Have you heard the saying “we travel to feel, not to see?” It doesn’t take much travel to have that one place that touches you like no other to agree with the statement. Art is the same way. We visit museums with original works to feel the work. After all, you’ve seen the pictures before or could easily pull it up on your phone.
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I do appreciate the way different exhibits are bringing the work and lives of art masters to everyone through shows like this one and VanGogh’s Alive. It is opening up a world of art to more people and a day looking at art is never a day wasted.
We visited the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in 2017. I studied it in-depth in my college art history. Standing in the chapel I teared up at its beauty and size. (I did the same when I saw Michaelangelo’s Moses.) When we saw the Sistine Chapel Exhibit was going to be (somewhat) nearby we grabbed tickets. Drove 4 hours each way, and booked the dogs into a dog daycare facility to visit.
We arrived at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach. We entered a crowded (hard to move) room with the panels hung in an order not consistent with the actual Sistine Chapel.
We found each panel to have a brief, but informative explanation. However, the panels lacked the impact of the originals and the Sistine Chapel itself. It is a great introduction to the works. And impressive display which allows you to see the size and sheer volume of work Michelangelo accomplished. Each work is 80% the size of the original. It is worth noting that visiting the Sistine Chapel is not a guarantee to see all the panels either. They often have areas partitioned off with panels blocked yet this exhibit allows you to see all the panels and in full detail (since you are closer).
An afternoon in an art museum is never wasted!
Go, but also book your trip to see the real thing as soon as you can!
