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Local group helps preserve a few ‘Vatican Splendors’ |
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By Maria Wiering
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Wednesday, 24 September 2008 |
When the “Vatican Splendors” exhibit opens Sept. 27 at the Minnesota History Center, local members of one arts organization are less likely to beeline to see the tools Michelangelo used to fresco the Sistine Chapel or gawk at gleaming papal jewels.
Nicole Delfino Jansen, central registrar for the Minnesota Historical Society, and David Galusha, a conservator with Evergreen Exhibitions, carefully uncrated the Mandylion of Edessa, one of the artifacts that will be featured in the “Vatican Splendors” exhibit, during a press conference at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul Sept. 18. Photo by Dianne Towalski / The Catholic Spirit
Instead, their eyes will likely scan for gilt wood statues of the Apostles — statues the group’s members helped to preserve.
Members of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums contribute
between $250 and $1,000 or more annually to support the restoration and
preservation of artwork in the 13 Vatican Museums in Vatican City and
Rome. The museums’ collections range from Egyptian antiquities to
contemporary art.
The international organization has about 1,000 members, said Johan van
Parys, director of liturgy at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.
He chairs the Patron of the Arts’ Minnesota and North Dakota chapter,
which has about 50 members.
“For us, to see works that are very beloved to us . . . so close in our
backyard is wonderful for our organization,” van Parys said.
The Vatican Museums has “one of the most extensive collections
documenting thousands of years of human existence,” van Parys added.
“Since it exists, we have the responsibility to also maintain it.”
Each year, the local Patrons of the Arts chapter organizes a trip to
visit the Vatican Museums, where its members enjoy free admission,
private tours, extended access and no waiting lines.
However, with the rising cost of travel, not everyone can go to Rome to
see the art, van Parys said. “We find it very important that art leave
the Vatican and travel the world,” he said.
The local chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums helped to preserve this statue of St. Peter attributed to the workshop of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The statue is part of the “Vatican Splendors” exhibit. Photo courtesy of Vatican Splendors
Preserving history
Whenever art leaves the Vatican, it is cleaned, studied and restored —
often with Patron of the Arts funds — “to make sure the art is in
pristine condition,” van Parys said. The Patrons of the Arts also helps
to support some exhibits, although the local chapter did not
collaborate with the Minnesota History Center on the “Vatican
Splendors” exhibit.
Patrons of the Arts know exactly what art their contributions are
aiding, van Parys said. Vatican Museum curators compile a “wish-list”
each year, and chapters choose which pieces they would like to
financially support.
The local Patron of the Arts chapter chose to pay for the 12 Apostles
statues’ restoration for a previous exhibit that came to the United
States, van Parys said. “We really fell in love with them,” he said,
describing them as beautiful and of high quality.
The late-18th- or early-19th-century statues — including a statue of
St. Peter often used in the exhibit’s marketing materials — are from
the workshop of Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The local chapter has also financially supported the restoration of
other artworks, including Pope Urban VII’s chasuble and Pope Pius IX’s
processional cross. Their contributions have also helped the Vatican
Museums create rooms with the appropriate atmosphere and light for
storing artwork, van Parys added.
Only seven years old, Minnesota and North Dakota’s Patrons of the Arts
in the Vatican Museums chapter is one of the youngest and smallest in
the United States, but it is extremely active, van Parys said. Local
members are generally young people and hail from several faith
traditions, he added.
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Want to know more?
• For more information about the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums, visit www.vaticanartpatrons.org.
• For more information about “Vatican Splendors” tickets, including discounts available through the Parish Advantage Program, call 877-2VATICAN or visit
www.ticketmaster.com/parish.
To view more photos, visit our online photo gallery HERE.
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Members meet every other month for social events like attending arts
events, having dinner or listening to an art-related lecture. When the
Milwaukee Public Museum exhibited “St. Peter and the Vatican: The
Legacy of the Popes” in 2006, they organized a trip to view it.
“Vatican Splendors” is one of the largest exhibitions of
Vatican-collected art, documents and historically significant objects
to tour North America, according to the Minnesota Historical Society.
The exhibit is scheduled to run through Jan. 11.
Van Parys hopes the exhibit also attracts more members to the Minnesota chapter of Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.
“This way, it is no longer a bunch of art that is so far away, but it
is something that people can actually see, and if not touch, at least
be really close to,” van Parys said.
The chapter’s members plan to visit the exhibit together Nov. 16.
Anyone interested in learning more about the organization is invited to
attend. More information is available through the Patrons of the Arts’
Web site.
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