Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums

A NEW SEASON OF INSIDERS COURSE IS BACK! We will offer you a new exceptional journey into the past, present, and future of the faith, the art, and the overwhelming beauty of the Vatican City State. Find out more through the link in our bio! . . . ________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatron #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #insiderscourse #course #masterclass

When we launched our first crowdfunding project, we did not know that the outcome would result in such great success. The collaboration with the Canada Chapter for the restoration of the Histories of Santa Barbara is now complete. In Room VI of the Pinacoteca, the four components of an altarpiece executed in tempera on wood with Histories of The Life of Saint Barbara are now on display. They were part of the same polyptych and the date is between the late fifteenth to the early sixteenth century from the hand of the Sienese painter Guidoccio Cozzarelli. ⠀ The names of the panels are: Flagellation of Saint Barbara (📷 1); Beheading of Saint Barbara and Death of her Father (📷 2); Saint Barbara Assisting in the Construction of the Tower (📷 3); Saint Barbara is Pursued by her Father (📷 4); . . . ________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatron #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #santabarbara #crowdfundingproject #canadachapter

This is the marble portrait of Tiberius Natronius Venustus. Tiberius was 4 years, 4 months and 10 days old (Tib(erius) Natronius Venustus vixit ann(os) IIII menses IIII dies X) when he died and his parents, the Natronii family, wanted him to be remembered in all his beauty and tenderness. The marble shrine was discovered in the Roman necropolis of Santa Rosa in Vatican City. The necropolis is located along the Roman Via Triumphalis. It contains forty grave structures and over two hundred single tombs which have existed since the end of the 1st and throughout the 2nd Century B.C. From the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano we find out that “the graves were clustered onto a number of islands, spread out across the hill and down into the valley. They were connected to each other via irregular paths that joined at the bottom, on Via Triumphalis. The single graves, which were the most common type, belonged to the middle-lower social classes. They contain ceramic sheets, with the cremated remains placed directly in the earth, one metre under ground. These have terracotta protrusions that look similar to smokestacks, which were used to insert food offerings during the libation rite.” Thanks to our Canadian Chapter the excavations have made it possible to connect the two sections of the Necropolis, which has been transformed into one large single museum space, over one thousand square metres big. 📷 1, 2, 3 Marble portrait of the four year old Tiberius 📷 4 A copy of the marble stele is now where the original was found 📷 5 A grave with mosaic floors with the so-called “Salomon’s knot” symbolising a grating 📷 6 The profile of a feminine figure on a sarcophagus 📷 7 A view of the necropolis from above 📷 8 Sarcophagus lid with Dionysian procession 📷 9 The Canadian Chapter in front of the marble plaque that states its role in the restoration of the Santa Rosa necropolis . __________________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatron #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #necropolis #santarosa #canadianchapter #marble #tiberius #toddler #marblestele #stele

Today while entering the Museums we looked up at the two statues by Pietro Malendri. This doorway was built in 1932 by the architect Guiseppe Momo, it depicts two of the greatest Renaissance artists: on the left Michelangelo, represented with the sculptor's mallet in his hand; on the right, the young painter Raphael, with brush and palette. . . . __________________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatron #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #raphael #michelangelo #renaissance

A new season of Insiders Course is coming up... . . . ___________ #insiderscourse #vaticanmuseums #patronsofthearts #becomeapatron #pavm #rome #vaticancity

These Attic vases come from two showcases in Room XX of the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, which is a collection with more than 400 artifacts pertinent to the Astarita Collection. Mario Astarita, the name of the collector, donated the artifacts to Pope Paul VI in 1967. Since 2014 the artifacts have undergone a systematic review of their state of preservation and their previous restoration interventions, which had become obsolete over time. The majority of the problems concerned the materials that integrate the gaps often degraded because of cracks and detachments. Where the integrations still have a structural function, it is necessary to review the aesthetic criteria of presentation, which have evolved. In some cases, it was also necessary to disassemble the glued fragments because they did not match. In the worst of cases, there was no adequate seal because the adhesive no longer worked. Restorers used a method which reestablished a more uniform reading of the entire artifact. Restorers finally treated integrations chromatically and adapted them to the general background color of the vases. 📷 1, 2, 3 Before and after the restoration of three Attiv vases. 📷 4 Research of the attachments 📷 5 Remounting of the provisional support. 📷 6 Execution of the support. 📷 7 Fine tuning the placement. . . __________________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatron #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #vases #atticvase #astarita #astaritacollection #gregorianetruscanmuseum

Many of our restoration projects are the result of the effort of different restoration laboratories.
By following the ongoing restoration of the W.J. Blaeu's Terrestrial Globe through these pictures we not only enter the Paper Restoration laboratory, but we also witness the contribution given by the Painting Restoration Laboratory to the wooden structure and the work made on the ivory structure by the Metal and Ceramic Restoration Laboratory. 
The terrestrial globe, once restored, will be back on display in its original location (table and showcase). The restoration concludes the work on the on-display globes in the Clementine Hall and was adopted by the New England Chapter.

📷 1 The terrestrial globe is part of the collection of the Chigi Archives, donated to the Vatican Apostolic Library in 1923, it became part of the Museums' patrimony in 1999 for the official rescript of Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the year 2000 Jubilee. It dates post-1642 because of the representation of Tasmania and the representation of California as an island. 📷 2 Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), who founded one of history’s greatest cartographic publishing firms in 1599. Mostly renowned as a cartographer, he also made terrestrial and celestial globes, various instruments such as quadrants, a planetarium and a tellurium. 📷 3 The horizon area appeared in "desperate" conditions of preservation. It underwent restoration in the past. 📷 4 and 5 Before starting the restoration and conservation operations, the Diagnostic and Conservation Laboratory analyzed the work to investigate its constituent material and compare it with the other specimens in the collection. It was also possible to create a 3D model of the globe that shows the composition of its internal structure. 📷 6, 7, 8, First visible results of the cleaning process. . . . ________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art  #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatron #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #terrestrialglobe #blaeu

The painting of the Madonna of the Childbirth, by an unknown Tuscan artist, dates back to the 1300’s. It was completely covered with a layer of dust and an oxidized varnish. The overall status of the wooden panels was seriously compromised and caused fissures that led to several detachment of the pigments. The cleaning of the surface was performed with chemicals and the loss of pigments were reintegrated after the fissures had been sealed. The Virgin of the Childbirth was restored thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Liana Marabini (Monaco Chapter). In the 📷 after and before restoration. . . . ________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatrons #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #virginandchild #painting

The Flora Statue in the spotlight today is under the attentive care of our Marble Restoration Laboratory and thanks to the support of California Chapter, we can witness the first results of its ongoing restoration project. The statue represents Flora or Pomona - the goddess of Nature and Abundance in Roman mithology, it normally sits on top of the principle drinkable water fountain on the Terrace of the Vatican Pinacoteca (Painting Gallery), one of the most visited places in the Vatican Museums with one of the best views of St. Peter's Basilica. Modern open-air exposure for more than a century caused parts of advanced degradation to the Flora statue in different ways. In addition to the ancient and post-ancient restoration, the statue underwent several alterations. For all these reasons a restoration was needed. In the pictures you will look at the damages, cracks and color alterations, that restorers started to address using experience and the most recent technologies available. . . . _____ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatrons #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #flora #marblerestoration #pomona

These mosaics casts made out of painted plaster, which belong to the Vatican Museums, were created during the 1930s and 1940s. They marked the beginning of a new orientation and technical experimentation approach to the study of mosaics. In fact, the casts, as testimonies of the three-dimensionality of the original artifacts, allow us to acknowledge the innovative technical aspects while documenting the preservation status of the mosaics prior to modern integrations.  The majority of the casts were the result of a meticulous copying from the original ones in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, both from the mosaics cycle of Sisto III (432-440) and from the medieval decorations of the apse and front. Jacopo Torriti made the first and Filippo Rusuti created the second.  As far as it concerns the Baptistery of St. John in Lateran, the casts were made out from the mosaics of the lobby of Sisto III and from the decorations of the chapel of San Venanzio, created by the Popes John IV (640-642) and Teodoro (642-648), for the safe keeping of the remains of the saint martyrs of Salona.  Four restoration campaigns took place between the 1930s and 1940s on the decorative mosaic apparatus of the Lateran Baptistery (7th century) and the Basilica of St. Mary Major (5th century and late 13th century). Many of the mosaics were in a poor state of preservation. A decision to document the intervention included detailed mapping of the deterioration phenomena and the reproduction of plaster casts of all the detached parts. There were also paintings in oil imitating each original tile. They underwent truly unique restoration documentation. The ongoing restoration whose results you can start admiring in the pictures has been sponsored by Donna Weiner (Northwest Chapter). . . . _________ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatrons #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #stjohnlateran #baptistery #stmarymajor #casts #mosaics

Even after the construction of the original St. Peter’s Basilica, Popes mainly lived at the Lateran Palace outside the Vatican City walls. In 1309 the papacy even left the city altogether and moved to Avignon, France, after King Philip IV arranged for a French cardinal to be elected pope. It was only in 1377 that the papacy returned to Rome. At this time, the Lateran Palace had burned, and the Vatican became a papal residence. The Lateran Palace has for centuries been the papal seat and official residence of the Popes, adjacent to the basilica of St. John Lateran, the "Mater et Caput" of all the churches of Rome and the world. "Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput" ("Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the churches in the city and the world, the mother and head.") Inscription on the façade of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (Rome) The Basilica also houses a baptistery, which for many years was the only one in Rome and an important restoration project that was carried out and completed thanks to Mei Wen and Leslie Negley. The ancient arcade of the Constantinian Baptistery includes two solemn porphyry columns with two apses decorated with mosaics. Pope Anastasius IV transformed them into two chapels in 1054 and we are going to focus on one of the two chapels: the Chapel of Saints Cipriano and Justina. The restoration intervention started in November 2019. An important preliminary study characterized and verified the stability of the mosaic tiles, those of the glassy layers and of the metallic sheet. There was a considerable amount of cement during the previous restoration of 1944. The restorers removed the residue that covered the tiles' surfaces and along the edges of the pictorial additions. In the pictures restorers at work on site. . . _____ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts #becomeapatrons #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #vaticancity #stjohnlateran #baptistery

The Croce Astile became part of the Vatican Museums collection in 2007, thanks to the donation of Carlo and Lucia Barocchi. The aim of the restoration, performed by the restorer Paolo Zaccagnini, was removing its dark areas, especially on the small model of Christ, admirably made by expert hands of that time. In the Metal and Ceramic Restoration Lab, the first step of the intervention was disassembling all the constituting elements of the artifact by removing all the original metal pins, which held the different pieces together. The restorers used specific products in order to remove the brown patina while respecting the patina of the silver. A protective film was then applied, and new copper pins, which allow not de-constructing the artifact for future interventions, have been made to replace the ancient ones. This restoration project was sponsored by our 𝗪𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗧𝗢𝗡 𝗗.𝗖. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿. . . . _____ #museums #vaticanmuseums #artrestoration #art #vatican #vaticancity #patronsofthearts#becomeapatrons #patronsoftheartsinthevaticanmuseums #pavm #museivaticani #silver