The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-04-01
SOME OF THE ART TREASURES OF THE
VATTCAN.
AN OLD LIE EXPOSED.
Especial oorrss pona,a,o tie N. Y. wor

toPoOiAi oorfoePooaaAto ue d. 4. ~oflo
ROME, Italy, March S.--I went to th
s Vatlcao a few mornings ago to see tt.
3 Apartdmento BoTgfa, which has been shu
, up from the public for many years. Their
: has got abroad q report that the picture
2 in theee rooms are quite unfit for genera
sight. 1t is not trne; On the contrary the.
are mostly religious subjects. The reason
for the closing of the rooms is q simple and
natural one. Some years ago the presen
} Pope bought Cardinal Mais library, whict
contaiped the fine one Cicogoara collected
when he wrote his "History of Art
These books were deposited in the BOFgia
rooms for safe keeping together with a
theological library left by some Cardinal
to His Holiness. There they are in heaps
and piles, some with superb old bindings.
Foil shelves run from the brilliantly deco
rated celiipgs to the old brick floor great
ahles stand in the middle aud across the
ends OF the rooms loaded /; and even the
broad windows have their shsre. As the
| books (many of them extremely valaable)
| lie there IL disorder, iG is very natural
! tlat the rooms must be closed to the gen.
| eral tourist.
A few weeks ago the learned and distin-
| guisted Professor Adamo Ross,, of Perugia,
came to Rome to zee these very pictures
Of the 4pGrtameato Bor9id, "a well as all
| OF PinturIcchio's pictures tor Rome is un-
| neualy rich in works of that remarkable
Umbrian painter. No artist of that period
Perugian Bernardno di Betto, known as
Pinturicchio, and no painter of that day is
50 little understood by the modern tourist.
Because Vasari did not do hin justice,
succet ding writers and art students have
taken his opinion ana not judged for them
seiyfs. But let any one 20 To St. Maria
del Popo;o Of Rome and look at the vaut
of the choir aud the three chapels, espe-
ciai!y the Des Venuti Chapel, the first on
the right of the main entrance, in which is
rhe exquisite Nativity with the lovely Vir-
gin adoring the child, one of the pures.
aud most delicate works of the Umbrian
school; or 20 to San Cosimato in Trsste-
we're, where is the beautiful Madonna, one
OF The finest frescoes in K Ime, and after
seelug these masterly works decide on the
justice iIjustice of VasaFi's verdict.
After come difficulty Prof. Rossi obtained
per mission to visit these apartments and
! on bis return urged me to see them soon
as 1 could.
Ooe fact he told me in relation to the
famous Virgin picture over ono of the door
ways made me determine to- go and see
with my own eyes tie falsehood of au
abomiDaole charge agsiDs5 P.Dtur'cchio
| tnat has foltnwed him d ,wn from Vasari
to the present day. Vasari says that you
probably remem3er that Pinturicchio
painted over one of the doors of this ia
NOUS apartment the Signora Giulia Far
nese as Madonna, and in front of her is
| x
That careless authors should have follow
ed this misrepresentation of Vasari is rot
surprising; bat 1t surely ia objectionable
| IN Gregorovfus to repeat it in so serious
| work as his "Nfedie val Rome 5" it shakes,
oDe's faith in his other assertions. But
what amazes me most is that the usually
| C ctretnl and exact art writer RIO should
echo this fa'sehood be had every reason
in the world as a Christian, a Catholic
writer, to eD6eavOr TO show that tAis g.
| sertion was untrue. 1t simply proves that
neither of those distinguished men; GREGG,
royina and Rio, ever saw the pictures of
| Inch trey spoke and THE ia, as I said
above, unpardopable, at d shakes the faith
| q! the general re ader In the value of their
| works. One of the tiisr tpiugs Issi told
III" was that thsIe Is no tiGuir Ot the POpe
III the Madonna picture. We took down
| from my book shelves all the works on art
ana history p"ssess that were likely to
coltaln any account at Pinturicchio and
the B"rgIa rooms from Vasari to the pres.
| ent day. We spent delightful evening
amusing ourselves by discovering which
of the writer's had seen the rooms, and
those who wrCte as sheep, following a
leader blindly.
A few days later l succeeded in getting
the required permit to visit the famous
rooms III which lived and died tIIas iucOm-
prebensible Pope Alexander vi. (Borgial.
| My first duty was to assure myself that the
| Virgin picture had no kneeliDg figure in it,
as Rossi had told me. In the succeeding
room on the other side of the wall is the
kneeling figure of PopeiAlexander vi, but
be is adoripg the Christ in the Reeurrec-
tion.
had scarcely more than comm euced my
examination of the treasures of the place
when / noticed that the custodian seemed
anxious to get away on private business,
and as the day was dark, making it almost
impossible to zee many of the frescoes, we
agreed that he should go try to obtain
leave for Us TO visit the ball again.
remained in the great hall while he
went to try my luck for me. That great
hail is one of the most magnificent in the
world of it's kind. 1t is 220 feet long. The
walls and ceilings are covered with frescoes.
and it has splendid marble pavement.
Around the lower parts- of the walls stand
painted wooden presses, in which are shut
up most precious manuscripts, and about
the hall are placed some of the finest vases
in existence from Japan, Saxony, and
Sevres the one in which the Prince Impe