By Elizabeth Lev
ROME, APRIL 26, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Last week I spoke at length to Umberto Utro, curator of the Pio Christian Collection of the Vatican Museums, probably the most underrated part of the vast Vatican galleries. It was already surprising to see such a young man holding such a responsible position -- Utro was 37 when he was nominated curator in 2003 -- but even more interesting were his remarks.
Asked how he got involved with paleo-Christian art, the curator didn't respond by talking about his undergraduate work at the famous University of Florence, nor did cite his doctoral work at the prestigious Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology.
He started by talking about his youth in Palermo, and his high school years when his religion teacher was Don Pino Puglisi, a well-known Italian hero assassinated by the Mafia in 1993. Don Puglisi, Utro said, "enchanted them with the faith," and "taught them that every Christian has a specific vocation, and that he had to understand how best to serve God and the Church." As he spoke, Utro gave the impression that he treasured his early formation more than his degrees.
After studying theology as a layman, he became interested in art history, eventually getting his first degree with a thesis in Early Christian clay lamps. At this point he realized "that to understand Early Christian art, one had to understand the community that produced it --- the early Church, the sacred Scriptures were all an integral part of this art."
Looking for this "encounter between art and faith," as he describes it, Utro realized that he must "look at the origins of Christian art, at the earliest Christian communities," and while studying Christian archaeology, he developed an interest in iconography.
The rest he describes as providence. While Utro was studying and writing about the Early Christian artifacts kept in the Vatican Library, the collection was transferred to the Vatican and he was brought to the attention of the museum's director, Francesco Buranelli. Three years later, Utro was nominated curator of the collection of Early Christian sarcophagi. He describes this appointment as "the most beautiful gift of God toward his vocation."
Utro wasted no time trying to bring this unique museum to public attention. Although often bypassed by tourists rushing to the Sistine Chapel, this magnificent collection of carved sarcophagi testifies to visitors the beliefs, hopes and doctrines of the earliest Christian communities engraved in stone. "I have a treasure in my hands," says Urto regarding his work.
He has organized two exhibits since taking on his role as curator, the first was titled "The Journey of Faith," and was sent to the Singapore Museum of Asian Civilizations. This show was one of a series exploring the various religions of Asia and recounted the story of Christianity as a continuing journey.
"Christian faith was born of a voyage," explained Utro. "God, who through his Son, came into the world; the Magi who travel to see Jesus and then depart to spread the news; Jesus who travels to Jerusalem; and the journey of the first Christians who went to evangelize all over the world."
The voyages do not end with the Gospels, however. "Pilgrims then traveled to revisit these sites where Jesus had walked and where St. Peter had died," Utro continued. He said his favorite part was the concluding section of the show which featured the missionaries in Asia. In the culmination of the exhibit, the Singapore Museum added its own works, showing how this journey which began in Bethlehem arrived in the furthest corners of the Earth.
The most recent exhibit, "The Engraved Word," was organized in conjunction with the Italian Bible Society to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council constitution "Dei Verbum." Utro described the effort as an "ecumenical exhibit, celebrating the collaboration of the different Christian denominations to create a common translation of the sacred Scriptures."
The exhibit put together the words of the Scriptures and the images of the early Christians demonstrating that these ancient stone carvings still have resonance and meaning today as well as the power to unify Christians in their belief in Christ, salvation and heaven.
Utro pointed out the Pio Christian collection was the ideal place for the exhibit: "The art of the Christian origins is the art of an undivided Church, before the divisions and schisms." Continuing, the curator noted, "Art has also been a source of division among Christians, from iconoclasm to the Lutherans; therefore this museum is an ideal place to look at the common history shared by Christians."
Formation, vocation and evangelization are all beautifully represented by this collection, but also by its curator. The dedication of Utro to his museum and his vision of the great lessons that early Christian images have to teach, stand out as an example of living out one's Christian vocation.
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Artists Capture Christ's Suffering
Granted, this is bit late in reporting, but good news never goes stale. During Holy Week, the Province of Rome sponsored a free exhibition at the Palazzo Incontro, a 17th-century city palace recently renovated and reopened to the public. The exhibition was, very appropriately, titled the "Passion According to Bernini," and features about 40 images of the various stages of Christ's passion executed by Bernini and other artists of the 17th century.
The first room exhibited a thoughtful arrangement of the subject matter. Opening the show with images of Christ's baptism and representations of John the Baptist illustrate that Jesus was born for this mission, to redeem man through his self-sacrifice.
An exquisite painting on copper embodies the whole theme. "The Allegory of the Sacrifice of Christ and the Triumph over Paganism" shows the Holy Family, but Jesus sits atop a pagan altar while Joseph and Mary step on a fallen idol and an overturned tripod, an object once used for burning incense to the gods.
The painter of this little jewel is Giovanni Battista Gaulli, a protégé of Bernini, best known for having decorated the vault of the Jesuit church of the Gesù with the overwhelming allegory of the Triumph of the Holy Name of Jesus. Gaulli, who went by the nickname Baccicia, is in a certain sense the star of this show, as it is mostly his work on display. But this magnificent painter very much deserves his moment of limelight.
The show proceeds with each room dedicated to a scene from Christ's passion. Bernini's own work first appears in the room dedicated to the Flagellation, with his small oil painting of Christ at the column. A stroke of genius convinced the curators to place François Duquesnoy's bronze statuette of Christ at the Column next to Bernini's panel, offering a comparison between two types of 17th-century devotional imagery.
Although both artists conformed to the contemporary rules of decorum, which discouraged any imagery of Christ's body savaged and beaten, Duquesnoy made his Jesus so elegant and aloof that he seems to be posing for a portrait, while Bernini's Jesus emerges from a shadowy background, head slumped forward and his massive body bent in exhaustion.
Duquesnoy's classicizing school extols the nobility of Christ, making him seem above his physical suffering. As Jesus, throughout his torture and death, never lost sight of his plan to redeem man and never stooped to the level of his tormentors, so these artists represent him as an ideal, unruffled figure.
Bernini's Christ, on the other hand, displays a Michelangelesque physique, but instead of the muscles rippling with activity, the shoulders slump and the strong body offers no resistance. Bernini concentrates on the heroic Christ, the Word made flesh, who withstood very real physical suffering in order to save man.
The same room also contains a lovely terracotta study by Bernini for a statue of Christ in Prison. Bernini's work meditates on the moment in prison, before Christ is taken out for the crucifixion. Through this poignant image of Jesus, with his hands tied at his side and his downcast eyes, we are invited to think about Christ, already tortured and humiliated, alone and preparing for his death. Although at first sight he appears almost defeated, the rustling drapery and the torsion of his head, chest and knee declare that he is ready to continue.
Ultimately one arrives at the images of the crucifixion. Some represent Christ dying on the cross with his gaze upward while others show Christ lifeless on the cross such as Gaulli's "Crucifixion with St. Francis and St. Anthony." In this altarpiece, although Christ's dead body is relaxed and luminous, the gathering storm clouds and St. Francis' powerful and plaintive expression hint at the intensity of the scene.
A few interesting tidbits might surprise visitors. One room is filled with bronze and ivory altar crosses, revealing that Bernini designed all the crucifixes for all 45 altars of St. Peter's Basilica.
Although Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" paints Bernini as the artistic mastermind of the Masonic sect of the Illuminati, Bernini was indeed the most well-documented Roman Catholic artist of his age. Close to Father Gian Paolo Oliva, superior general of the Jesuits, Bernini practiced the spiritual exercises of Ignatius and toward the end of his life attended Mass daily.
Bernini suffered a stroke shortly before he died, losing the use of his right arm. But he had one more project yet to be completed. Undaunted, he dictated to Jesuit painter Bourgognone the design of the "Blood of Christ," a disquieting image of Christ on the cross whose blood pours from his wounds to create a tumultuous sea below. God the Father holds the cross aloft, while Mary, kneeling on a cloud, cups her hands to catch the blood flowing from his side. This work was placed at the foot of Bernini's death bed to accompany his final prayers. This undoubtedly is the most unusual work in the exhibition.
The exhibit, open everyday except Mondays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., is without charge and will close on June 10. A surprising and welcome gift from the Province of Rome, this show invites passers-by to see how the same person who designed the theatrical Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona or the playful elephant in front of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, also spawned a renewed imagery devoted to the passion of Christ.
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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Italian campus. She can be reached at
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