Exhibition Dedicated to Paul VI and Jacques Maritain Opens at the Vatican Museums

The Renewal of Sacred Art Between France and Italy (1945–1973)

“Paul VI and Jacques Maritain – The Renewal of Sacred Art Between France and Italy (1945–1973)” is the theme of the exhibition inaugurated on Thursday, June 12 at the Vatican Museums. Among those present were Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums and H.E. Florence Mangin, Ambassador of France to the Holy See.

Born from the collaboration between the Vatican Museums and various French institutions — including the Embassy of France to the Holy See, the French Cultural Center San Luigi dei Francesi/Institut français - Centre Saint-Louis, and the Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire de Strasbourg — the initiative was launched to celebrate the French philosopher and diplomat Jacques Maritain (1882–1973) and his friendship with Giovanni Battista Montini, whom he met in Paris in 1924.

The exhibition, which is part of the Jubilee celebrations, commemorates a series of anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of Maritain’s appointment as Ambassador of France to the Holy See (1945), the foundation of the French Cultural Center of San Luigi dei Francesi (1945), the 60th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council (1965), and the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Collection of Modern Religious Art (1973).

Curated by Micol Forti, the exhibition is hosted along the Vatican Museums’exhibition route of the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art, between the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel.
It will be open to the public from June 13 through September 20 and features over seventy works, including paintings, drawings, documents, and books, from the Vatican collections and major international loans.
The exhibition also includes works by artists such as Georges Rouault, Marc Chagall, Gino Severini, Jean Cocteau, William Congdon, Henri Matisse, Alfred Manessier, Ernesto Treccani, and Renato Guttuso.

The exhibition is organized into seven thematic sections that follow the key phases of Maritain’s thought, his influence on the Second Vatican Council, his relationship with the Dominican Marie-Alain Couturier, and the decisive role he played in the creation of the Collection of Modern Religious Art at the Vatican Museums.

Over the years, Jacques and his wife Raïssa assembled a valuable collection of artworks consisting of donations from numerous artist friends who shared their ideals and cultural visions. Some of these masterpieces eventually became part of the Vatican Museums’ Collection of Modern Religious Art thanks to donations made directly to Paul VI by the French philosopher and by the Cercle des études Jacques et Raïssa Maritain.
Additional works were donated by the artists themselves as a sign of support for the initiative promoted by Saint Paul VI, who inaugurated the collection in June 1973.