THE DIRECTORATE OF MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

Is pleased to invite you to the presentation of the BOOK

CONTEMPORANEA 50

THE VATICAN MUSEUMS MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTION

The Vatican Museums present the book “Contemporanea 50: La Collezione Arte Moderna e Contemporanea dei Musei Vaticani 1973-2023. Origini – Storia – Trasformazioni” (“Contemporanea 50: The Vatican Museums Modern and Contemporary Art Collection 1973-2023. Origins – History – Transformations”). The event will take place on 20 June 2024, at 17.30, in the Vatican Museums Conference Hall.

The presentation will be introduced by Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, and will involve the participation of Elisabetta Cristallini, professor at the University of Tuscia, and Giuseppe Appella, art historian and critic. The editors of the volume, Micol Forti, Francesca Boschetti and Rosalia Pagliarani, will also be present.

The volume “Contemporanea 50” celebrates fifty years since the birth of the Vatican Museums Modern and Contemporary Art Collection, retracing its history starting from the address given by Paul VI in the Sistine Chapel on 23 June 1973, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Collection.

An historic event that Pope Francis wished to repeat last year, precisely on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Collection, by once again inviting artists to the Sistine Chapel to reaffirm the importance of the relationship between the Church and artists, which he himself defined as "natural and special".

Starting with the meeting between Paul VI and the art world, the volume analyses the relationship between Art and Faith, which has been consolidated over the years during the various pontificates, and recounts the development of the Collection itself: the transformations that have affected the exhibition itinerary over the decades, the numerous exhibitions, the participation in important seminars and conferences, as well as the exponential growth in acquisitions.

A story that in the articulated succession of events leads the reader to discover the extraordinary evolution of the Vatican Museums' youngest collection, characterized from its birth by a balance between tradition and innovation.

ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE

Journalists and media operators who wish to attend must apply, no later than 24 hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.