Male sculptures in Vatican city museum

Here are images of the sculptures of Hercules, Tiber (Greek Gods) and also that of Laocoon in the Vatican city. There are all types of sculptures of male figures at the Vatican museum in Rome, some are gods and some are men. The sculptures and statues, sculpted decorations and paintings here are priceless masterpieces. Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio worked on the paintings, statues and sculptures and frescoes in the chapel.

This is a bronze metal statue of the demi-god Hercules in the museum of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Fairly a modest statue if one compares it to the other statues. Hercules was the son of thr God Zeus but his mother was a mortal.

This is a sculpture the River God Tiber in the Vatican Museum, sculpted during the Roman period. The river Tiber was where Rome was founded and this river was life-giving for the people. It is natural that the ancient Romans worshipped the river. A pity that the symbolic worshipping of nature is now looked down upon.

This white marble sculpture of Laocoon and sons (Trojan priest Laocoon and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being strangled by sea serpents) is one of the more famous sculptures in the museum of the Vatican city museum in Rome.

Most of the sculptures in the Vatican city are male figures, although sculptures of female figures can be found too.

You might also like Statues and sculptures of women at the Sistine Chapel or check out all the images in the Sistine Chapel including that of exterior architecture and other types of art.
More related images: The Louvre Museum Paris - exterior and interior with pieces of art
Sketches of Venus de Milo at the Louvre in Paris or Venus de Milo at the Louvre in Paris or Painter at the Louvre, Paris
-->
-->

Statues and sculptures of women at the Sistine Chapel

There are quite a few statues of females inside the museum on the Sistine Chapel grounds in Rome (the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City in Rome), and the sculpted decorations and paintings are famous. Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio worked on the paintings, statues and sculptures and frescoes in the chapel.

This one is one of the most famous ones. It is of the Goddess of fertility. This appears to be symbolized by a multitude of breasts. Smaller sculptures of children surround her.

This statue is of a mother with her two children. One is a baby in her arms and the other is a toddler pulling at her robes. The woman is about to breast-feed her child.

This is one of a woman warrior. There are not many statues of women being portrayed in warring pose or ready to go into battle. This woman is carrying a spear and holding an armour.

A statue of a woman lying down with a serpent. She appears to be sleeping (or is she dead?) on a coffin. A fresco of children is carved into the coffin on which she lies.

Another woman in a warrior pose.

These women appear to be well-t-do ladies of that time. One of them is reading from a scroll, another is holding a small round object (a ball or a globe?) and the third one is sitting down on a chair holding what appears to be a household object.

Related Images: Sistine Chapel Ceiling designs or  Sistine Chapel Corridor Ceiling Paintings and Designs

Or  Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City in Rome Italy or Sistine Chapel floor designs
For more pictures from Italy and Rome:  City of Roma - Pictures or  Photographs of the Colosseum at Rome, Italy or Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) in Rome or the Rome castle or Castel Sant'Angelo - photographs and sketch or try any of the labels below this post.

-->
-->

Sistine Chapel floor designs

This is some beautiful tile work at the Sistine Chapel giving the impression of paintings. The tile bits are tiny and cannot be seen easily with the naked eye. Different coloured tiles were used to make varied designs and giving the effect of a painting. 

It was difficult to get clean images of the floor areas due to the number of people milling about. 

A combination of 3 images (vertical and horizontal)mainly to keep people out of the picture. Animals obviously had an important role to play in Roman times and this is reflected in the art. Here you can see the tile paintings of warriors, horses and some half humans and half animals amidst geometrical and floral designs.  The tiny tiles used to make the image can be seen at the bottom of the picture. 

Greens, blues and reds are predominant in this piece of art.

A close took at a gigantic urn in the middle of the marble tiled painting. It is sitting in the centre of a large geometric design with colours of red and green. This looks different from the large urn in the image above but that could be because of the lighting.

This is a close-up of the same marble flooring design as above, made up of tiny tiles. The design appears to be telling a mythological story as it has several half human half animals, called Centaurs. Centaurs are common mythological figures.

Deep blues and ochre and yellows are used to make a striking design. It almost seems like some sort of royal emblem.

This picture is a combination of at least 3 images. Not only is the area too vast to appear in a single shot, the contant stream of people blocking the view makes it difficult to get a clear shot. The top left hand corner and the bottom right hand corner have been painted a gray to fill in the blanks. At the bottom of the image some of the tiles have deteriorated. This picture has a picture of an angel (?) and also astrological symbols of the sun, the moon and the stars. This is circled by geometric designs. The figures of a man holding up the round design appears to symbolize the globe being held up by man on four sides.

Related Images: Sistine Chapel Ceiling designs or  Sistine Chapel Corridor Ceiling Paintings and Designs
Or  Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City in Rome Italy
For more pictures from Italy and Rome:  City of Roma - Pictures or  Photographs of the Colosseum at Rome, Italy or Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) in Rome or the Rome castle or Castel Sant'Angelo - photographs and sketch or try any of the labels below this post.

Sistine Chapel Corridor Ceiling Paintings and Designs

The Sistine Chapel's (where the Pope resides), is famous for its architecture and sculpted decorations and paintings. Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio worked on the paintings and frescoes in the chapel and the results as you can see in these pictures, are spectacular.

The golden ceiling fresco at the Sistine Chapel. This painted architecture as visible in these pictures is full of religious symbols like the acorn, fish, and falcons.

Not just gold, but also red and blue are used extensively in these remarkable art works. All the paintings have elaborately decorated borders. The paintings here contain figures of angels alongwith various other symbols used to convey some meaning.

Another photograph of the paintings lining the celing at the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The painted architecture not only comprises of various symbols depicting Christianity and the story of Jesus Christ, but also pictures of angels, trumpets and other figures.

At the end of the magnificent corridor you can see a sculpture of two figures standing alongside the symbol of of what looks like a small dragon. These paintings are a showcase of the reproduction of the anatomy and the contours of the human form.

These pale and pastel raised paintings or designs on the ceiling also appear to depict some story from the bible. There is no doubt that all this work is telling a story and is mean to be interpreted and read.

All the artwork on the walls or ceilings of the Sistine chapel show some aspect of the story of Jesus Christ and Moses.

Related Images: More Sistine Chapel Ceiling Designs or the exteriors of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City in Rome Italy or check all the photographs filed under Rome"

Sistine Chapel Ceiling designs

The Sistine Chapel is where the Pope lives, the head of the Catholic Church. It lies in the Vatican City. It's painted architecture and sculpted decorations, frescoes and paintings are famous throughout the world. Renaissance artists like Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio worked on the paintings and frescoes in the chapel, creating great works of art.

This is an image of the spectacular ceiling of one of the corridors inside the church. Most of these paintings depict the life of Jesus Christ and Moses and are meant to be interpreted and read.  Symbolism was used freely.

Another equally breathtaking painting on the ceiling of the church surrounded by gold engravings. Angels and other figures from the bible were used freely in the artwork and frescoes on the ceiling.

A circular painting up inside an arch at the Roman Church. This painting shows some sort of war or battle going on. Some of the figures (angels?) are shown killing animals and also humans.

Another circular piece of renaissance art. Angles with wings and halos can be seen in the blue and gold painting.

Related Images: More Sistine Chapel Corridor Ceiling Paintings and Designs or   Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City in Rome Italy
For more pictures from Italy and Rome:  City of Roma - Pictures or  Photographs of the Colosseum at Rome, Italy or Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) in Rome or the Rome castle or Castel Sant'Angelo - photographs and sketch or try any of the labels below this post.

Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City in Rome Italy

The Sistine Chapel is the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City. It's architecture and sculpted decorations and paintings are famous. Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio worked on the paintings and frescoes in the chapel.

The image below is a wide angle view of the famous Sistine chapel which lies in Vatican city. Hundreds of tourists are milling about. The actual chapel is quite plain from the outside.

Another view of the large Sistine Chapel area.

The crowds at the Sistine Chapel are huge and this photo captures some of them.

This is one of the doors, an exit. A guard in costume is standing at the door. Even here elaborate sculpted figures can be seen. The door is huge and at the top there is a small painting with sculptures of angels on each side of it. Like many ancient doors this one too seems to be fortified with iron protrusions.

A view of the chapel and the buildings around it in Vatican city.

The actual structures of the chapel and the buildings around it are all decorated with sculptures on the roof and the dome is also very elaborately decorated.

Related Images: City of Roma - Pictures or  Photographs of the Colosseum at Rome, Italy or Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) in Rome or the Rome castle or Castel Sant'Angelo - photographs and sketch

-->
-->

City of Roma - Pictures

These are photographs of the city of Rome (Roma in Italian). These images can give you a feel of what the city is like. The photographs depict ordinary life in the city, and not particular monuments.

This photographs shows us the river Tiber, on the banks of which Rome was built in 753 BC. It is not the longest river in Italy but is famous for being a part of Rome. In olden times the river used to regularly flood its banks until the Romans built high stone embankments (seen in the picture below) in the late nineteenth century. Today the river is enconsed in a canal, and to enjoy its beauty one has to climb down steep steps leading to the river. Interestingly, in ancient Rome, executed criminals were thrown into the river Tiber.

This is an ordinary street in Rome with shops and offices in the buildings. The photograph was taken from atop a tourist bus.

Another Roman street, with a hotel to the right of the picture.

Another quiet street in Rome. A distinctive feature of Rome are its massive and solid buildings with an old style architecture. These old buildings have been maintained well and give Rome its beauty. There are hardly an "modern" style buildings visible in the city of Rome and by that I mean ugly glass skyscrapers.

Some local people and tourists can be seen here. The horse buggy is used by tourists. A tiny car can be seen in the centre of the road.

Italy is famous for its small cars and here you can see how tiny the cars really are! Easy to park and helps traffic move faster. It is common to see these cars parked horizontally as well!

Road-side cafes are common is European cities and here is one in Rome. People hang out here for hours, just sipping coffee, or wine.

A photograph shot from a tourist bus which is nearing some ancient monument, a tourist spot.

This is a popular fountain in Rome. Not the Trevi Fountain, which is more famous, but the Piazza della Repubblica, a semi-circular piazza or plaza or square in Rome. It is one of several beautiful fountains in the city.

Related Images: Photographs of the Colosseum at Rome, Italy or Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) in Rome or the Rome castle or Castel Sant'Angelo - photographs and sketch

Rome castle or Castel Sant'Angelo - photographs and sketch

These are photographs of the Mausoleum of Hadrian or the "Castel Sant'Angelo". It is a cylindrical building in Rome. It was built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a castle to live in for himself and his family. The castle was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. It is a popular tourist attraction.

The statue at the top of the castle is that of an angel, after which the castle is named.

Here you can see tourists milling around the castle in Rome. The two statues at the gates of the castle are visible in the photograph. More statues line the pathway to the entrance. This is the front view. The first two statues are of Roman personages.

This is a sketch of the Roman castle or the Mausoleum of Hadrian from the canal side.

Related images: Photographs of the Colosseum at Rome, Italy or Colosseum Sketch and Silhouette or Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City in Rome Italy
Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) in Rome or for another castle from a different part of the world: Tower of London Photograph, Sketch and Silhouette

Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) in Rome

Here are some photos of the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome. It is usually packed with tourists, and there is a legend associated with this fountain. Legend claims that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain your wish will come true.

While we were at the Trevi fountain a newly married couple arrived there to be photographed in their wedding clothes.

Related Images: For more pictures of monuments and scenes of Italy try the label "Italy"

Colosseum Sketch and Silhouette

Here are some sketches and silhouettes of the famous Colosseum of Rome, a landmark of the city of Rome.

This one is a full front view of the Colosseum.

And the silhouette based on the photo.

This is another view, from the side. You can see how much of the Colosseum is in ruins.

The view from the side makes for a more interesting silhouette.

Related Photos: Photographs of the Colosseum at Rome, Italy
Or try the label Silhouettes or the label Sketches for more silhouettes and sketches of monuments, buildings and people.