Michelangelo - Bekehrung des heiligen Paulus

The Cappella Paolina (the Pauline Chapel) is a chapel in the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace ( la, Palatium Apostolicum; it, Palazzo Apostolico) is the official residence of the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the V ...

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. It is separated from the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

by the Sala Regia. It is not on any of the regular tourist itineraries. Michelangelo's two frescoes in the Cappella Paolina, '' The Conversion of Saul'' and '' The Crucifixion of St Peter'' were painted from 1542 to 1549, the height of his fame, but were widely viewed as disappointments and even failures by their contemporary audience. They did not conform to the compositional conventions of the time and the subject-matter is depicted in an unorthodox manner. Despite the importance of the chapel and the significance of their subjects, the frescoes were generally neglected and overlooked in favor of Michelangelo's nearby masterpieces in the

. An Italian scholar has recognised Michelangelo's face both in the Saint Paul and Saint Peter paintings by facial superimposition.

Building and decoration

The chapel was commissioned in 1538 by the order of

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

and completed in 1540 under the design and supervision of

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger 250px, A model of the Apostolic Palace, which was the main project of Bramante during Sangallo's apprenticeship. 250px, The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the Rome.html"_;"title="Trajan's_Market_in_Rome">Trajan's_Market_in_Rome. image: ...

. The Cappella Paolina served as both the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Chapel of the Conclave. Paul III dedicated the chapel to the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, a festival to which he displayed particular devotion. Given the ceremonial and personal significance of the chapel, it was to be expected that the Pope would require the services of a great artist for its decoration, and, in the opinion of both the Papacy and the people, there was no one greater than

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

Even before the unveiling of Michelangelo's ''Last Judgment'', Paul III had already decided that Michelangelo, who desperately wanted to fulfill his contract with the

della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estat ...

for the Tomb of

Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

, must paint the

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es of the Cappella Paolina. This is shown by a letter dated October 12, 1541 from Cardinal Alexander, Paul III's nephew, to Bishop Marco Vigerio which discusses the paintings to be carried out in the "New Chapel."

S. J. Freedberg Sydney Joseph Freedberg (November 11, 1914 – May 6, 1997) was an American art historian and curator, mainly of Italian Renaissance painting. Freedberg was born in Boston and attended the Boston Latin School. He graduated from Harvard College in ...

notes that the two frescos in the Cappella Paolina, Michelangelo's last paintings, begun in November 1542, almost immediately after the ''Last Judgement'', show from the start a major change in style, away from grace and aesthetic effect to an exclusive concern with illustrating the narrative, with no regard for beauty.Freedberg, 475-477 Other paintings in the chapel are by

Lorenzo Sabbatini Lorenzo Sabbatini or Sabatini, Sabattini or Sabadini (c. 1530–1576), sometimes referred to as Lorenzino da Bologna, was an Italian painter of the Mannerist period from Bologna. Biography Sabbatini was born in Bologna and studied with Pro ...

and

Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari (c. 1540/1541August 6, 1609), was an Italian Mannerist painter and architect, active both in Italy and abroad. Biography Zuccaro was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino (Marche). His docum ...

. The statues in the background are by P. Bresciano.

Use by papal conclave

Before the opening of a

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

, the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

assembles in this chapel to attend a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

in which the members are reminded of their obligation to quickly give to the Church her ablest son as ruler and guide. The

cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

then withdraw to the Sistine Chapel. In the Cappella Paolina are sung daily the conclave Solemn Masses "De Spiritu Sancto", at which all members of the conclave must be present. In 1549 and 1550, the Cappella Paolina was used for the

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the Apostolic succession, apostolic successor of Saint ...

itself, the

having been set aside and divided into 19 cells for use by infirm cardinals. The conclave elected

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

The 1996 document '' Universi Dominici gregis'' stipulated the Pauline Chapel as the place where the cardinal-electors were to assemble at the beginning of the conclave prior to the procession and entry into the Sistine Chapel. However, due to restoration work that had begun in 2002, the chapel was unavailable for the 2005 conclave so the Hall of Blessings instead was used for this purpose. The restoration work was finished in 2009 and during the 2013 conclave the cardinal-electors assembled in the Pauline Chapel to begin their procession into the Sistine Chapel. The Pauline Chapel was also the venue where the non-cardinal officials, support staff and other personnel who had duties in the 2013 conclave took their oath of secrecy the day before the conclave.

Restoration

Cappella Paolina In 2004, the Vatican announced plans to restore the frescoes in Cappella Paolina. Work was completed in 2009, revealing bright colors and hues that had been dulled by centuries of dirt and grime.

Virtual reality presentation

In 2010, the Vatican website released a virtual reality rendered version of the Cappella Paolina. It presents the chapel in part 3D rendering and part high-resolution photography, unquestionably made after the 2009 restoration. This can be seen at https://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/paolina_vr/.

Other ''Cappelle Paoline''

Two other chapels with the same name are in the church of

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

and in the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzian ...

, both in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

References

Sources

* Freedberg, Sydney J. ''Painting in Italy, 1500–1600'', 3rd edn. 1993, Yale,

External links

''The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome''
a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Cappella Paolina (pp. 128–132) {{Coord, 41.902611, 12.454726, type:landmark_region:VA, display=title, format=dms Roman Catholic churches completed in 1540 Apostolic Palace Roman Catholic chapels in Rome Renaissance art Fresco paintings in Rome Catholic architecture Sites of papal elections Paolina 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy