DOI Heft:
Nr. 3-4
DOI Artikel:Kilian, Joanna; Kilian, Adam: A Stage Design for Caravaggio
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18945#0260
a background with golden cords of baroque drapery filling the space above the
staircase in the Museum’s main hall.
From the very beginning our concept of the exhibition contained a precisely
directed path for the viewer. Consonant with that intention a purple carpet
running along on the parquet floor beginning at the second floor entrance
indicated and emphasised the path to the exhibition area and beyond, up to
Caravaggio's masterpiece itself. A velvet baldachin with the coat-of-arms of the
Vatican Museum, the crossed keys of St. Peter, and the papal tiara invited
viewers to the exhibition rooms. In the distance heyond the baldachin two
unusual items were on display, the costumes of the Vatican’s Swiss guards, full
of fantasy and striped charm, yet with noble dignity as well. Designed,
according to legend by Michelangelo or possibly Raphael, the uniforms of the
papal guards leave the Holy See rarely and only in exceptional cases. The
guards’ uniforms were exhibited in the full outfit that has remained unchanged
for centuries: a black helmet with a red plume, striped trousers and jacket with
a white ruff, white cuffs and gloves, a sword with a leather belt buckled with
a clasp bearing the initials GSP - Guardia Svizzera Pontificia, black winter
boots with spats, as well as a halberd lance. The presence of the uniforms in
place of the guards themselves, whose oath forbids them to desert the Pope,
was intended as to symbolise guardianship of the Vatican paintings.
“Art does not require that the artist behave well, but that he create a good
work of art.” This citation from St. Thomas Aquinas appeared on a glittering
old-gold entablature, supported by jacquard-covered columns forming an oval
that encircled the first room. This hall was intended to serve as an introduction
for the visitor, with information about Caravaggio as an artist and a person.
The windows were darkened. Informational display cases, illuminated from
within, were located between the columns. With slides of the same colour
lighting the semi-darkness, they served as information tables. In the centre was
a reproduction of Ottavio Teoni’s portrait of Caravaggio. The information
included maps of Italy and Rome at the end of the sixteenth century,
a biography of Caravaggio, the history of The Deposition, citations from
Caravaggio’s contemporaries, texts and illustrations about the stages of his
work, and finally details about the phenomenon of Caravaggionism.
Achieving a harmonious reconciliation of the classical columns and the
Renaissance jacquard with the modern information displays was a difficult task,
but ultimately an interesting challenge for the exhibition designers. Our goal
was to achieve a disciplined artistic interior by means of the contrast between
the modern display cases and the noble, classical architecture. We managed to
blend the deep red of the displays in the purple of the jacquard walls, which
resulted in a uniform illuminated brilliance of the old-gold, with the restraint
of the classic lettering and the rhythmic oval of the colonnade unifying the
artistic expression as a whole.
In order to reach the most important work, Caravaggio’s Deposition, the
spectator was required to pass through, an area of deep violet hue suggesting
Tenten concentration and contemplation. We narrowed the walls and created
250
staircase in the Museum’s main hall.
From the very beginning our concept of the exhibition contained a precisely
directed path for the viewer. Consonant with that intention a purple carpet
running along on the parquet floor beginning at the second floor entrance
indicated and emphasised the path to the exhibition area and beyond, up to
Caravaggio's masterpiece itself. A velvet baldachin with the coat-of-arms of the
Vatican Museum, the crossed keys of St. Peter, and the papal tiara invited
viewers to the exhibition rooms. In the distance heyond the baldachin two
unusual items were on display, the costumes of the Vatican’s Swiss guards, full
of fantasy and striped charm, yet with noble dignity as well. Designed,
according to legend by Michelangelo or possibly Raphael, the uniforms of the
papal guards leave the Holy See rarely and only in exceptional cases. The
guards’ uniforms were exhibited in the full outfit that has remained unchanged
for centuries: a black helmet with a red plume, striped trousers and jacket with
a white ruff, white cuffs and gloves, a sword with a leather belt buckled with
a clasp bearing the initials GSP - Guardia Svizzera Pontificia, black winter
boots with spats, as well as a halberd lance. The presence of the uniforms in
place of the guards themselves, whose oath forbids them to desert the Pope,
was intended as to symbolise guardianship of the Vatican paintings.
“Art does not require that the artist behave well, but that he create a good
work of art.” This citation from St. Thomas Aquinas appeared on a glittering
old-gold entablature, supported by jacquard-covered columns forming an oval
that encircled the first room. This hall was intended to serve as an introduction
for the visitor, with information about Caravaggio as an artist and a person.
The windows were darkened. Informational display cases, illuminated from
within, were located between the columns. With slides of the same colour
lighting the semi-darkness, they served as information tables. In the centre was
a reproduction of Ottavio Teoni’s portrait of Caravaggio. The information
included maps of Italy and Rome at the end of the sixteenth century,
a biography of Caravaggio, the history of The Deposition, citations from
Caravaggio’s contemporaries, texts and illustrations about the stages of his
work, and finally details about the phenomenon of Caravaggionism.
Achieving a harmonious reconciliation of the classical columns and the
Renaissance jacquard with the modern information displays was a difficult task,
but ultimately an interesting challenge for the exhibition designers. Our goal
was to achieve a disciplined artistic interior by means of the contrast between
the modern display cases and the noble, classical architecture. We managed to
blend the deep red of the displays in the purple of the jacquard walls, which
resulted in a uniform illuminated brilliance of the old-gold, with the restraint
of the classic lettering and the rhythmic oval of the colonnade unifying the
artistic expression as a whole.
In order to reach the most important work, Caravaggio’s Deposition, the
spectator was required to pass through, an area of deep violet hue suggesting
Tenten concentration and contemplation. We narrowed the walls and created
250