Rendering 3

The article published on the website of the newspaper “The New York Times” on February 22, 2013 is headlined “AsOne Renaissance Door Closes, Others Open”

The article reports at length that one of the most popular attractions of the Vatican Museums, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, will be closed to the public over the next few weeks, as cardinals gather there to elect the successor of Pope Benedict XVI. But visitors will be able to find some artistic consolation by lingering in the rooms that Raphael painted in the second-floor apartment of the Pontifical palace used by Pope Julius II (and his successors until the mid-16th century), their 30-year restoration now finally complete.

It’s an open secret that Raphael, an artist and an architect, was summoned to Rome in 1508, and the four frescoed rooms where the pope conducted his business were a prized commission. The rooms were originally decorated during the reigns of Popes Alexander VI (1492-1503) and Pius III (whose papacy lasted less than a month in 1503), by renowned Renaissance artists like Piero della Francesca, Luca Signorelli and Bramantino. Julius II brought in other luminaries to complete the work before deciding to give Raphael carte blanche to start fresh.

It was revealed that begun in 1982, the restoration was carried out one fresco at a time so that visitors could continue to see Raphael’s famed works.

The article carries a lot of comment on the fact that restorers now believe that significant traces of the earlier frescoes remain, including the fresco depicting the delivery of the Pandects (a legal code) to the Emperor Justinian, in the Room of the Segnatura, now attributed to the Renaissance artist Lorenzo Lotto, who had been drafted by Julius II before Raphael was brought in. Lotto ended up working in Raphael’s workshop, on several the frescoes, Professor Nesselrath said.

Analyzing this situation it is necessary to emphasize that the restoration of several frescoes was funded by the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, an association founded in 1982 after a show of Vatican paintings toured the United States.

As for me, I think that the USA help us to fund restorations and keep the Vatican beautiful and young and attractive, despite the wear and tear to the museums caused by five million visitors a year and it’s very important for the world heritage.