Everything in the Vatican Museum is decorated. Michelangelo and Raphael painted many of the ceiling frescos, which were painted when the ceilings were freshly plastered. The artist only had a few hours to finish the painting before the plaster would dry and not hold the paint. Once finished, the paint and the plaster were fused. The technique dates to at least 1500 years before Leonardo di Vinci.
Photoblog, Rome, Italy, Europe. April 3, 2025
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Ceiling frescos
The ceiling frescos in the Vatican often merge with the frescos on the vaults and walls. Most were after Michelangelo painted the famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Photographs are no longer allowed in the Sistine Chapel, but by the time you make it to the Sistine Chapel, it seems you have already seen plenty of ceiling frescos and forget to look up.
The High Renaissance was characterized by works of exceptional skill and mastery by artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Leading to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, you see ceiling frescos spanning a few hundred years. Each is more ornate and, in my mind, busy.
Leonardo started the Renaissance style, which was very energetic and realistic, and we associated with Leonardo and then Michelangelo between 1500 and 1550. This style carried forward into the Baroque style, which is characterized by its extravagance and ornateness. It is a historical art and design movement that flourished in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Michelangelo Buonarroti. He painted the entire ceiling using the buon fresco technique, applying pigments to wet plaster while it was still damp. This method created a durable and lasting image by chemically bonding the pigments to the plaster as it dried.
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These photos were taken during our visit. Our photos are often “enhanced” to represent what we saw in person and correct for lighting and other things. Sometimes, this editing makes the images look better than what we saw in person.
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