Wes & Erica's Vacation Photo Album - Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition (Kansas City) - April 2022

Immersive art exhibits are the new hot thing and I've been wanting to go to one, but the only ones that have been available have been Van Gogh (not a fan of the Impressionists) and Frida Khalo (would have loved to see that one but it was in Dallas and not at a convenient time for us to get away). I was super pumped when I learned that there would be an experience in Kansas City... on our anniversary month... when we had a legitimate excuse to go somewhere and do something nice. Perfect!!

I always assumed the snake from the Adam & Eve story was a traditional snake. Michelangelo painted him as half snake and half human. I guess that makes more sense since snakes can't talk or have hands to hold apples. 

The Chapel Sistine (I guess they couldn't legally call it the Sistine Chapel) exhibit was advertised as a floor to ceiling reproduction of each of Michelangelo's frescos. I guess it wasn't exactly "immersive" since it didn't have any projections, lights, or 3-D effects, but it was still supposed to be a larger-than-life experience. Sadly, it wasn't. 😕 I still REALLY really enjoyed it, but the marketing was a little misleading. 

The exhibit had licensed reproductions of each one of the frescos. They were laid out in order from one corner of the ceiling to the other. Each one had an accompanying map that showed where it is located on the ceiling and a brief explanation of the painting and it's artistic and religious significance. I think they were reproduced using a mix of photography and a high-tech printing technique.

My favorite frescos were the three creation ones (Separation of land from sea, Separation of light from darkness, and Creation of the sun, moon, and planets). The Separation of light from darkness fresco is unique in that we're seeing God rising above us. The perspective in the other frescos show us looking straight onto the scene. Wes thought the "from below" perspective of Separation of light from darkness was neat but he said that the Sistine Chapel wasn't his thing. He isn't into religious art and said the colors were too dull. I really enjoyed it. The frescos are gorgeous!! I thought the reproductions were amazingly well detailed and it was cool that we could see the cracks in the paint and original brushstrokes; I also thought it was neat that you could tell which frescos have been restored more than others.