This is something I meant to ask forever. I believe that we have no idea what this ridiculous statue of a sphere posted front and center at the Vatican is. Well, it is only ridiculous, because we do not really know its meaning. It stands tall as the centerpiece of the Courtyard of the Pinecone at the Vatican Museum. It is made of bronze and appears golden as the sun shines down on it. It is 4 meters
(~13 feet) in diameter.
In addition to the below worthless info,
Vatican.COM says that it is also known as "Sfera con Sfera":
The Sphere within a Sphere is a statue also known as "Sfera con Sfera". It is located in the Vatican Museums. It is part of a series of bronze sculptures on this theme that can be found in prime locations all over the world.
Arnaldo Pomodoro is an Italian sculptor. He was born in the 23rd of June 1926 in Morciano, Romagna, Italy. Currently he lives in Milan. His brother, Giò Pomodoro was also an Artist.
Wikipedia says even less:
- Sphere Within Sphere is a bronze sculpture by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. Versions of the sculpture (diameters vary) can be seen in many settings worldwide.
It is interesting that our Sphere within Sphere "
can be found in prime locations all over the world":
- Vatican Museums, Rome
- Palazzo della Farnesina, Rome
- Piazza della Libertà, Pesaro, Italy
- Headquarters of the UN, New York (no surprise, right?)
- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia
- The Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis
- University of California, Berkeley, California
- Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa
- Trinity College in Dublin
- The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C.
- The de Young Museum in San Francisco, California
- The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran (really?)
- The Columbus Museum of Art in Columbus, Iowa
- The Tel Aviv University in Israel
- Hakone Open-Air Museum, Hakone, Japan
Pretty sure the above list is incomplete, but it gives an idea that this Sphere means something for some people out there.
Arnaldo Pomodoro
May be our creator of the spheres, Mr. Tomato has something revealing in his bio. I did not find anything tremendously special. The gentleman is not young. Mr. Tomato was born in 1926, and is 93 years old. He appears to still be alive but has not been active since 2005. He began his series of spheres in the 60’s with
Sphere no. 1, and has continued designing the globe-like pieces,
each depicting a different map of destruction.
Each tremendous ball is fractured, revealing an intricate interior that unveils yet another cracking orb. The design of the internal layers seem to be mimicking the gears of a clock or the inner workings of a grand piano, making it appear very complicated.
- Because of the sculptural installation’s round shape, it also echoes the form of Earth. It isn’t absolutely clear what the artist’s intentions are, but it gives off the impression that it is reflecting the complexity of our world and how easily it can be torn apart.
- Mr. Tomato also has disks, cubes, pyramids and other shapes to be proud of...
- Arnaldo Pomodoro - Wikipedia
- Giant Fractured Sphere at the Vatican
I was only able to find one photograph where our sphere creator is somewhat on the younger side
(49 in 1975). D we have any additional younger ones. As it is, I have only seen an older gentleman in the pictures, and
videos. May be search strings in Italian could produce more of the younger looking Mr. Tomato.
In one
interview the artist said of his work:
- A sphere is a marvelous object, from the world of magic and wizards. It reflects everything around it and it can easily get transformed or become invisible, leaving only its interior, tormented and corroded, full of teeth.
Pomodoro made so many of these statues. Do we have a single photograph of him actually working on one?
KD: If it was not for this
"Sphere within Sphere" posted at the Vatican, I doubt we would be talking about this sculpture. But to be where it's at, it had to get authorized by whoever the Pope was at the time
(1960s?). I personally think it's ugly, and if our Earth looks anything like that... well, too sad...