Online tours in the Vatican Museum

I'm angry that they don't show any nice detail of the works. I think it's because they don't want people to be able to print it out. For academic reasons, I would like to see the artwork. The vatican is so cheap, they want to be the only people who can sell posters/books of the work. They don't even allow non-flash photography.

Well, Portal Star, so you really must be angry at all the museums as well. And at most even more, since those want to go there and don't even offer any pics or such "online tour"!

Btw: can you tell me any museum, where you can use flash photographs? On the other hand, I can tell you some dozens, which even don't allow to photograph at all!

flash photography damages the light-sensitive pictures, and that is why it is not allowed. Non-flash phototgraphy is allowed in most museums in Europe (ex. the Louvre, the Musee D' Orsay, the National gallery in London...). Unfortunately, the US usually doesn't allow photography in museums, probably because most Americans just use their flash anyway. I'm glad the vatican has a website, I just wish they'd put up some pictures of the artwork where I can see the artwork.

So I really don't understand your complains about especially this museum, since all major European do the same and US-American are even 'worse'.
(Just an aside: why don't you suspect, US museums want to sell books/posters of their art?)

I have taken photos without flash in many world-class art museums - even Leonardo's Last Supper in Milano. There were some dummies that took flash photos when I was there, and it upset me to no end. Some people with cameras should not be allowed to take their cameras inside museums, because they have never learned to follow instructions. c.i.

In some museums -just to add to your post, c.i.- even if photographing isn't officially allowed, guardians look away, when you use no flash.
But 'of course', exactly then someone uses a flash and ....

Most European museums -allow- photography.
Most well known artwork in American museums is available on the web, in high resolution images.

I would be okay with allowing only cameras that had no flash on them, or duct tape over the flash.

The strobe lamp in a flash camera emits an very high UV -- if everyone used a flash on these artworks who photographed them, they would eventually fade. Thanks for the links, Walter.

Many people do not know how to manually turn off their flash from their own camera. The room with Leonardo's Last Supper is on the dark side, and the automatic flash will always go off if not turned off manually. I like the idea of duct tape on the flash face. That should be recommended to all the museums in this world. c.i.

Duct (or Duck) tape would be rather drastic since it is extremely adhesive and has solvents in it that can eat the plastic face of your camera flash. I'd just stick strippable drafting tape over it. As long as the UV is absorbed, it doesn't matter.

True.

Is there a flash/ light source that doesn't damage paintings? Does anyone know what specific parts of the spectrum do harm?

PS, Good question. I did a Google search and found the following.

S.Maria_Maggiore

However, I must provide my own opinion. I have visited some of the tombs in Egypt, and the colors of the paintings are as fresh today as if painted recently, but in actuality they are thousands of years old. I believe they have preserved their vital colors, because they have been buried in darkness for so long. The same techniques used at temples with similar paintings have been bleached from the elements including sun light, because they are exposed to the open air. c.i.

I've visited S. Maria Maggiore and it is Very Dark inside. At least when I was there.

Walter, thank you, I added the Vatican Museum to the Helpful Links lists.







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Oops, I see that is SMM in Spello, where I haven't been... it's near Perugia, I think.