Vatican Splendors

Yesterday we went to the "Vatican Splendors" exhibit at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

Maybe because we've been to the Vatican, this exhibit felt watered down and contrived to us.  I was hoping for more ancient iconographic art.   Some of the display seemed hokey, like the cast of a rock from Peter's tomb.  Not the real rock, mind you, but a copy of a rock.  There was a relinquary with 4 tiny bits of bone in it - said to be those of St. Peter and St. Paul and "other saints that couldn't be verified".  The reliquary, itself, was interesting.  I'm not sure if I believe that the bones are what they say they are.  How can they verify such a thing?  The exhibit was a tribute to Catholic Church, the history of Papal rule and the role of art in that history.

A few things impressed me: 

A large and ornate red cape worn by St. Charles Borromeo who lived in splendor in the 16th Century so as to represent the glory of church.  Anyone wearing that cape would have drawn attention.  A relief depicting the crucifixion of St. Peter, and a Tibetan scroll from the 17th century, with the large red seal of the Dalai Lama, allowing missionaries into Tibet.

There was a cast of Michelangelo's Pieta, which we could see up close.  You realize how much the marble itself lends to the beauty of the original when comparing it to a small original Michelangelo that was on display.

Later, as John and I were discussing it, we remembered an exhibit of Middle Eastern (Ancient Iraq) artifacts that we had happened upon in Chicago last summer (2009), which impressed us more and even seemed more "sacred" and real.