Contemporary art has arrived at the Vatican Library – and the theme of exodus couldn’t be more relevant to today, as Joanna Moorhead discovers

Contemporary art has arrived at the Vatican Library – and the theme of exodus couldn’t be more relevant to today

It’s a weekday afternoon and I’m at the Vatican to see an exhibition of contemporary art at the Apostolic Library. The curator meets me at the door: welcome, he says, to the new library. The old one is over there – he points to it across the square. “So this new library,” I say. “When did it open?” I can tell the curator is smiling although he is wearing a mask as everyone (except, sometimes, the Pope) does inside the Vatican City. “Ah, I thought you would ask me that,” he says. “It was in 1539.”

My guide ushers me into the lobby. He points out a statue of Hippolytus, which seems to be an early non-binary representation; dating from the second century AD, the upper part of the body is male, but the legs are female. It’s fascinating, but it’s not what I’m here to see: for that, I have to turn my attention to the grand staircase ahead, where a doorway dating from the reign of Pius XII is flanked by four curious-looking globes.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

REGISTER

Subscribe for unlimited access

SUBSCRIBE NOW

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login