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| Venice Biennale to show art commissioned by Vatican for first time | Venice Biennale to show art commissioned by Vatican for first time |
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| The Venice Biennale is not known for its religious reverence. In 1990, a work entitled the Pope and the Penis criticised the Catholic church's refusal to endorse condoms; in 2001, a model of John Paul II was shown lying prostrate on the floor, crushed by a meteorite. | |
| But this year, for the first time in the contemporary art festival's history, one of its pavilions will showcase art commissioned by the Vatican. The Holy See said on Tuesday that the works inside its debut pavilion were not overtly religious but had been inspired by the book of Genesis. | But this year, for the first time in the contemporary art festival's history, one of its pavilions will showcase art commissioned by the Vatican. The Holy See said on Tuesday that the works inside its debut pavilion were not overtly religious but had been inspired by the book of Genesis. |
| Gianfranco Ravasi, an Italian cardinal who is president of the pontifical council for culture and has been described by one Vatican observer as "the most interesting man in the church", has spearheaded the project, entitled Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation, along with the Vatican museums. | Gianfranco Ravasi, an Italian cardinal who is president of the pontifical council for culture and has been described by one Vatican observer as "the most interesting man in the church", has spearheaded the project, entitled Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation, along with the Vatican museums. |
| The Italian multimedia group Studio Azzurro, Czech photographer Joseph Koudelka, and American painter Lawrence Carroll have all contributed work based around the three separate themes. | The Italian multimedia group Studio Azzurro, Czech photographer Joseph Koudelka, and American painter Lawrence Carroll have all contributed work based around the three separate themes. |
| "They were not given specific themes such as Mary or Jesus but asked to reflect on the first 11 chapters of Genesis because they are essentially a portrait of humanity," Ravasi told Reuters. | "They were not given specific themes such as Mary or Jesus but asked to reflect on the first 11 chapters of Genesis because they are essentially a portrait of humanity," Ravasi told Reuters. |
| He has spoken of a desire for the Vatican to hark back to the days when it commissioned great works of art from Renaissance giants such as Michelangelo and Raphael. The 55th Biennale, entitled the Encyclopaedic Palace, will open on 1 June. | He has spoken of a desire for the Vatican to hark back to the days when it commissioned great works of art from Renaissance giants such as Michelangelo and Raphael. The 55th Biennale, entitled the Encyclopaedic Palace, will open on 1 June. |
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