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The
Pinacoteca section of the Vatican Museums is where the paintings are. As one might expect, the Vatican has
amassed a formidable collection of religiously-themed paintings over the
centuries, and many noteworthy works are on display here. Here are a few:
Last Judgment, Nicolaus and Johannes (12th C.) | 
Stefaneschi Triptych, Coronation, Madonna
HD Video (16.9 MB) SD Video (3.5 MB) |
Musical Angels, Melozzo da Forli (c. 1480)
HD Video (25.1 MB) SD Video (5.1 MB) | 
Musical Angels, Melozzo da Forli (c. 1480) |
Pieta, Lucas Cranach the Elder (16th C.) | 
Altarpieces and Paintings
HD Video (20.2 MB) SD Video (6.5 MB) |
Altarpiece | 
Assumption of the Virgin, Niccola Filotesio (1515) |
Madonna and Child with Saints, Pietro Perugino (1495) | 
Nativity and Madonna and Child with Saints
HD Video (21.3 MB) SD Video (6.0 MB) |
Madonna di Foligno, Raphael (1511-12) | 
Nativity, Ghirlandaio (15th C.) |
Lament Over the Dead Christ, Giovanni Bellini (1473-76) | 
The Savior, Adoration of the Magi
HD Video (16.0 MB) SD Video (4.5 MB) |
Adoration of the Magi, Raffaellino del Colle (16th C.) | 
Vision of St. Helen, Paolo Veronese (c. 1580) |
Judith with the Head of Holofernes | 
Deposition from the Cross, Caravaggio (1600) |
Crucifixion of St. Peter, Guido Reni (1604) | 
The Triumph of Mars, Peter Paul Rubens |
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Seghers and Wildens (18th C.) | 
St. Francis Xavier, Seghers and Wildens (18th C.) |
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Peter Wenzel
HD Video (9.8 MB) SD Video (2.4 MB)
Among
the Renaissance paintings is the almost-finished Transfiguration by Raphael (1516-20). Raphael was something of a party animal, and
was apparently taken ill following a particularly disgraceful night of
carousing in 1520. He was placed under
the care of some of the finest medical minds in 1520 Rome and consequently did not survive. The Transfiguration
was found in his workshop, and was displayed at his funeral. It is considered his last painting.
Crowning of the Virgin, Raphael (1502-03)Less
finished is St. Jerome in the Wilderness,
by Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1480). Though the painting never got very far in its
development, it shows Leonardo’s talents for composition and anatomical
accuracy, and is also interesting as a window into his creative process.
St. Jerome in the Wilderness, Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1482)
Next,
we’ll examine some old stuff, from ancient Rome and earlier.
Back to Vatican Museums
Continue to Antiquities
