The Popes And Their Art: the Vatican Collections

Originally released in 1983, a year before narrator James Mason's death, this sumptuously photographed overview of Vatican art produced by NBC News was tied to the exhibit which toured the United States in the early 1980s. The focus is on the works collected or commissioned by Nicholas V (circa 1328, one of the anti-popes, a mere pretender to the papal throne, but arguably the first true Renaissance pope and a real book-lover), Sixtus IV (1471), his relative, Julius II (1503, the man who put Michelangelo flat on his back for four years, laboring on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and fielding the artist's numerous complaints with the savvy deaf ear of a corporate CEO--Julius would also have never passed muster with Miss Manners; the man rode his horse inside the house), Clement VII (1523, who got their after the major sacking from the North's marauding tribes, but did manage to account for a few nice Caravaggio's) and Urban VIII (1623). Although a little slow by contemporary measurements (i.e., the blink of an eye), this is good documentary that would still be welcome in a strong art history collection. Recommended. (R. Pitman)