THE ROMANS ARE COMING, a photo from Vatican City, Lazio

Photographer's Note

THE ROMANS ARE COMING July 12, 2007

The Vatican Museum was born after the discovery on January 14, 1506 of a statue on a vineyard near the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The reigning Pope, Julius II, immediately dispatched sculptors Michelangelo Buonarroti and Giuliano Sangallo to examine the discovery. When the two sculptors returned, awestruck by what they had seen � an almost intact marble statue of the pagan priest, Laoco鰊 and his sons being attacked by a pair of serpents � the Pope purchased the seventeen-hundred year old classical statue from the vineyard owner. And exactly one month after it was uncovered, the Laoco鰊, albeit missing an arm, was put on public display on the grounds of the Vatican. Subsequently Julius founded the Vatican Museum, built the Sistine Chapel, ordered Michelangelo and Raphael among others to decorate it. In 1906, exactly four hundred years after the statue was discovered, the missing arm of Laoco鰊 was recovered, and reunited with the statue.

Several weeks ago I posted an image of my favorite statue, with the title,What Impressed Michelangelo, and gave birth to the great museum.

In order to visit the Vatican Museum, it is essential to reserve tickets at least a month in advance. Over four million visitors traipse through the museum each year, witnessing a river of humanity flowing through its halls. As just a drop in that river, when I was passing by the Galleria dei Buisti housing these Roman busts � just one of 54 galleries in the great museum � I quickly pulled out of the line, set up my tripod and took a few shots of the room.

Mesut Ilgim, who has photographed extensively the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Aphrodisias, notes that he recognizes Claudius, Tiberius and Marcus Aurelius (full size figure). It makes sense that Emperor Tiberius (lower left) is among those depicted. The Laoco鰊 was discovered among the ruins of the bathhouse in Tiberius's Palace, which, by the 16th century, had become a vineyard. I would like to dedicate this photo to my good friend Mesut.

Nikon D-70, ISO 200, tripod-mounted shot.

Yael5766, sayeed_rahman, serp2000, sayan, dareco, Partha_c, ALIRIZA, snunney, jhm, carper, Cormac, Wandering_Dan, Emile, stego, axiotea, crckt, salvator, branley, belido, delic, Graal, Olympos, AROBN54, MLINES, riclopes, gunbud, ChrisJ, TGULUMSER, Henryk_Bilor, Angshu, Tue, veve, isabela_sor, berek, jpinkham, alvaraalto, Bluejeans, Didi, scobert, marjan, zmey, levocan has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

PJE (20758) 2007-12-10 19:54

Well now this is very interesting to see Bulent. Here I finished commenting on your previous posting tonight and upon opening the gallery I found this wonderful display of Roman busts. Nice perspective here. On a side note I have a business in wood craftsmanship where I make corbels and cornices like the two here holding the shelf up on the wall. I love these patterns of old. Excellent work!

Yael5766 (218) 2007-12-10 21:21 [Comment]

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serp2000 (47063) 2007-12-10 21:46

Hi, Bulent,

Good work! I like colours and soft light!
TFS!
Greetings from Russia,
Serghei

sayan (2617) 2007-12-10 22:01

hello prof. Atalay,

wonderful informative note with the a nice work. the architectures are always wonderful to watch and you have mastered in making such compositions. almost monochrome colors are working well here.

regards

Sayan

ViktorVaughn (1525) 2007-12-10 22:45

Hello Bulent,

This really reminds me of Italy, perhaps the epicentre of artists. You've lined these sculptures up really well, and the lighting is superb. You were lucky that you could use your tripod for this photo, allowing it to be very sharp in low lighting conditions.

As usual, a very informative note.

Regards,
David

Partha_c (2029) 2007-12-10 23:38

Hi Bulent. Quite an impressive shot of the busts with the soft light falling thereon. Looks like as if I am standing before them in the Museum itself. Well lined, well framed with a very rich informative note. Regards.
Partha

jasmis (58653) 2007-12-11 0:13

Really splendid collection in one place. Superb didactic photo.
Regards!

dareco (17136) 2007-12-11 0:26

I find this really interesting! It must have been an awesome place to visit. Incredible history! A very nice picture. TFS

ALIRIZA (16423) 2007-12-11 0:50

Merhaba B黮ent Abi,
Vatican M鼁esinden yine değişik bir g鰎黱t�. Detaylarla, biblolar 鏾k hoş. Ellerinize sağlık...
Selam ve saygılarımla...
Ali Rıza

snunney (130967) 2007-12-11 1:12

Hello Bulent,
A well chosen allowing us to fully appreciate some of this fascinating collection. The composition is well lit and the details in the sculpture beautifully captured. Interesting note as well.

Nicou (193814) 2007-12-11 1:21

Hello,

mangigique ces buste , l'ambiance, les couleurs sont tr鑣 tr鑣 belles et agr閍ble, tr鑣 bien fait.

Bravo et amiti閟

Nicou

sayeed_rahman (6461) 2007-12-11 1:23

Hello Bulent

The light that reflects off these busts is quite soft..they have been taken during day time..there is no artificial light surrrounding it it seems..the true colours are hence expressed

A good perspective but i would have experimented with a shot where the pov would be the side of the first bust looking straight down the last four..using a narrow dof and short f-stop..getting a sharp headshot of the first one and partially blurring the remaining four :)..just a thought..

Like this one though :)

Cheers
Sayeed

mesutilgim (0) 2007-12-11 1:29

Selam sevgili B黮ent kardeşim,
Muhteşem bir galeri. 莖k iyi bir bakış a�ısı ve 鏾k iyi ışık kontrolu. Bu "imperial" b黶tler arssından Tiberius'u, Claudius'u tanıdım. En sağdaki b鼀黭 heykel de galiba Marcus Aurelius.
Bunların pek 鏾ğu bir zamanlar, Anadolu topraklarını da ziyaret etmişler !
莖k da iyi a�ıklamalarla, tam bir TE "iş"i.
Ellerine ve g鰖黱e sağlık.
Selam ve sevgilerle
MESUT ILGIM

jhm (211738) 2007-12-11 3:02

Hello dear Bulent,

What a great shot and excellent quality, the sharpness and clarity are extraordinarily.
You did very well it use of your tripod, this is it result.
It's sometime very difficult in a museum used a tripod with the much people, my compliments for this one.
Thanks for sharing.

Have a nice day,
John.

carper (96) 2007-12-11 3:17

they are coming indeed Bulent.
it is another fine shotof your hand with the note of the master himself. fine composition my friend and a good photojob here, have a nice day.
gr. jaap

cunejo200 (7281) 2007-12-11 3:28

Indeed the Romans are coming. An attractive presentation of the busts. They are sharp and well defined, tech details are very good. Best regards, Danilo

feather (51130) 2007-12-11 7:25

It certainly is a wonderful collection of Roman busts and you made a good choice when you left the throng to take their photograph. Interesting story too. Well done
Kath

Cormac (26565) 2007-12-11 8:05

That is an amazing story! The museum is surely one of the treasures of the world, and what I like about your photo is that we can see the proliferation of statues there. Great lighting too, showing the statues very well. Nicely done!

erel (11890) 2007-12-11 10:21

MERHABA
Biblolar olduk鏰 şık g鰎黱鼀or 鰖ellikle ışık ve netlik m黭emmel. tebrikler. EREL

Wandering_Dan (3449) 2007-12-11 12:33

Hello, Bulent -

One of the interesting things I find about this picture is the way most - but not all - of the heads seem to be looking off the left (from their perspective). Which makes the other heads look, shall we say, non-conformist.

Good diagonals, and great clarity throughout.

Regards,
Dan

Emile (20352) 2007-12-11 13:54

Hola Bulent.
Great composition with the sculptures in lines, you captured it with very good details and clarity, also your note is very informative.
Well done. TFS.
Best regards.

stego (24132) 2007-12-11 14:44

Hello B黮ent,
An impressive display of classic sculpture, very well captured. It looks so 'natural', candid, that one almost forgets how difficult it is to photograph in those environments, either because of the light or choosing the POV.
I suspect that your book will be very interesting not only because of the text and many of the explanations will be much easier to understand with the aid of the photos.
Being *too* picky, the only thing that it misses to look like being made by a specialized good pro is an even better sharpness; but for an amateur without the aid of any lighting equipment it's remarkably well done.
Regards, Jos�.

axiotea (21651) 2007-12-11 21:37

bonjour Bulent
I like the way, you've presented these sculptures, in a diagonal, which look so well preserved! We can see well the details of these beautiful statues and I think you've handled nicely the available light. interesting note too!
Cheers
Marilyn

crckt (7222) 2007-12-12 5:15

Hi Bulent,
Your presentation just excellent! I think that reading your well written note is a must here before appreciating the shot. I also like your POV, taking the shot from the side instead of the front.
Well done,
Shaeri

salvator (19110) 2007-12-12 6:31

Hello Bulent Bey,
It is simple yet superbly effective. Simple in the composition, superbly effective with the strong details, superb shadows, and wonderful use of light. Very impressive.
Best personal regards. Salvator.

branley (3681) 2007-12-12 9:06

Hello my friend,

this is a fine collection of 'old Romans,' very well captured with great light, natural colours and taken from a fine perspective with wonderful sharpness.

As usual, it is accompanied by a superb note and it is place I would love to visit but....not until I visit Amboise of course!

Warm regards Bulent,

Stephen

sothy81 (9646) 2007-12-12 13:58

Hi Bulent, this is intersting. and it fits well with the title you have for it. It is a good learning experience from seeing this photo. Well done.

By the way, I guess you must also be busy grading and about finals. I've just entered grades and finalized everthing from this Fall semester. I hope you also had a great semester too.

Sothy

delic (6735) 2007-12-12 15:00

Merhaba,
An impressive collection they have. I like the pov and the soft colors. The tripod has proven itself once again with that terrific sharpness. How did they allow you to use it in there? Best wishes,
Hakan

Graal (103040) 2007-12-12 23:24

Hi Bulent,
interesting place in museum and Your informations. Very nice old statues. Good documental shot. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

belido (19934) 2007-12-13 1:54

Hi Bulent,

It's nice to check your posts, always full of the photography sense and information. Those great statues fill the image with their history in a visually attractive way. There is a nice perspective of the "heads" with natural light and strong contrast. This image pleases me a lot. Perfectly composed!
Best regards,
Carlos

jrj (34843) 2007-12-13 3:37

Beside of the fine work by the old masters I like here Bulent the way the light is distributed and the the overall colour setting. You succeded well in having good details of the heads and also the shadowed effect is good for adding depth to the setting. Good work in the museal environment.

meltemi (0) 2007-12-13 7:47

Hello Bulent,
there are wondrous beauty there and your photo gives the sense of looking upon the same art as did those thousands of years before, as you did it so great, as to make the cold marble seem warm with life and colour. An excellent work and a very informative note, as usual.
Warm Regards.
Stella

AROBN54 (11475) 2007-12-13 10:28

Warm greetings, Bulent,
you have done a wonderful job with this inside shot. The lighting and contrast is superb and you have gotten exquisite detail. I like the diagonal view and I am so impressed you managed such a fine shot in a roomful of tourists. Beautifully done and another marvelous note! Many thanks and warmest regards,
Shelly

MLINES (12516) 2007-12-13 16:04

Hi Bulent. I like the perspective you chose to show these marble busts off so well. It is certainly a fine collection. Your information notes are, as always, most interesting. TFS. Murray.

cak (4931) 2007-12-13 19:11

romanın zatlarını bugune kadar tanıyabildiysek bir okadarda ozamanın emektar isimsiz heykeltraşlarına bor鏻uyuz .bu belgesel foto i鏸n teşek黵ler

pablominto (53746) 2007-12-14 3:53

Hello Bulent,
Good point of view to display this fine collection of ancient artwork!
The indoor exposure is well done and the details in the sculptures are impressive...
Dynamic composition with fine lines!
Greetings,
Pablo -

riclopes (35577) 2007-12-14 8:00

Ol� Bulent, excellent choice for the title and great informative note as it is usual in your posts. But that's not all. The quality of your images is also very impressive. The exposure here is perfect and the detail on these roman busts is amazing. Very good perspective in a clear and sharp image. Congratulations for your contribution in TE.
Warm regards,
ricardo

Olympos (1037) 2007-12-14 12:35

Hello Bulent,

"THE ROMANS ARE COMING ", the proper title to your note. Emperors and generals gathered to narrate their achievements and failures ... Time is a peculiar notion.

Your picture my friend as always is an excellent one, sharp and eye-pleasant, which has always to teach something.

Congratulations my friend.

Warmest regards

Michael

gunbud (34066) 2007-12-14 21:22

Hello Bulent,
Excellent light management brings out all the wonderful details to these ancient marble busts. Very good job done under the stressfull shooting conditions. As usual a very informative note.
Regards, Tom

ChrisJ (172408) 2007-12-15 0:26

Merhaba Bulent

The diffused light has allowed maximum shadow detail, on the sculptures. Good sharpness & dof. The repetition of shapes is also excellent. Tfs!

TGULUMSER (13252) 2007-12-15 3:50

Hello Bulent Bey,
The colors, shadows, and your composition are excellent. The expressions of the Roman busts are very well reflected. Wonderful perspective,
Best regards,
Tulay

Henryk_Bilor (20803) 2007-12-15 4:09

Hi Bulent
Interesting capture of these heads. Good light. It`s good that you mustn`t tell them how to stay, they are in this position all the time ;).
Regards

Tue (93374) 2007-12-15 7:33

Hej Bulent,
An excellent photo of this gallery. Very well composed with all the busts of Roman emperors. The light is very well managed here. Great work, thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

veve (4189) 2007-12-15 9:53

Hello Bulent,
Great idea to show us these wonderful sculptures!
Very fine details and pov!
The contrast and sharpness are excellent!
Best wishes,
Veronica

isabela_sor (47748) 2007-12-15 14:06

With you and Mesut around who needs a history teacher?Tell me!I really think to do a collection with all your comments and note,and I appreciate how much soul and knowledge you put in every comment
All my respect
your friend
Isabela

Angshu (56760) 2007-12-15 22:09

Hello Professor "A"
Your note is thoroughly informative & a good complement to the picture. Well captured, the busts in a diagonal, with the colours nicely rendered. Sharpness and contrasts are excellent. On the top shelf at the left & the right extremes, we see, what appears to be busts of two boys...would you happen to know who they were?
With Warmest Regards
Angshuman

keribar (43841) 2007-12-15 22:54

Hello Bulent,

Good tip about making reservations in case I visit Rome again, but overall I like the way you framed this gallery of busts. The color ( Beige-gray seems to be the right one too ) Good work us usual - Izzet

ysabaner (1069) 2007-12-16 4:03

B黮ent Bey merhaba,
Farklı bir d鰊emi yansıtan g鼁el bir kare, a�ıklamalarınızla b黷黱leşmiş, teşekk黵ler.
Yahya

imago_lux (249) 2007-12-16 4:28

Hi Bulet!
Where are Asterix and Obelix? Are they sleeping? If they saw so much romans, I don't know...

Greetings from Portugal
Joaquim

mursaloglu (8682) 2007-12-16 9:18

Sevgili B黮ent bey
謟ellikle g鰎黱t黱黱 keskinligi ve perspektif olagan黶t�. Isik harika kullanilmis. Tebrikler ihsan

jpinkham (870) 2007-12-16 19:19

More Romans than I recall seeing in one setting (well, outside of a movie such as Ben Hur, anyway) in a long time, Bulent. They make for an interesting shot. The technical components -- shooting angle, POV, lighting -- accent your subjects well. So does your choice to show us the shelving and enough of the walls and other surroundings to give us a sense of context. Your PP, the frame and, I'm guessing, some cropping round out an overall nice job. A most informative note, too.
Regards,
Jim

berek (50518) 2007-12-16 21:41

Merhaba B黮ent bey,
ışık netlik ve tabiki a�ıklamalar s黳er. ellerinize sağlık. iyi pazarlar.
Burak Erek

setenay (7706) 2007-12-17 2:03

Merhaba B黮ent Bey,
3 haftadır işlerin yoğunluğundan TE.e bakamamıştım.D黱 vakit bulup sizin yeni Vatican m鼁e karelerinizi g鰎d�ğ黰de birden, internette m鼁enin tamamını g鰎me fikri aklıma geldi bir hayli zengin se鏴nek i鏸nde gezinirken 2 saat ge鏼iş farkında olmadan.Sayenızde,toplam 54 galeri hakkında bir hayli fikir sahibi oldum ama moralimde bozuldu hızlı adımla gezilse bile tam g黱 yetmeyecek gibi,sadece Sistin şapel ki ben sadece Michelangelo nun tavan 鏰lışmasının 鰊emli olduğunu zannediyordum,Raphael ve Botticelli gibi ressamların muhteşem freskolarına layıkıyla bakmak bile zaman alır.莂lışan i鏸n tatilde az bakalım ne zaman kısmet olacak.
B黶t galerisindeki Roma kahramanlarını 鏾k net,se鏸k ve harika g鰎黱t黮emişsiniz, elinize sağlık.TE.黱 ger鏴k bir k黮t黵 sitesi olduğunu bir kez daha g鰏terdiniz teşekk黵ler ederim .Selam ve saygılarımla
setenay

alvaraalto (42804) 2007-12-17 15:00

Hi Bulent,

At last we don抰 need to be afraid for these Romans for they are reduced to heads.: -)
I think I had restrict the composition to the heads and cut off the torso抯 on the right. But nevertheless it is an impressive row of ancient warriors all looking in the same direction.

Groet Rob

Bluejeans (64251) 2007-12-21 11:19

Ola Bulent ,
Bonita foto artistica com estas estatuas romanas , s鉶 belos trabalhos de arte , bom angulo de vis鉶 , boa luz, parabens!!!!
Um abra鏾 Gon鏰lo

sevda (230) 2007-12-21 19:28 [Comment]

Show Comment

pboehringer (770) 2007-12-21 22:11

Bulent,
difficult to say what the better part of this post is, the photography or the text. Both together are certainly a real valuable piece for the TE community.
The power and the wealth of some of the heads of the roman empire are displayed all together making the impression of a single family.
Regards, Peter

Didi (61589) 2007-12-23 3:34

Hi Bulent
Asterix said "They are mad theese Romans" :)
Very interesting antic collection with interesting notes.
I wish you a merry Christmas.
Salamat.

scobert (5355) 2008-01-02 8:07

Hello Atalay,
Thanks for posting this photo of these amazing Roman statues. When I saw the figure on the far right side of your image my first impression was that it sure resembled Marcus Aurelius. I am glad that Mesut verified this in fact was a sculpture of him. I also believe that the bust fourth on the right on the top shelf may be Hadrian. Excellent photo and notes on this fascinating museum.
Stan

nata (488) 2008-01-10 4:31

Hi Bulent,
incredibl;e shot, the lightening is cool.TFS
nata

Edyta_B (8) 2008-02-08 13:14

Hello Bulent
This photo reminds me my Italian tour in 2003 and visiting in the Vatican Museum also. It was my trip to the past. I was delighted with so many wonderful historic places, buildings, sculptures... especially created in antiquity. I would like to visit Italy once again and see what I didin't manage then and some things see one time again.
Very nice photo with visible many datails. Good framed. The sculptures are standing in rows like Roman legionaries ;).
Regards

marjan (7) 2008-02-10 8:54

hi Bulent, excellent shot of old art in stone. Clasic and beautiful.
Marjan

zmey (7335) 2008-04-09 6:41

merhaba bulent

i love history in general and roman history in particular. so, i could not help stopping by this parade of the ancients :) a nice take, bulent. i guess, i would hav been confused in this busy situation, but you did an excellent job. great clarity and spacial depth all through.

my compliments
kristaps

levocan (2253) 2008-06-01 1:58

B黮ent Bey;
Işık ve kadraj 鏾k iyi
Elinize sağlık
Saygılarımla

Levent

terez93 (2193) 2008-06-06 18:42

I really like this one... the ancients watching modern folk in strange clothing walking by, staring at them... (!) I've noticed that many of these busts/portraits are made so that as in some paintings, the eyes seem to follow you as you move... I noticed it even when I was there... it's a bit unsettling sometimes! Technically, also a great photo; the lighting is good, so you can really see the details...Thanks for sharing!
tz

BWJ (3094) 2008-10-28 17:57

Hello Bulent,
There are so many masterpieces in this one small space. I like the way you expressed it a drop in a river of humanity.

You did a great job with the POV, the light falling on the sculptures and preserving the colors. Excellent focus - all the details can be seen.
Kind regards,
Betty

Urs (14082) 2010-10-06 7:08

Hi Bulent

Yes, that are the Romans at home. I remember seeing them when I visited the Vatican Museum decades ago. I always liked Roman history, a fascinating chapter of Europe's making. Good POV and nice pastel color hues. Good photo job. Thanks for your critique of my doggy goes shopping. His master has in the transparent bags Longans, a fruit, which was season when I took the picture.

Warm regards
urs