Last Friday, June 23, the Vatican Museums modern and contemporary art collection celebrated its 50th anniversary with the help of Pope Francis, who invited more than 200 artists for a commemoration at the Sistine Chapel. The collection was inaugurated by the late Pope Paul VI in 1973 to help rekindle the church’s relationship with art, as the intertwined narrative between the two has produced some of the most iconic works in the history of art, including Michelangelo’s fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

“One of the things that brings art closer to faith is the fact that it’s a bit disturbing,” Pope Francis noted in his address to the chapel’s audience of creatives, which included controversial artist Andres Serrano. . “Art and faith cannot leave things as they are: they change them, transform them, convert them, move them,” the pope continued. Serrano, known for his photographyPiss Christ(1987) depicting a crucifix immersed in his own urine, was also criticized for artwork and commentary that some perceive as gratuitously tasteless or offensive.

Guests at the Sistine Chapel also included contemporary German artist Anselm Kiefer, Bengali-American author Jhumpa Lahiri and Dutch violinist André Rieu, among others. Surrounded by Florentine Renaissance frescoes and 16th century tapestries, the public has The words of the pope on the unity and interdependence between faith and art which were peppered with references to Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil, Romano Guardini and multiple Bible verses. Pope Francis urged participants “not to forget the poor” because they too have “a need for art and beauty”.

“You can choose to become the interpreters of their silent plea,” he stressed before thanking his guests and asking for a prayer.

In light of Pope Francis’ seemingly progressive views on art’s tendency to expose harsh truths, it should be noted that he did not always support artists who used Christian motifs critically in their practices. . In 2004, when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires before his pontificate, he called an exhibition of León Ferrari “blasphemous” And “a shamefor Ferrari’s juxtaposition of a crucified Jesus figurine on an American bomber and other Christian icons in kitchen utensils.

In anticipation of this anniversary, the curator of the Department of 19th Century and Contemporary Art of the Vatican Museums, Micol Forti, assisted by Francesca Boschetti and Rosalia Pagliarani, has selected recently acquired or famous works. 10 works to exhibit throughout the establishment. Works by El Anatsui, Mimmo Paladino, Monica Bravo and several others were chosen with the intention of “weaving a dialogue between the past and the present”, as reported by the Vatican News. Forti, Boschetti and Pagliarani also edited the next Italian volume Vatican Museums Modern and Contemporary Art Collection 1973-2023. Origins, History, Transformationsshould be released soon via Edizioni Musei Vaticani.

Neither the Vatican Museums nor the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education immediately responded to Hyperallergic request for comment.

The “Salette” in the Borgia Towers is also offering a free exhibition of archival photographs tracing the history of the modern and contemporary art collection of the Vatican Museums until September 24. Contemporary50draws attention to the work of Pope Paul VI, who inaugurated the collection in 1973 — nine years after decrying the separation between faith and art during a artists’ mass at the Sistine Chapel in 1964.