The Church is called to walk with Jesus on the roads of the world, in order to meet the humanity of today.
Friday September 16,
See the Sistine…in Montreal
Written by Kathleen Rose Kennedy for VMO
Sunday August 16th,
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes haven recreated at the Palais des Congrès, in downtown Montreal. The exhibition started in July and has had fabulous reviews thus far. VMO explored the showcase and loved every minute.
Recreated to their original sizes, the paintings were photographically produced using art technology. So, essentially, it’s a “life-size, up-close, never-before-seen perspective” of the artist’s masterpieces.
A perfect example of High Renaissance art, Michelangelo painted his masterpieces between 1508 and 1512. Known as the most famous and largest papal chapel in the world, the Sistine Chapel was named after Pope Sixtus IV, who built it between 1475 and 1483. What is so interesting about this exposition is that you can really see all the detail in the images, compared to seeing it in real life at the Vatican. Well, at least you can get within 5 feet of the art piece, and of course seeing the Chapel in it’s actual form is quite breathtaking.
The ceiling paintings included many well-known scenes, such as The Creation of Adam, The Great Flood and The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Earth. A total of nine scenes were clearly depicted in the center of the ceiling. These nine were separated into three sections: God creating the Heavens and the Earth, God creating Adam and Eve, and finally, Noah’s Journey. Michelangelo retells the epic tales from both the Old and New Testament.
Painted along the walls were the 12 important prophetic figures from the Holy Scriptures: 7 male prophets of Israel – Jonah, Daniel, Isaiah, Zechariah, Joel, Ezekiel and Jeremiah - and the remaining 5 were female Sibyls, who were prophets from the Classical World.
The final piece of the exhibition was by far the most intricate and jaw-dropping: The Last Judgment. It took Michelangelo over 4 year to complete this work of art, and the final product is almost 14 meter in height, with over 390 individual figures embedded within the piece – It’s no wonder it takes a long time to take in its beauty and detail. “The Last Judgment will precede the complete renewal of God’s Kingdom, when Christ will appear and judge the living and the dead. The chosen ones will then enter into the glory of God, while the sinners are damned to the eternal fires of Hell.”
Surprisingly enough, the exhibition wasn’t very busy on a Tuesday afternoon when VMO went to see it. The whole showcase was mainly in one large room, with over 33 pieces of art covering every wall – everywhere you looked! There were about 20 people in the room, and the age range was all over the map – there were young couples, seniors, as well as young students.
The exhibition runs until mid October, and VMO highly recommends taking an hour or two to enjoy the exhibition. What better way to spend a summer day in downtown Montreal than learning about one of the most spectacular artists of our time, and feeling as though you’re roaming the hall of the Vatican?
Last Night at the Gayete
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The Centaur Theatre's - season is drawing to a close with its final production of Last Night at the Gayety, a musical comedy by Bowser & Blue which runs until May 22nd. |
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