Vatican Museums Unveil Restored Raphael Room of Constantine

VATICAN CITY, June 27 (AP) – The Vatican Museums have unveiled the last and most significant of the restored Raphael Rooms, the splendidly frescoed reception areas of the Apostolic Palace. These rooms, in some respects, rival the Sistine Chapel as the pinnacle of High Renaissance artistry.

The decade-long restoration of the largest Raphael Room revealed a novel mural painting technique first initiated by the eminent Renaissance painter and architect, Raphael. He daringly used oil paint directly on the walls and arranged a grid of nails embedded in the walls to hold the resin surface onto which he painted. This technique, however, was never completed.

Vatican Museums officials shared these discoveries during the inauguration of the Room of Constantine, following the removal of the final scaffolding. This reception room, painted by Raphael and his students in the early 1500s, is dedicated to Roman Emperor Constantine, whose adoption of Christianity was pivotal in spreading the faith throughout the Roman Empire.

"With this restoration, we rewrite a part of the history of art," noted Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta.

Pope Julius II called the young Raphael Sanzio from Florence to Rome in 1508 to adorn a new private apartment for him in the Apostolic Palace, offering the 25-year-old a significant commission during his peak artistic period.

Historical reports suggested that Raphael aspired to decorate the rooms using oil paint directly on the walls for greater brilliance, rather than frescoes. The restoration of the Room of Constantine over the past decade confirmed these reports, explained Fabio Piacentini, a chief restorer.

Vatican technicians discovered that the two female figures, Justice and Courtesy, situated in opposite corners of the hall, were indeed oil-on-wall paintings, rather than frescoes, making them clearly Raphael's work. However, Raphael passed away on April 6, 1520, at 37, before completing the hall. The remaining paintings are frescoes done by his students who were unable to master his oil technique, said Jatta.

During the cleaning process, restorers found that Raphael indeed planned to expand his use of oil paints: behind the plaster frescoes, they uncovered a series of metal nails believed to have been installed to secure the natural resin surface Raphael intended to paint on, Piacentini mentioned.

"From a historical and critical point of view, and also technical, it was truly a discovery," he stated. "The approach Raphael devised was revolutionary for its time, and has never been seen in any other mural using oil paint."

The final part of the restoration focused on the ceiling, painted by Tommaso Laureti. It features a compelling example of Renaissance perspective through the fresco of a faux tapestry titled "Triumph of Christianity over Paganism."

Throughout its lengthy restoration, the Raphael Rooms remained partially accessible to visitors. Now free of scaffolding, they are ready for the influx of visitors anticipated for the Vatican Museums' 2025 Jubilee celebrations. (AP)

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