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 But the creator of those masterpieces is Raphael, Michelangelo's
Renaissance contemporary and rival, so the Vatican has made an
exception for a brief stay.
For the first time in centuries, all 12 tapestries designed by
Raphael have been hung on the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel
as part of celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the
artist's death.
"They were conceived for this space and so we thought it was the
best way to celebrate," Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican
Museums, told Reuters.
The tapestries, which were weaved in Brussels by the famed
studio of Pieter van Aelst from Raphael's sketches, depict
scenes from the Acts of the Apostles, such as The Stoning of St.
Stephen and St. Paul Preaching in Athens.
For the next week, they are back in the Sistine Chapel, where
they were between the time Michelangelo finished painting the
ceiling in 1512 and when he began painting the massive Last
Judgement wall behind the main altar in 1536.
All 12, made with silk, wool and gold and silver thread, have
been painstakingly restored by Vatican Museum conservationists
in the last 10 years.
"UNIVERSAL IMPORTANCE"
"This place is of universal importance, not only for visual arts
but for our faith," Jatta said, standing in the Sistine Chapel.
"So we really want to share this beauty with people, even if
only for one week".
Seven of the tapestries, commissioned by Pope Leo X, were hung
in the chapel on St. Stephen's day, Dec. 26, 1519. Raphael was
probably there to see them but he died four months later at the
age of 37. The others were finished after his death.
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"The last record that we have of all of them being hung in the
Sistine is from the late 1500s," Alessandra Rodolfo, the curator of
the exhibition, told Reuters.
Previous exhibitions, some of which lasted only a few hours or a
day, included only the 10 larger tapestries, some measuring about
six by five meters. Two of the twelve are narrow and hung vertically
as borders.
A selection are normally on display on rotation behind glass in
climate-controlled spaces in the Vatican Museums.
The Vatican Museums' conservationists and restorers allowed all 12
of the delicate tapestries to be put on show at the same time for
only a week, in part to protect them and in part because some will
be on loan to other museums.
One will be going soon to Rome's Quirinale Palace's Scuderie museums
and another will be going to the National Gallery in London later
this year.
"It's exactly what Pope Francis is asking us, which is to share and
to be a museum open to everybody and to share our beauty," Jatta
said.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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