their timeless beauty and unmatched grandeur. This publication is designed to bring the reader and art lover closer to the artists and their works represented in the book, some of which are not on display to the public, its didactical approach with newly documented pictures and extensive captions make it a valuable learning tool as well as a beautifully illustrated book to be studied and enjoyed. For this updated edition, new and unique photographs have been taken to accurately illustrate the magnificence of Michelangelo's newly restored frescoes of the Sistine Chapel including the Last Judgment. For this endeavor, the editor thanks the Museums' photographers, Alessandro Bracchetti and Pietro Zigrossi, whose skill and creativity in the production of the fold-outs depicting the Sistine Chapel after the restoration recreate the masterful execution of Michelangelo in its complexity. The section on the Pauline Ghapel illustrates Michelangelo's final works for the Vatican which are closed to the public. The chapter on the Stanze of Raphael brings light to details of the master's work and that of his pupils that may go unnoticed during a hurried visit to the Museums. Raphael's Loggias, which are closed to the public, show the reader a little known masterpiece in the decorative arts by the master and his assistants including photographs of what is known as "Raphael's Bible". The editor also acknowledges the following people without whose indispensable collaboration and assistance this updated version would not have been possible: His Eminence Rosalio José Cardinal Castillo Lara, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, whose vision of expanding the Museums' publications opened the way for the book's revision and reprinting; Carlo Pietrangeli, Director General of the Vatican Museums, for his patient guidance in the reviewing of the new edition and his assistance with the text of the recent restoration of the Sistine Chapel; Bruno del Prioré, responsible for the original version of the volume that set the excellent standard of illustrative and editorial clarity as well as his collaboration on the new edition; Francesco Riccardi, Administrator of the Vatican Museums and of their Department of Publications and Reproductions, along with Georgina Bernett, executive assistant, for organizing the planning, research, and production of this edition; Fabrizio Mandnelli, Curator of the Vatican Museums Department of Medieval, Bizantine and Modern Art, for his assistance in the explanatory texts and captions; Antonio Maggiotto and Giuseppe Canesso of the Vatican Printing Press whose invaluable assistance in the project was fundamental in bringing the idea of the updated edition to its final conclusion. THE EDITOR