View Full Version : View the Vatican online - beautiful!
This link is one that I have been looking for since I lost it some years ago with the Sistine Chapel. Are there any more great links of unique places of art or architecture that are similarly viewed online?
http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_giovanni/vr_tour/index-en.html
And the virtual Sistine Chapel link:
http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html
I'm lost for words. It doesn't even seem worldly, does it, and the Gregorian Chants make for such a pleasant Sunday Morning experience. Thank you so much for this, Razz.
P.S. The scale is beyond incomprehensible. To know human hands carved each statue, laid each tile, and cut every stone.
How about you, Razz, what takes your breath away related to the heavenly rooms?
We went to the Vatican years ago, what a beautiful place. St Marks (?) was huge - and the artwork! I was surprised how small the Sistine Chapel was - I had always envisioned it larger.
The technology that made it all possible to view online leaves me speechless. I visited the Sistine Chapel in 1986 and it was partially restored at that point so seeing it all at my leisure now without a whole mass of people around me is amazing.
There must be lots of equally wonderful views that could be seen online.
That is fabulous. Is there an online guide to the Sistine Chapel anywhere? I want to know who these people are.
Thanks for posting, razz.
Bump
In light of the newly elected Pope.
Cool--Thanks, Mrs-M.
My son went to Italy last fall and visited the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, and he, too, came home speechless. He said that everywhere you looked there was artistic magnificence.
What an experience, Catherine. I just finished visiting the website in it's entirety, and the awe is still with me... doesn't seem humanely possible to create something of such grandness. If I could live forever, or for hundreds of years... the Vatican, would be my home. It is the place I would like to be, forever.
Thanks for the bump, Mrs, M, I enjoyed seeing all of it again.
Tussiemussies
3-14-13, 3:57pm
Thank you Razz for posting this. How breathtaking all the excellence of work that is there. There really are no words, for me it is a experience.
If man can create such beauty then why isn't it being created elsewhere?
You're welcome, Razz. So enjoyable.
How right you are, Tussie, Re: "there are no words for". It borders on another worldly experience altogether.
I got to visit the Sistine Chapel many years ago. I was sixteen, and more interested in spotting cute Italian guys than appreciating the awesome sights before me. So stupid! What a waste. I enjoyed it far more on my little computer screen now than I was able to in person back then. Thanks for bumping!
[rant on] Funny, my reaction to this is much like my reaction to Versailles, which was created on the backs of the starving French peasants and likely led to the bloodshed of the French revolution.
Was not St. Peter's mission, given him by Christ, "Feed my sheep?" Not, start a really cool museum? [rant off]
[rant on] Funny, my reaction to this is much like my reaction to Versailles, which was created on the backs of the starving French peasants and likely led to the bloodshed of the French revolution.
Was not St. Peter's mission, given him by Christ, "Feed my sheep?" Not, start a really cool museum? [rant off]
Cannot disagree but the alternative use of the same funds could have gone to many other more personal uses. The poor were rarely regarded as the focus in those times.
One needs to recognize that today's more egalitarian and compassionate view of others in need is a huge step away from the blind acceptance by most of earlier societies that the elite ruled by divine right. Doesn't make it right though and required a huge mental shift with many lives lost in the battle.
One needs to recognize that today's more egalitarian and compassionate view of others in need is a huge step away from the blind acceptance by most of earlier societies that the elite ruled by divine right.
Seems to me that shift in perspective should have started with the church. Even now, there are many private wealthy folks who would pay gazillions to own those works of art, which would make a nice fund for social justice issues.
catherine
3-15-13, 11:07am
Well, all institutions are behemoths that are not quick to change, and Peter did, upon Jesus' charge, start an institution.
Luckily, there have been "upstarts" along the way to shine a light on a better way--here's a great Huffington Post article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-canon-c-k-robertson-phd/dangerous-christians_b_858055.html) that talks about how change in the Church has sprung from some of its most "dangerous" Christians: including St. Francis, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Mary Magdelan, Dietrich Boenhoffer.
Well, all institutions are behemoths that are not quick to change, and Peter did, upon Jesus' charge, start an institution.
Luckily, there have been "upstarts" along the way to shine a light on a better way--here's a great Huffington Post article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-canon-c-k-robertson-phd/dangerous-christians_b_858055.html) that talks about how change in the Church has sprung from some of its most "dangerous" Christians: including St. Francis, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Mary Magdelan, Dietrich Boenhoffer.
And thank God for them.
catherine
3-15-13, 11:24am
And thank God for them.
Amen.
I’ve always thought it a bit presumptuous to apply the shallow standards of contemporary political correctness to other periods of history. Are we really in a position of such high moral standing that we can think ourselves superior to the people who fought at Thermopylae, or kept learning alive through the Dark Ages, or drafted the Emancipation Proclamation? I can imagine future generations who don’t share our current circumstances regarding us with horror and disgust for weaponizing nuclear fusion or building an industry around aborting unwanted children.
I suppose the Vatican could auction off the Pieta to some Russian oligarch to spend on whatever “social justice” means this week. As a group, Catholic believers and institutions are already one of the world’s great sources of “corporal acts of mercy”. But I like the idea of places like the Vatican, the Louvre or the Forbidden City being preserved through the years. Once those treasures are scattered, they probably can’t be reassembled again for the benefit of the future.
I agree, LDAHL. I'm not about to knock on the door of someone who lives in some huge highly-secured mansion to ask if I can come in and view his Pieta.
I’ve always thought it a bit presumptuous to apply the shallow standards of contemporary political correctness to other periods of history.
And yet, the idea that people are more important than any social or political structure, or current valued piece of artwork did not originate with Jesus, nor is it practiced wholistically throughout any culture.
The Louvre and the Forbidden City were not created by persons who claimed to love more than anything else the children of God. The people who created the Vatican have taken oaths to do so.
I would argue that there is nothing that man has created as precious as one human being. But we trample on humans all the time to preserve the creation of humans that are "special." Bleh.
It is interesting to me how passionate I am about this topic. Am making note of it for future self care.
ApatheticNoMore
3-15-13, 7:36pm
I can imagine future generations who don’t share our current circumstances regarding us with horror and disgust for weaponizing nuclear fusion or building an industry around aborting unwanted children.
Or our extreme lack of social justice, I could just as readily see that, agast at the extremes of wealth and poverty. But that's not the Catholic church's fault, it hasn't been the dominant social force since the middle ages. And that's assuming there is a future with human beings in it, I am very doubtful there will be.
But I don't think there's anything wrong with having art in some of form accessible to the public rather than entirely closed off and private. But such "commons" here is the Catholic church which is an imperfect institution? Such may be the case (actually if one chooses to focus on a few specifics of course it's glaring!), but aren't all institutions that way?
And yet, the idea that people are more important than any social or political structure, or current valued piece of artwork did not originate with Jesus, nor is it practiced wholistically throughout any culture.
No, the artist types will always think art is most important, maybe every culture has them :)
I agree with LDAHL, as well.
And yet, the idea that people are more important than any social or political structure, or current valued piece of artwork did not originate with Jesus, nor is it practiced wholistically throughout any culture.
The Louvre and the Forbidden City were not created by persons who claimed to love more than anything else the children of God. The people who created the Vatican have taken oaths to do so.
I would argue that there is nothing that man has created as precious as one human being. But we trample on humans all the time to preserve the creation of humans that are "special." Bleh.
It is interesting to me how passionate I am about this topic. Am making note of it for future self care.
I may be less evolved, but I'm not sure I'd swap The Last Supper for say, Heinrich Himmler.
I'm also not sure I'd say you could reduce the Church's mission to a sort of social service organization (although that is certainly important, and they certainly contribute a great deal in that arena).
I may be less evolved, but I'm not sure I'd swap The Last Supper for say, Heinrich Himmler.
I'm also not sure I'd say you could reduce the Church's mission to a sort of social service organization (although that is certainly important, and they certainly contribute a great deal in that arena).
I am sure that I am not very evolved, but I would swap the life of Heinrich Himmler for a painting...any painting. Especially if I could reach him while he was still maleable.
The church's mission is way bigger than a social service organization..but they settle. Damn, do they settle. And sometimes, they perpetrate the evil that they have professed to forgive.
Name 5 people you know that are "better" because of a painting. Bleh. It's just a distraction. Like Jerry Springer.
Fawn I do agree with you thoughts in so many ways but beauty in all forms like works of art, music, nature, literature lift thought beyond the struggles of the day and are timeless in doing so.
I can feed 1000 people and they still will be hungry after I spend $10,000. The same money spend for a painting will give that same population a view that inspires, illuminates and energizes for the long-term.
I took our two daughters to Europe for two weeks and we were told by tour guides that many rare and extraordinary works of art were paid for by evil people who bought their way into heaven near the end of their lives. Towards the end of the ABC (another bloody church or cathedral) tour, our youngest insightful daughter commented as we went into a gorgeous cathedral with amazing sculptures and paintings etc., "There must have been a lot a really evil coming to this church." I laughed and then looked at the works of art and they were truly inspiring and timeless so, Fawn, I have walked in your shoes, so to speak, but the art is worth it.
I am sure that I am not very evolved, but I would swap the life of Heinrich Himmler for a painting...any painting. Especially if I could reach him while he was still maleable.
The church's mission is way bigger than a social service organization..but they settle. Damn, do they settle. And sometimes, they perpetrate the evil that they have professed to forgive.
Name 5 people you know that are "better" because of a painting. Bleh. It's just a distraction. Like Jerry Springer.
All art (the plastic arts, literature, music) could be called a "distraction". But it's also a communication tool, both currently and between generations. If a Church views part of it's mission as propagation of the faith, I see art as a legitimate tool to employ.
I certainly agree the Church often falls short of it's ideals, but I don't see that as the damning argument you seem to. I heard a homily just yesterday on casting the first stone.
Fawn, I think there are a lot of artists on these forums that would take exception at what you said! :) As for me, I don't consider myself an artist, but I certainly consider myself one whose quality of life has been improved and inspired by art.
I think if someone has no money or food, and they have a choice between a chicken and a picture of the Mona Lisa, there's no question as to what their choice is. But if you look at Maslow's Hierarch of needs, art, creativity and self-expression is there, at the pinnacle, once the other needs are met. Our brains respond positively to artistic beauty in a hard-wired sort of way.
I think there's a little Jerry-Springer type of shock value in your comment that there's no difference between great works of art and Jerry Springer. While appreciation of art is certainly a subjective experience, I do strongly believe we are elevated by our personal connections to it. Maslow's hierarchy puts creativity in the same bucket as morality. Are people "better" because of beautiful art? I believe many are.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg/450px-Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png
Tussiemussies
3-18-13, 5:29pm
I showed this 3-D picture to my husband and he thought it was the greatest thing being able to see 3-D of everything.
So beautiful, this would be something I'd like to see before I die...
Tussiemussies
3-18-13, 5:34pm
In my spiritual study the say that the artist, poets and something else which I cannot remember --are the saviors of the world because they pull us into a higher realm than our day-to-day existence and show us that there is something greater than that. I feel it gives people hope then. I think the same thing happens when you watch your own baby being born, it pulls you into the majesty of creation and how beautiful and awesome it really is --even if that state of consciousness only lasts for a few days....
Oh look--a library! Yay!
Oh look--a forest! Yay!
Oh look--an art museum! Yay!
Oh look--a bunch of people! (insert cricket smiley)
Oh I know I'm supposed to elevate people above all else or risk being thought non-progressive, or illiberal or something, and I'm all for rescuing people from a burning building before saving paintings on the wall, but still...the arts (and I define "arts" broadly) have given me more pure pleasure over the years than I can put into words.
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