When I was posting pictures of my trip to Italy last fall, I prpbably mentioned that I experienced some technical difficulties with my camera just as we arrived at the Vatican Museum. As a result, I have no recent photos of that spectacular set of chapels and galleries. However, I did take some shots during my previous trip in 1999-2000, and have finally got around to digitizing some of them. These are not that great as far as letting you examine the detail of the massive halls we passed through, but it will give you some idea of how ornate the decor was.
Here you can see, first of all, the crowds wandering through the place (which was also true on my subsequent visit), but more to the point, the incredible ceiling. The Sistine Chapel (where no photos were allowed) is the famous place for ceiling art, but it appears throughout the halls and galleries of the Vatican Museum.
Here's a slightly more visible view of one of those ceilings.
And here's even more of a closeup on one corner. This is one of those museums that wears you out, in that there is ultimately more to see than you can properly process without feeling a sense of overload. That's not a criticism, just an implicit suggestion to take your time and not feel that you need to absorb everything if you should visit.
This one has nothing to do with the Vatican. In
a comment to a previous post, mention was made of a "Dancing John" picture. This is the one I think was referred to, but maybe not (it wasn't taken in Pompei). If there's another one extant, and anyone reading this has a copy, I hope they'll send it to me (since the original comment sparked several demands to see it).
Here you can see, first of all, the crowds wandering through the place (which was also true on my subsequent visit), but more to the point, the incredible ceiling. The Sistine Chapel (where no photos were allowed) is the famous place for ceiling art, but it appears throughout the halls and galleries of the Vatican Museum.
Here's a slightly more visible view of one of those ceilings.
And here's even more of a closeup on one corner. This is one of those museums that wears you out, in that there is ultimately more to see than you can properly process without feeling a sense of overload. That's not a criticism, just an implicit suggestion to take your time and not feel that you need to absorb everything if you should visit.
This one has nothing to do with the Vatican. In a comment to a previous post, mention was made of a "Dancing John" picture. This is the one I think was referred to, but maybe not (it wasn't taken in Pompei). If there's another one extant, and anyone reading this has a copy, I hope they'll send it to me (since the original comment sparked several demands to see it).
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