The Vatican has released a unique three-volume with photographs of the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel

VATICAN. The last time the treasures of the Sistine Chapel were photographed for future generations at a time when digital photography had just appeared, and words like “pixel” were used only by computer nerds and NASA scientists. Now, after several decades of technological development in the field of art photography, image processing and printing, it has become possible to implement a large-scale project that is intended not only for art lovers, but also for future restorers. Work on the project was carried out for five years, during which time more than 270,000 digital frames were made, which show murals of Michelangelo and other masters with amazing detail.

Photo: Reuters / Philip Pullella

“In the future, this will allow us to keep every inch of the chapel in the condition it was in 2017,” said Antonio Paolucci, a former head of the Vatican Museums and world-famous expert on the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo’s ceiling murals are world famous, one of the most famous is the scene in which God reaches out to give life to Adam. Michelangelo finished the ceiling in 1512, and the image of The Last Judgment behind the altar is between 1535 and 1541. The last time all the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel were photographed between 1980 and 1994, during a large-scale, the first restoration in many centuries. New photos will be included in a unique three-volume, with a volume of 870 pages. The edition is released in a limited edition of 1,999 copies and will be sold to libraries and private collectors at a price of about 12,000 euros.

The chapel was photographed for 65 nights, from seven in the evening until two in the morning. Only a few people knew about this project. After all the masterpieces of the chapel, including the mosaic floor and frescoes of artists of the 15th century, languishing in the shadow of Michelangelo for many years, were captured, the photographs were “stitched” into the final images using a computer program.

Over 220 pages of books contain images in a 1: 1 scale , including the scene “Creation of Adam” and the face of Jesus during the Last Judgment. Each volume weighs about 9 kg; pivot size - 60 by 130 cm.

“We used special post-production software to get the depth, intensity, warmth and color tone with an accuracy of 99.9 percent,” said Giorgio Armaroli, head of Scripta Maneant, the publisher of the three-volume edition. “Future restorers will be able to use them as their standards,” he added.

The photographs clearly show all brush strokes and even the borders between the parts of the picture, known as “days” (since the frescoes are painted on wet plaster, the artists each time prepared a field sufficient to complete within one day). For shooting, special telescopic equipment was used. All information, with a capacity of 30 terabytes, is now stored on the Vatican server.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru