I love it when our country’s focus turns to something positive and especially when that focus isn’t divisive. Such it was this week as we all waited for the new Pope to be named. I had to grin yesterday when one Facebook post after another (most from a long list of Southern Baptist friends) read like this: “White Smoke!” and “We have a new Pope!” and “The Smoke is White!” It seemed to be a warm fuzzy for the whole world!
In other news, I rarely allow a guest post on my blog, although I receive emails about three times a week from strangers requesting the opportunity. I’m never sure if (or what) someone is promoting so as a general rule I stick to my own commentary. However, today I actually asked a teacher myself, “Can I share this information on my blog?” I was given permission…so please welcome this guest post from the amazing art teacher at my school, Victoria Buckner. Ms. Buckner is a second career educator, having served many years as an award winning photojournalist. She’s certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and her students produce impressive artwork that is showcased in our school building as well as in our community.
So enjoy the information Ms. Buckner shared with our staff via email today. Reading it makes me wish I had paid more attention in art class and history class!
The smoke is white and the new Pope is from the ‘new world’. As historical events continue to unfold in the Vatican, you will see glimpses of famous artworks. The Vatican owns some of the most stunning (and vast) collections of paintings, frescoes and sculptures in the world! I would love to share with you some information about the artwork in the Vatican.
Sistine Chapel. The cardinals were in conclave in the Sistine Chapel which is located next to the large domed St. Peter’s Basilica. This link http://www.vatican.va/
This link http://smarthistory.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) painted the ceiling and the altar wall (the Last Judgment) in the chapel. Mich did NOT want to paint the ceiling…he considered himself a sculptor, not a painter. He thought sculpting was superior to painting plus he thought his sculpting rivals were behind the Pope’s request for him to paint the ceiling….if he was busy painting for the next 4 years then he wouldn’t be available to create any more of his awesome sculptures and then the sculpting jobs would go to them, his rivals, and not Mich.
Michelangelo designed and built his own scaffolding to reach the ceiling (68 feet tall), and contrary to popular belief, he STOOD on the scaffolding with his head bent back to paint. He even wrote a poem about the miserable experience (here’s your Common Core literacy component!)
The figures in the frescoes on the ceiling and altar wall are quite sculptural in shape. A fresco is a process where the artist trowels a fresh layer of plaster onto a wall and then paints on it while it is still wet. The pigments are then absorbed into the plaster and should last for years and years. Leonardo da Vinci experimented with this process on the Last Supper (in Milan), and it has been deteriorating ever since…bad move Leo…. The Sistine Chapel ceiling has lasted 500 years and was cleaned in 1999 revealing the original and brilliant colors that Mich used. Three of Michelangelo’s most famous sculptures are the Pieta (he was only 24), David, and Moses.
You will probably see more of the Pieta in days to come (on the news) because it is in St. Peter’s….just inside the main entrance and to the right. It is the only sculpture that Mich ever signed. He did so because the people thought that one of his rivals had sculpted it (which singed his knickers)….so he went back to the chapel at night and chiseled in the sash between Mary’s bosom… “Michelangelo Buonarroti (of Florence) made this”……
The north and south wall frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are painted by equally famous artists… Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio,Cosimo Rosselli, Luca Signorelli and their respective workshops, which included Pinturicchio, Piero di Cosimo and Bartolomeo della Gatta. The original ceiling was frescoed by Piero Matteo d’Amelia with a star-spangled sky.
Thank you, Vicki, for taking us on this trip to Rome! You have used this “teachable moment” to share with your colleagues, and we’ve all learned so much.
P.S. You had me at “poem.” Signed, An English/Language Arts Teacher