Gallery of Candelabras Frescos by Ludovico Seitz

I went to Rome, it was my first trip ever to Europe and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. It was a short 5 day trip (June 12 - 17, 2025) but extremely enjoyable for the Art and Architecture that was available at every corner. On the last day, we went to the Vatican Museum, we bought a ticket for 20 euro for the timed entry at 12:30 pm three months in advance. It was well spent because the splendor of the church was astounding, it was easy to see why peasants would want to worship it and/or revolt against it. Everything seemed to have touches of gold and ornate splendor. The Hall of Candelabras/Galleria dei Candelabri was filled with marble carvings but I think the true highlights were a set of frescos by Ludovico Seitz that were commissioned by Pope Leo XIII. Each of the paintings represent an aspect that Pope Leo XIII found important or were largely associated with his rule. Ludovico Seitz is clearly a master painter and was the Vatican museum curator for a time.

So little information is written on these frescos but the depictions in cloth and colour were so beautiful! They don’t get enough fanfare. But I understand that they have stiff competition between Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, Gallery of Maps, and Raphael’s School of Athens. I searched Google Scholar for information and background information about these paintings, but there is next to nothing about them. Only a book “La Galleria dei Candelabri: affreschi di Ludovico Seitz” by G. Senes published in 1891 seemed to provide a brief overview of each piece. I only care about the four frescos that are representative of religion coming together with aspects of humanity. I am not religious so the background information provided by this book was interesting!

My favourite is “Divine Grace and Human Work”, it is called “Apotheosis of Work” by Senes. The script is gratia dei et contentione voluntatis excellentiam virtutis adipiscimur which translates to “With the grace of God and the effort of will we obtain the excellence of virtue”. Pope Leo XIII greatly believed in helping the common people and labourers through regulations and unions. This painting suggests that the church needs to work hand in hand with common people to ensure that they have a good standard of life. When I saw the robes of the angel, I was enamoured! The blue cloth with the yellow highlights suggest it has been cut from the sky itself. A detail that Senes was impressed with was the yellow stole, the bright colours does not detract from the brilliance of the yellow. Even more, he mentioned that it was difficult to work with. I think the yellow may be Naples Yellow, one of the oldest known synthetic pigments made of lead. It can oxidize and turn black to the point that artists are warned to use a horn or ivory palette knife instead of the typical metal one. The dress resembles a sunset on a weary farmer’s face whose work day is nearly finished. He looks in awe of the sky! It really is so beautiful!

Most people will highlight that the angel is the embodiment of the light, sun, and painting with rainbow hues. Senes pointed out that the figure was a flash of light, an iris, while the farmer is in neutral brown tones to represent that the farmer must need sunlight and thus divinity, for his meaning to have worth. I can’t help but notice that he is farming grapes as an extension of wine and blood. To me, the farmer provides reciprocal power in his belief of divinity by cultivating necessary aspects to hold communion. Sanctifying work in the Vatican with a talented brush would inform other farmers who pray at the Vatican that they are seen and represented among the church’s grand artworks.

The background is meticulously shaded but only painted in monochrome tones. They show a variety of saints in the background spreading the gospel, fighting wars, and feeding the sick. They are the saints that Leo XIII canonized, St. Clare of Montefalco (Dedicated Monastery Director), St. Benedict Labre (Patron Saint of the Homeless), St. Lawrence of Brindisi (Imperial Chapman that recruited people to fight against the Ottoman Turks), and St. John the Baptist De Rossi (Patron of the Sick as an epileptic granted special priesthood status). The muted background helps force your focus on the two central figures and the sun in the dark sky where the saints are doing their work but they are only a background to the grandeur that is human labour.

The other pieces for completeness:

Note that all these pictures are from Wikipedia https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Seitz_(Maler)

There are many marvels to these frescos. It does not come across in the pictures but these were painted on curved surfaces. When you look at them from the bottom angle, they look flat. I can’t imagine what weird perspective work must be done in order to create this illusion.

Another marvel about these paintings is that the majority of the subjects are women. I find that both impressive and boggling about why they are represented as such in a patriarchal society. For example, Religion and Science, Pagan Arts and Christian Arts are both represented by women! This just seemed rare and very interesting to me given that the main figures in the other paintings are men, such as the School of Athens where only men were considered scholars.

Agreement between Religion and Science

• “Divinarum veritatum splendor, animo exceptus, ipsam juvat intelligentiam” - The splendor of the divine truths, received into the mind, helps the understanding

• Pope Leo XIII believed that religion and science should co-exist. A nimble mind would only help the power of the church to create artifacts worthy of offerings. Not to mention the science and mathematical education needed to create great works of art like these with the fresco technique and the proportional art.
• I thoroughly enjoy the level of detail in both of their clothes. Religion on the left has a beautiful bodice while Science on the right has an extremely detailed scaled top. The material that the top could be is beyond me, the silver suggests that it is metal, but the way it drapes and folds suggests that it may be a skinned or imitation fish scale pattern.

The Wonderful Union of Ancient Pagan Art and Christian Art

• Artes priscae auspiciis pontificum romanorum felicius revixere — “The ancient arts have happily returned to life by the patronage of the Roman Pontiffs.”
• Genes wrote, “It is up to the good to encourage true art, if not with anything else, at least with honour, since honour is its nourishment and is worth more in developing it than profit itself. Profit is in fact nothing but a compensation for material work: honour is what satisfies the heart and rewards the intellect.”
• While he wrote this, the demonstration of power is present in this painting. Christian art is depicted in renaissance period dress with a book and pencil. She is sitting upright while Ancient art has taken a lower form and looks up at Christian art with a compass. Gene described this scene as Ancient Art can explain proportions to give more life and understanding to Christian art. Genes takes the stance that the Ancient art is beautiful, but empty without religion to inform meaning in it. The background depicts the ruined Colosseum on the left, preserved only through the grace of the church, St. Peter’s Basilica, on the right. The details that were highlighted in the description were the acanthus plant and bindweed by Ancient Art. The acanthus plant represents endurance and immortality in Grecian beliefs with the plant seen as a motif in columns. In Christian belief, it supposedly represents sin and pain as the “crown of thorns” has previously been interpreted as a “crown of acanthus”. Accepting the immortality belief by placing the acanthus by Ancient Art is symbolic of their reconciliation.

The Rosary and the Battle of Lepanto

• Est Rosarium præcipue implorando matris Dei patrocinio adversus hostes catholici nominis institutum - Imploring God’s protection against enemies, especially the Rosary Catholic institution
• This painting demonstrates the valor of humans when religion is there to guide them. Gene writes that war is followed by peace and war again, the default state of humans is to struggle. The angel in this painting represents Victory specifically and is gifting a rosary to the knight as a sign of a successful conquest. The background represents Lepanto, one of the naval battles that fended off the Ottoman Empire.