Vatican City, Italy (Enclave of Rome): Vatican Museums: Raphael Rooms: Room of Heliodorus: Meeting of Leo the Great with Attila
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Italy , Vatican City , Rome , Vatican Museums , Musei Vaticani , Art Museums , Sacred Art , Church Art , Paintings , Frescoes , Raphael , Raffaello Sanzio , Raphael and Workshop , Raphael Rooms , Stanze , Room of Heliodorus , High Renaissance Art , Italian High Renaissance Art , Meeting of Leo the Great with Attila , Leo the Great in Art , Pope Leo I in Art , Attila the Hun in Art , Attila in Art , Good and Evil in Art , Popes in Art
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Multiple photos are associated with this record. Please click the links to view all of the items in the series. The images are of paintings (frescoes) within the Room of Heliodorus, which is one of four Raphael Rooms that are part of the Vatican Museums. These are public museums that display about 20,000 of 70K works collected by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries. The museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. Only the Louvre in France receives more annual visitors than the Vatican Museums. The museums consist of 24 galleries, with the Sistine Chapel being the last room visited. The Raphael Rooms (known in Italian as the Stanze), which precede the Sistine Chapel on a tour of the Vatican Museums, were the private chambers of several popes. The paintings in the Rooms, designed by the master but completed over 15 years (1508-1524) primarily by Raphael's pupils, depict historic events that are framed in exuberant High Renaissance style. The photos are images of "The Meeting of Leo the Great with Attila" on a wall below the ceiling, and the decoration below the painting. Although Leo I and Attila the Hun actually met in the vicinity of Mantua, Raphael depicts the event before the gates of Rome, the center of Christendom. The Colosseum and other buildings are present in the background. The pope approaches from the left on a white horse and orders Attila to stop with a simple hand gesture; Leo I knows that he is supported by the might of God. The Huns, who are ready to fight, restrain their horses with difficulty. Attila is the central figure on the dark horse, leaning back to observe the Saints Peter and Paul, who have appeared above with swords, ready to protect Pope Leo. Attila's outstretched arms signal his army to hold back; he acknowledges his defeat. The masterpiece emphasizes the opposition of good and evil.