Apostolischer Palast - Sixtinische Kapelle - Grundriss

The Cappella Paolina (the Pauline Chapel) is a chapel in the

Apostolic Palace The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, the Palace of the Vatican and the Vatican Palace. The Vatican itself refers to the build ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

. It is separated from the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

by the Sala Regia. It is not on any of the regular tourist itineraries.

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

's two frescoes in the Cappella Paolina, '' The Conversion of Saul'' and '' The Crucifixion of St Peter'' were painted from 1542 to 1549, the height of his fame, but were widely viewed as disappointments and even failures by their contemporary audience. They did not conform to the compositional conventions of the time and the subject-matter is depicted in an unorthodox manner. Despite the importance of the chapel and the significance of their subjects, the frescoes were generally neglected and overlooked in favor of Michelangelo's nearby masterpieces in the Sistine Chapel. An Italian scholar has recognised Michelangelo's face both in the Saint Paul and Saint Peter paintings by facial superimposition.

Building and decoration

The chapel was commissioned in 1538 by the order of

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

and completed in 1540 under the design and supervision of

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (12 April 14843 August 1546), also known as Antonio Cordiani, was an Italian architect active during the Renaissance, mainly in Rome and the Papal States. One of his most popular projects that he worked on des ...

. The Cappella Paolina served as both the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Chapel of the Conclave. Paul III dedicated the chapel to the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, a festival to which he displayed particular devotion. Given the ceremonial and personal significance of the chapel, it was to be expected that the Pope would require the services of a great artist for its decoration, and, in the opinion of both the papacy and the people, there was no one greater than

Michelangelo - Bekehrung des heiligen Paulus

Even before the unveiling of Michelangelo's ''Last Judgment'', Paul III had already decided that Michelangelo, who desperately wanted to fulfill his contract with the

della Rovere The House of Della Rovere (; literally "of the oak tree") was a powerful Italian noble family. It had humble origins in Savona, in Liguria, and acquired power and influence through nepotism and ambitious marriages arranged by two Della Rovere p ...

for the Tomb of Pope Julius II, must paint the

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es of the Cappella Paolina. This is shown by a letter dated October 12, 1541 from Cardinal Alexander Farnese, Paul III's nephew, to Bishop Marco Vigerio which discusses the paintings to be carried out in the "New Chapel." S. J. Freedberg notes that the two frescoes in the Cappella Paolina, Michelangelo's last paintings, begun in November 1542, almost immediately after the ''Last Judgement'', show from the start a major change in style, away from grace and aesthetic effect to an exclusive concern with illustrating the narrative, with no regard for beauty.Freedberg, 475-477 Other paintings in the chapel are by Lorenzo Sabbatini and

Federico Zuccari Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari and Federigo Zucchero ( July/August 1609), was an Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and writer. He worked in various cities in Italy, as well as in other countries such as Spain, France, t ...

. The statues in the background are by P. Bresciano.

Use by papal conclave

Before the opening of a

conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

, the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

assembles in this chapel to attend a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

in which the members are reminded of their obligation to quickly give to the Church her ablest son as ruler and guide. The cardinals then withdraw to the Sistine Chapel. In the Cappella Paolina are sung daily the conclave Solemn Masses "De Spiritu Sancto", at which all members of the conclave must be present. In 1549 and 1550, the Cappella Paolina was used for the

papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

itself, the

having been set aside and divided into 19 cells for use by infirm cardinals. The conclave elected

Pope Julius III Pope Julius III (; ; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1550 to his death, in March 1555. After a career as a disting ...

. The 1996 document ''

Universi Dominici gregis ''Universi Dominici gregis'' is an apostolic constitution of the Catholic Church issued by Pope John Paul II on 22 February 1996. It superseded Pope Paul VI's 1975 apostolic constitution, '' Romano Pontifici eligendo'', and all previous aposto ...

'' stipulated the Pauline Chapel as the place where the cardinal-electors were to assemble at the beginning of the conclave prior to the procession and entry into the Sistine Chapel. However, due to restoration work that had begun in 2002, the chapel was unavailable for the 2005 conclave so the Hall of Blessings instead was used for this purpose. The restoration work was finished in 2009 and during the 2013 conclave the cardinal-electors assembled in the Pauline Chapel to begin their procession into the Sistine Chapel. The Pauline Chapel was also the venue where the non-cardinal officials, support staff and other personnel who had duties in the 2013 conclave took their oath of secrecy the day before the conclave.

Restoration

Cappella Paolina In 2004, the Vatican announced plans to restore the frescoes in Cappella Paolina. Work was completed in 2009, revealing bright colors and hues that had been dulled by centuries of dirt and grime.

Virtual reality presentation

In 2010, the Vatican website released a virtual reality rendered version of the Cappella Paolina. It presents the chapel in part 3D rendering and part high-resolution photography, unquestionably made after the 2009 restoration. This can be seen at https://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/paolina_vr/.

Other ''Cappelle Paoline''

Two other chapels with the same name are in the church of

Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

and in the

Quirinal Palace The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outs ...

, both in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

References

Sources

* Freedberg, Sydney J. ''Painting in Italy, 1500–1600'', 3rd edn. 1993, Yale,

External links

''The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome''
a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Cappella Paolina (pp. 128–132) {{Coord, 41.902611, 12.454726, type:landmark_region:VA, display=title, format=dms Roman Catholic churches completed in 1540 Apostolic Palace Roman Catholic chapels in Rome Renaissance art Fresco paintings in Rome Sites of papal elections Paolina 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy