Vatican City, Italy (Enclave of Rome): Vatican Museums: Raphael Rooms: Room of Heliodorus: Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple
Authors
Sheppard, Beth M.
Issue Date
May 20, 2017
Type
Image
Language
Keywords
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 , Old Testament in Art , High Renaissance Art , Italian High Renaissance Art , Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple , Heliodorus in Art , Moses in Art , God in Art , Pope Julius II in Art , Painted Ceilings , Popes in Art
Alternative Title
Abstract
Description
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 photo is an image of the ceiling (top of photo) in which God commands Moses to lead His people out of bondage in Egypt. The fresco below is the painting for which the room is named: "The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple," painted 1511-1512. The second book of Maccabees, chapter three, of the Bible's Old Testament tells the story of Heliodorus, who was sent by Israel's ruler to confiscate the treasure of the Temple in Jerusalem. When Heliodorus stood before the treasury, a horse and rider plus two other men, sent by God, appeared and struck Heliodorus to the ground, saving the treasure. In the painting, Heliodorus is the figure on the ground in the lower right, with gold coins from the treasury spilling out of an amphora beside him. The trampling horse and heavenly messengers accost him. At the altar, a high priest prays for God's help. On the left, Israelis observe the confrontation. Pope Julius II is among them, sitting on a sedan chair and wearing a dark red mozzetta. The protection of Church patrimony was one of the pope's primary goals.
Citation
Publisher
License
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0