“Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art”

Features Michelangelo, Bernini,… “Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art”

Features Michelangelo, Bernini, Guercino

Senator John Heinz History Center

1212 Smallman St.

Now-Jan. 9, 2011

Tickets $17

412-454-6000

Some of the world’s greatest works of art are housed in European museums, and expenses for airfare, hotels, food, transportation, admission — you get the idea — generally stand in the way of glimpsing something Michelangelo touched.

But from now through Jan. 9,  visitors to The Senator John Heinz History Center can see some objects on loan from the Vatican without having to fly to Rome.

The exhibition, called “Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art,” features paintings, sculptures, documents and other curiosities that illustrate the long and intricate history of Christianity.

“Of course, there’s nothing like seeing the Vatican first hand, but this is the next best thing,” Ned Schano, the history center’s director of communications said of the exhibit, the largest in the center’s history.

“Vatican Splendors” takes visitors through 2,000 years of Christianity, beginning with reliquaries said to house the remains of Saints Peter and Paul, and ending with objects related to the contemporary Papacy. In between, visitors will see artifacts from the Christianization of Rome and a succession of representations of Biblical figures, from the 14th century to our own.

The paintings displayed include Guercino’s “Portrait of Christ with Crown of Thorns,” which depicts Jesus en route to Golgotha.

“This image was among the first to portray Jesus as we see him today, with the beard and the crown of thorns,” said Brady Smith, communications manager at the center. “It’s also interesting because it represents the Veil of Veronica, which, according to Christian mythology, is a piece of cloth that retained an image of Jesus’ face after he wiped himself with it.”

Moreover, Guercino’s image is a landmark in realist iconography.

“The painting is incredibly lifelike, down to the drops of blood,” Smith said. With his bloodshot eyes and devastated expression, Guercino’s Jesus makes a striking impression.

Also of interest are two golden angels from Bernini’s workshop, a piece of the 15th century Ciborium of Sixtus IV depicting Saint Peter’s crucifixion and a host of ornate, liturgical objects dating from the Napoleonic period.

Of course, no Renaissance exhibit would be complete without Michelangelo. “Vatican Splendors” features a to-scale cast of his “Pietà,” tools used in the painting of the Sistine Chapel, a reproduction of his workplace environment and a bas-relief executed when he was in his 80s.

“One of the things visitors have told me they’ve enjoyed is the closeness our exhibit offers,” Smith said, in reference to the “Pietà.” The original, world-famous sculpture, which depicts Mary holding Jesus after his death, is encased in bulletproof glass in the Vatican, but the exhibit’s cast allows visitors to stand inches from an exact likeness of the work — close enough to see subtle details like Michelangelo’s signature on Mary’s clothes.

Smith said 60 percent of Western Pennsylvania residents identify as Catholic, and Pittsburgh is home to the second-largest diocese in America.

“Because of the demographics, this sort of exhibit really sells itself,” he said.

A special draw for religious visitors is a cast of the late Pope John Paul II’s hand, which can be touched.

“I’ve actually seen people weep when putting their hand in John Paul II’s cast. He was a generation’s pope,” Schano said. “Nevertheless, the exhibit isn’t just for Christians — it’s designed for people interested in art history, religious history and just the history of the last 2,000 years.”

Western Pennsylvanians specifically might be interested to see a number of objects of local interest at the exit of the exhibit, including religious works by Andy Warhol and a large painting from the Vatican that hung in a Heinz factory for many years.

“This is the biggest exhibit the History Center’s ever had, in terms of both square footage and regional importance,” Smith said.