London: The Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum has been in this location since 1854

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a fascinating and massive collection of all kinds of stuff -- 2.27 million of them spanning 5,000 years -- dedicated to applied decorative art and design. It is a reference area for artists, designers, fashion designers and the general public to learn more about art and design from around the world.

It was founded in 1852 and originally called by the Museum's first director Henry Cole and it was known as the Museum of Manufactures. And then in 1854 it was moved to its current location and called South Kensington Museum. 

Coral tiara, brooches and earrings from the 19th century

Queen Victoria officially opened the museum in 1857 and it was renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum. What made this museum particularly accessible to the working class was that gas lamps were introduced, so that the museum could be open later for these people to be able to enjoy it too.

We arrived just after 5pm and asked a museum staff member to point us to some must-see things there. She advised that the second floor would be closing at 5.30pm and that we would probably be interested in the jewellery section there, followed by the Raphael Cartoons.

So we followed her directions and went up the stairs to the jewellery section that happens to be near the National Art Library that has over 750,000 books, photographs, drawings, paintings and prints. It also has some of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, The Codex.

Meanwhile the jewellery section really hits the eyes, all these shiny stones in a dark room make them even more glittery. The entrance has a giant spiral of so many different coloured stones that they are totally mesmerizing to look at.

Taking a peek into the National Art Library before it closed

What's interesting here is that jewellery items are not placed in chronological order but coordinated with different countries and times to show contrast or similarities.

There were many royal jewellery items, including a section on coral from 1830 to 1920 that showed how it has been prized since the 19th century. While it was mostly sourced around the seas in Naples and nearby Torre del Greco, coral used in jewellery became popular because there was also a naturalistic theme that was all the rage in the 1850s. There was even a tiara made from coral that was so interesting to see, along with brooches and earrings.

Jewellery from top artisans like Bulgari and Cartier are shown here, and a highlight is Queen Victoria's sapphire and diamond coronet designed by her husband Prince Albert. He seems to have had a flair for design, particularly jewellery and his love of Victoria also helped fuel the passion to make her look beautiful.

The coronet features stones from previous pieces and it could be worn either on the crown of her head, or opened up and placed behind her head.

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Raphael, about 1515

We like many others were told the jewellery section was closing so we moved down to the ground floor to the Raphael Cartoons. They are called cartoons from the Italian word "cartone", which means a large sheet of paper, or a preparatory design.

These were detailed paintings that were meant to be given to weavers to make tapestries that would be hung up on the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel in the 1690s. These cartoons were made on several sheets of paper that were pasted together and then originally drawn with charcoal, then colour mixed with led-white, animal glue and water to make a gouache was applied onto the paper.

The weavers would take these cartoons and prick the contours with a needle to make a copy, and then cut vertically into sections of weavers to work on. Afterwards the strips were reassembled again and glued to a canvas backing for display. So it's actually quite amazing these cartoons still look in good condition.

Eve Tempted by the Serpent by William Blake

Canadian-born fashion designer known as Erdem, whose full name is Erdem Moraligu explains in a short video how he loves these Raphael Cartoons and was inspired to create his first collection around them and even showed the outfits in the room.

Other interesting items in the V&A include a painting by William Blake that I spotted, a beautiful keyboard where the outer case is covered in a floral pattern, and a completely intact series of blue and white tiles from Turkey in the 1600s.

There is a Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation wing that is dedicated to Buddhist items. It was opened in 2009 and marks the chronological and geographical development of Buddhist art. 

By this time it was getting late, but more people were coming into the museum because there was a DJ in the foyer playing dance music and some people actually dancing to the grooves. Apparently every Friday night it's like this and it made us wonder if the fragile art works weren't affected by the strong vibrations from the music...

Panel of 80 Tiles from Turkey, 1600-1700

But an interesting way to draw a younger audience in, even though we saw lots of students sketching items in the museum or looking up things in the library.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London
+44 (0) 20 7942 2000
vam.ac.uk

Rome: The Vatican

St Peter's Basilica where this outdoor area can hold 100,000 people

When in Rome, the Vatican is a must. We bought tickets in advance online and then set off early this morning to get there with plenty of time to spare.

A collection of Roman busts in one of the galleries

We took the metro to get there, and getting a ticket is easy at the machine. For a ride (or more) within 100 minutes it's 1.50 euros. We just happened to catch the rush hour period so the trains were quite packed, but by the time it was our stop the commuter crowd had thinned out considerably.

Stationed near the metro stations and around the vicinity of the Vatican are volunteer guides who explain the best way to get there and pass out maps. It's a few blocks' walk from the metro station to the entrance and already there were many people there.

The Gallery of Maps from the 16th century

Following a security check and getting an audio guide we were set to go. The audio guide is good in some parts, tedious in others, or didn't have information on things we wanted to know more about.

Nevertheless it's about soaking up as much as you can and also how long your legs and feet can carry you.

Lots of the art in the Vatican was either collected by popes or given to the institution as gifts. Many are artists who hope their works will be received by the Pope; in return they are forever remembered in their association with the papacy.

One modern artist is sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, who created a giant bronze sphere within a sphere to show the Vatican is a city within a city that's placed in the middle of a garden.

Nearby are galleries filled with lots of Roman marble statues; they remind me of characters from stories in my Latin textbooks from high school. The mosaics are also very impressive, some with intricate designs, others telling stories of mythic proportions.

A Chinese text of "The Pope's Decrees"

We had to go room by room, slowly moving our way around the museum in order to get to the main event -- the Sistine Chapel. Everywhere you look there is art with some kind of religious meaning, or made in hopes of exalting Christ.

Meanwhile in the Gallery of Maps, the latest in science and cartography was displayed here, as friar and cartographer Ignazio Danti painting sections of Italy in as accurately geographically as he could as well as artistically from centuries ago.

The room was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII in 1580 and it took Danti three years to complete the 40 panels in the 120 metre-long gallery. However, the ceiling is more impressive, painted by several artists, including Cesare Nebbia and Girolamo Muzanio, featuring "paintings" complete with frames and decorations covering the curved ceiling.

One room featured books that were elaborated decorated, presumably religious texts. In the corner of one display case had a book covered in Chinese fabric with a white crane with cloud motifs and flowers, and written in Chinese "The Pope's Decree".

The Sistine Chapel still looks vibrant and meaningful

Getting ever so close to the Sistine Chapel, we then went into the Raphael Room, where he painted the famous The School of Athens fresco from 1509-1511. Here he connects science with the heavens, and there are several well known figures in here, such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Euclid, and Raphael himself. On the opposite side is the depiction of the father, the son and the Holy ghost together as represented by the eucharist.

Another room was called the Matisse Room, featuring several of the French artist's works, that look simple but figuratively clearly show their deep meaning.

Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel -- security constantly told the crowd in there to be quiet. We stood in the middle, trying to soak up as much of Michelangelo's amazing work as possible. Even after the restoration many years ago, the colours are still vibrant, the facial and muscular expressions impressive.

This is where the cardinals gather after the pope has died in order to vote for the next one. They make four votes per day, two in the morning, two in the evening until there is a clear winner.

The Bramante Staircase at the end of the Vatican Museum

The last few galleries feature numerous gifts popes have received over the years until we finally arrived at the Bramante Staircase, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. The staircase has a double helix and is more like a ramp than a staircase. It's so beautiful to look at from above and below.

We then took a break in the downstairs cafeteria before heading to St Peter's Basilica. It was really hot in the early afternoon waiting to get inside. We went through yet another security check before being able to go inside. Our priority was to see The Pieta by Michelangelo. It's behind bullet-proof glass, but is still an amazing sight to behold despite the figures not being proportionally correct and Mary looking much younger than her years.

The Pieta by Michelangelo in St Peter's Basilica

Everywhere you look in the basilica there is so much to take in, it's overwhelming but beautiful and magnificent. You feel so privileged to see all this beautiful architecture and art work in one place. But six hours later, our legs and feet were giving way and we slowly made our way out and back to the metro station to get back to the hotel for much-needed nap!