It’s as fascinating to compare artists’ interpretation of the resurrection of Christ as those of the crucifiction; though, as I pointed out in my post on Rogier ven der Wyden’s Miraflores Altarpiece, the resurrection has been much less frequently depicted in the history of art, despite its importance as a Christian observance.

Here, in a polyptych (multi-panel) for Santi Nazaro e Celso in Brescia, the great Venetian painter Tiziano Vecellio, commonly known as Titian, has applied his mastery to a heroic depiction of Christ, almost appearing to physically stand on the clouds above Brescia, the town in which the painting resides (at the request of Titian’s patron, who is depicted in the lower left panel).

The foreground figures of those witnessing the event are cast in shadow, their reactions downplayed in relation to the figure of Christ against a dramatic sky.

It’s interesting to compare this work to Ruben’s similarly heroic triptych, Albrecht Altdorfer’s wonderfully dramatic sky and Matthias Gruenwald’s stunningly presented event, all of which make the reaction of the observers a major component of the drama.

My favorite panel in this work, however, is Titian’s portrayal of the Archangel Gabriel (image above, bottom).

Like many of the painters associated with “California Impressionism” in the early part of the 20th Century, Joseph Kleitsch came from outside California, in his case originally form Hungary.

Kleitsch came to the U.S. in 1901, settled in Ohio and eventually Kansas, Mexico City and Chicago before finding his way to Laguna Beach California in 1920. Along the way he became a well established portrait painter, and received high praise for his portraits and interior scenes.

During his time in California he developed a bright, high-chroma style rich with painterly flourish and broken color. In the mid-1920s, Kleitsch traveled to Europe for two years, on his return bringing expressionist colors and distortions into his work.

When I was in Rome a few years ago two things were at the top of my “must see” list. One was the Galleria Borghese and its wonderful collection (see my posts on Titian and Bernini), the other was the Vatican Museum and, in particular, the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s stunning frescos.

Following the advice of a guidebook we arrived at the Vatican early and worked through the museum quickly, not pausing to linger over the other works (not easy to do), and got to the chapel before it filled up with its usual shoulder to shoulder carpet of bent neck tourists. By being among the first to arrive in the chapel we were able to walk around the space freely, viewing perhaps the most astonishingly adorned interior space in the world at our leisure.

(We then got back in line and went through the museum again, a process with which my companions were less than pleased. The museum is arranged in a kind of single file, one way march through the rooms, almost like a Disney attraction, and is not conducive to wandering freely.)

Even viewing the Sistine Chapel without the crowds has its limitations, though; the bent-neck viewing angle is only comfortable for a short time, and management doesn’t encourage you to bring in chaise lounges and binoculars.

For the next best thing to that experience, you can visit the Vatican’s “Virtual Visit of the Sistine Chapel“, a VR interactive that drops you into the middle of the chapel (empty of visitors), and allows you to pan around, and of course up, thorugh the entire space, and zoom in on any section.

While this may not be the best way to view individual elements (for that, visit the Web Gallery of Art, and their section on the ceiling frescoes), it’s a fascinating way to get a feeling for the space and the relative size of the images on the ceiling and walls.

As I did when actually there, I focused on the prophets and sibyls, which I think are some of the most beautiful of Michelangelo’s painted figures; in particular the Libyan Sibyl, above, for which his preparatory drawings are absolutely beautiful, and among my favorites in the history of art.

When viewing the panorama (which is in Flash), you may find it helpful to try the two different modes of motion provided by the “Change Mouse Mode” Button (the “M” next to the plus and minus at lower left).

Unfortunately, I found the rest of the Sistine Chapel section of the Vatican Museum’s online collections less rewarding, and difficult to navigate (despite the hand of God pointing to the top level navigation elements).

[Via Jason Kottke]