Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Tour Photos Photo Gallery by Andrys Basten at pbase.com

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel Tour Photos

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling and the chapel itself are
a breathtaking experience and the crowds a nervewracking one.

You can enjoy music from that period while browsing.
The Vatican webpage offers user-controlled close-ups of the ceiling here.

For the Raphael ( Raffaello ) painting of "Dispute" shown below,
see also an overview,with more at my image title links.
Also, see user-controlled close-ups of this painting here.

( For FULL Screen: PC's, press/toggle F11. Mac's, cmd-b or maximize screen. )

First sight of St. Peter's from doubledecker bus	BLURRED photo from bus (which didn't stop)	Vatican Tour starts with Court of the Pine (Pigna).	First courtyard
Marble copy of a 4th C. BC bronze of Lysippus 'The Apoxyomenos' See info from Eloise below!	The Belvedere Apollo	The Belvedere Apollo plus a frieze	A river god, in the courtyard
Famous Laocoon orig'l (2005 theory: Michelangelo forged it)	In a Vatican room of sculptures, Hercules (Heracles) of the Theater of Pompey Hercules Righetti	Blurred, but interesting Resurrection tapestry	This ceiling of the Maps Gallery is quite something!
Ceiling features are clearer here	Our enthusiastic guide is in the yellow sweater.	From Raphael's Stanza of the Signatura - 'Dispute'	More from Raphael's 'Dispute of the Blessed Sacrament'
Sistine Chapel, first sight of ceiling	Previous shot, rotated for old testament scenes	Various Sibyls	From back seating area where we could sit and enjoy
Figures breaking the boundaries - my favorite	(BLURRED) Last Judgment	D. Ghirlandaio's 'Vocation of St. Peter and of St. Paul'	G. Roselli's 'Sermon on the Mount' near back gate
First glimpse of Michelangelo's 'Pieta' in St. Peter's	Closer up, through glass. Photography is not discouraged.	Crucified Jesus and a younger-faced eternal Mary	Michelangelo: a youthful Mary for mystery of birth and crucifixion.
Michelangelo signed the banner when another artist was credited.	Michelangelo's dome	The final dome was under Michelangelo's supervision too.	More from the top
Exposure and zoom were set for the dove on this striking piece.	Exposure was set for the angelic figures	Saying goodbye to St. Peter's

comment |

Andrys Basten		14-Dec-2011 12:37
Amitabha Sen, Thank you. Are you from the Kindle forums where my nickname is Arts & History? :-)

Amitabha Sen		14-Dec-2011 09:44
Art & History so vivid in this magnificent album! Thanks! Amitabha Sen, Kolkata, India.

Guest		20-Jun-2010 13:52
hi Andrys, i wasnt done with my previous comment but somehow it disappeared on me. i think i hit the send button by accident. i want to thank you for replying to my comment. i am attaching my email address here. i enjoyed your vatican photos so much. i have pretty much everything excpet those two i mentioned previously. seems like you travel quite often? will check out your other photos too when i get a chance! :) thanks again! and have a wonderful day!!! ~hennie

Guest		20-Jun-2010 13:16
oh ok. thank you Andrys for your prompt reply!

Andrys Basten		20-Jun-2010 03:54
Hi, Hennie - I can't reply to your private question w/o an email address, but you'll probably like the answer. If you sign your comment with an e-mail address in the comment, no one sees the email address but the gallery owner -- it won't be shown to viewers.

Andrys Basten		05-Apr-2008 03:27
Per a pbase mail I just got, this is a reminder that no flash (and thus no heat or light) was used for these photos.

Guest		04-Apr-2008 17:43
hey your not supposed to take pics of the sistine chapel because the camera make the fresco's die an if it dies because of you i will be very angry and sew you!

Andrys Basten		06-Feb-2008 03:52
Maryanne, thanks, glad you liked those. Flash cameras are not allowed at all. In fact, cameras are highly discouraged. But if you don't use flash, and you're not obvious about it you can get shots using hi iso. A Nixon 50 would be noticed, and they'd escort you out because it can take better pictures than the small ones. Fodors is a great site. Have a wonderful trip too ! (Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed these.)

Maryanne		06-Feb-2008 01:54
WOW! WHAT GREAT SHOTS, ANDRYS. i DIDN'T THINK THAT FLASH CAMERAS WERE ALLOWED IN THE SISTINE CHAPEL...MINE IS NOT SMALL (NIKON 50) SO I DON'T THINK IT'LL BE ALLOWED. I LOVED YOUR TRIP REPORT ON FODOR'S AND ALL YOUR GREAT TIPS! THANKS SO MUCH!

Andrys Basten		10-Jan-2008 05:22
As additional information re dissuading visitors from photographing (non-flash) the ceiling, see "How to Copyright Michelangelo" at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/27/how_to_copyright_michelangelo/page2.html and "Copyrights for Michelangelo's Works" at http://www.techdirt.com/blog.php?tag=sistine+chapel

Hans Meerbeek		20-Nov-2006 09:11
Awesome gallery!

Andrys Basten		10-Nov-2006 04:22
Conrad, I have a camera that's tiny, quiet, and probably non-threatening when it comes to worries about copyright. (The Japan company that helped finance the restoration of the paintings wanted copyright protection.) They encouraged several of us from taking further shots, but someone with a long telephoto lens on a good-sized dslr was escorted out. Thanks. Some don't understand how important it is to bring back our own memory of how it looked from our point of view when we're there. Awesome place.

Conrad		10-Nov-2006 00:30
Seeing your shots inside Sistine brings back alot of memories. Well done. How did you sneak those shots through. I was soooooo tempted to take a shot with a DSLR from the back seats. But with a loud mirror slap on the camera and security (plain clothed ones too) in the end I chickened out incase I got kicked out. Well done. I envy you!!!

Andrys Basten		11-Sep-2006 05:40
Nelson, it was difficult when we were initially standing (when we came in). But they also have pew-like seats against the walls, on the right side and in the back, and you're allowed to sit there and take it all in. So, from that perspective it wasn't difficult. For me, it was important to get the actual atmosphere of the place and the ceiling in context of what I (as a tourist) experienced, so without flash pops that would harm the pics I just shot when I saw something that I could take in more slowly later.

Nelson Chen Photography		11-Sep-2006 05:23
Enjoyed your Sistine Chapel photos a lot. Was it hard to shoot upward?

Andrys Basten		13-Aug-2006 21:38
Katie, the dress code is strict, and is enforced (no shorts, or too-short skirts or 'bare shoulders' -- a covering should be brought in that case), but there's no mention against sandals.

Katie		13-Aug-2006 20:57
Can you wear sandals in St. Peter's and the Sistine?

yildirim		12-Jul-2006 13:30
nice spiritual power of arts, thanks for years ago

Andrys Basten		03-Jul-2006 03:00
Dorian, with tiny video cameras and the ubiquitous cell-phone cameras, these odd restrictions for non-flash photos are largely unenforceable in public exhibits now. I used my everyday Elph s410 for the Sistine (carefully) and the Vatican Museum tour, but used the Rebel XT for St. Peter's. Wow, I didn't know they moved the Pieta to New York for the World Fair in '64! Here's more info on that, in case others are interested too, from thehttp://www.americanheritage.com site: === "The second most popular attraction—one in which visitors could not sit down—was the Pietà. Displayed in a small room, all cloaked in a rich dark blue, the statue was shown in light just bright enough to draw out the details. Visitors were drawn slowly past the Pietà on a moving sidewalk. Lingering wasn’t allowed. It was situated in a position said to have been preferred by Michelangelo, meaning that even people who had seen it in Rome were seeing it anew in New York. For most of the 14 million who saw it, though, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..." .

Dorian		02-Jul-2006 14:29
All gorgeous! Especially enjoyed the Pieta. I saw that as a child. I think at the NY World's Fair. So nice that you were able to take photos in so many areas. My inner photographer was frustrated in England - no photos allowed in many of the buildings. (Were these all taken with the elph?)

Andrys Basten		26-Jun-2006 17:09
Thanks, Raymond. Glad you liked it, as your galleries are Prime. If you do go, get a hold of 'Michelangeo and the Pope's Ceiling' by Ross King, as it's a fascinating read, with cites galore. Wish I had read it before going.

raymond ker		26-Jun-2006 11:11
A wonderful guided tour of the Vatican masterpieces! My visit is long overdue. You've whetted my appetite. Thanks. Voted !!

Andrys Basten		20-Jun-2006 16:57
Olivia -- in St. Peter's Basilica, after the Sistine, we were not on a tour, so weren't rushed. And they actually do allow photos in St. Peter's, including flash though flash doesn't work well with glass surrounding the Pieta, so I didn't use it. They highly discourage photos in the Sistine though many keep trying, to get personal memories to enjoy later. You saw a LOT more than we did and got into places I never saw. Loved so many of your pictures! I encourage anyone interested in what is available on the St. Peter's Basilica tour, to see your Italy blog athttp://okitalia.blogspot.com Seeing the pope's private Loggia di Raphael and the quietness there must have been amazing. I also liked that you identify so much of what you saw and took such good pictures. Thanks again for that page.

Olivia from Blogger		20-Jun-2006 10:56
Wow, it seems you were not so rushed in St Peter's Basilica as we were (re: my Neapolitan pics). I took so many while walking and they were blurred, especially the altarpiece. But my baldacchino pics I am rather proud of. You ought to be really proud of getting so many images of the Pieta because I tried and was told it was not allowed, so there again I have a blur, but I can't delete it now that I know it's forbidden!

Donald Verger		19-Jun-2006 08:24
wonderful gallery, thank you vote!

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