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Paolo VI, Jaques MaritainSize: 415.40 kB
An exhibition on Paul VI and Jacques Maritain at the Vatican Museums
Exhibition on Paul VI and Jacques Maritain at the Vatican Museums
On the morning of 12 June 2025, a press preview was held for the refined exhibition 'Paul VI and Jacques Maritain: The Renewal of Sacred Art between France and Italy (1945–1973). To mark the Jubilee Year 2025, the Vatican Museums are paying tribute to the renowned French philosopher Jacques Maritain and his close relationship with St Paul VI and the world of art. The exhibition has been curated by Micol Forti, Head of the Vatican Museums' Modern and Contemporary Art Collection, and is located in the heart of the contemporary art exhibition, halfway between the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel.
The exhibition provides a multifaceted opportunity to celebrate several important anniversaries, including the 80^(th) anniversary of Jacques Maritain's appointment as French Ambassador to the Holy See in 1945, the almost simultaneous establishment of the Cultural Centre of St Louis of the French, the 60^(th) anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council in December 1965, and the inauguration of the Collection of Modern Religious Art by Pope Montini in June 1973. Several institutions are involved in the exhibition, including the Pope's Museums, the French Embassy to the Holy See, the Cultural Centre of St Louis of the French/Institut français – Centre Saint-Louis and the National and University Library of Strasbourg.
At the heart of this unique partnership lies the figure of Jacques Maritain (1882–1973). He was invited to Rome by Charles de Gaulle from 1945 to 1948, during which time he served as the French Ambassador to the Holy See. It was during this period that he strengthened his friendship with Giovanni Battista Montini, whom he had first met in Paris in 1924. This relationship continued well beyond Maritain's diplomatic experience and remained strong during the Second Vatican Council. Maritain's neo-Thomist thought contributed to the Council's premises, focusing on the relationship between art and faith, and between the world of culture and Catholicism. This was in line with the Council's vision of "integral humanism".
Maritain and his wife Raïssa, née Oumançoff, whom he met at the Sorbonne and married in 1904, were introduced to Christianity through the influence of intellectual friends such as Charles Péguy and Léon Bloy. They eventually embraced the Catholic faith after an intense journey which culminated in their baptism in June 1906.
During the first half of the 20th century, the Maritains established an influential international circle that was crucial for reflections on Christianity. This group included philosophers, church leaders, artists, poets and intellectuals from various backgrounds, including Paul Claudel and Jean Cocteau.
Over time, the Maritains amassed an impressive collection of artwork, gifted to them by their numerous artist friends. Some of these ended up in the Vatican Museums' Collection of Modern Religious Art. The philosopher and the "Cercle d'études Jacques et Raïssa Maritain" donated these works to Paul VI, along with other pieces gifted by the artists themselves in support of the pontiff's important project, which he inaugurated in June 1973.
The most significant artists included Maurice Denis, Émile Bernard, and Gino Severini, whose works for Swiss churches were promoted by Cardinal Charles Journet; Georges Rouault, perhaps Maritain's most beloved interpreter; Marc Chagall, a close friend of Raïssa's whose stories were animated by the extraordinary sensitivity of Jewish folklore; There was also Henri Matisse, whose masterpiece of total art is found in the Chapel of Vence, and William Congdon, an American artist inspired by authentic mysticism whom Maritain met in the years leading up to the Council. These artists were all figures of absolute depth who contributed to the reflection on the search for new forms and new paths for contemporary sacred art.
The exhibition also features Dominican priest Marie-Alain Couturier. He was a major figure in the renewal of sacred art in France and led a movement that opposed Maritain's in many ways. Couturier's inclusion in the exhibition symbolizes Paul VI's openness to progressive Dominican thought.
Exhibition: Paul VI and Jacques Maritain: the renewal of sacred art between France and Italy (1945-1973)
Location: Salette della Torre Borgia, Vatican Museums
Duration: June 13 - September 20, 2025
Ticket: free and included in the admission ticket to the Museums
Artists on display include: Maurice Denis, Emile Bernard, Gino Severini, Georges Rouault, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, William Congdon
OPENING HOURS: Monday - Saturday: 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (last admission at 6:00 p.m.)
Last Sunday of the month (excluding June 29): 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (last admission 12:30 p.m.)
Sundays and holidays: closed
Paul VI and Jacques Maritain: the renewal of sacred art between France and Italy (1945-1973)
The exhibition "Paul VI and Jacques Maritain: The Renewal of Sacred Art Between France and Italy (1945-1973)" will mark many anniversaries in the jubilee year of 2025. These include the 80th anniversary of Jacques Maritain's appointment as French Ambassador to the Holy See in 1945 and the nearly simultaneous establishment of the St. Louis of the French, to the 60^(th) anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council in December 1965, to the inauguration of the Collection of Modern Religious Art commissioned by Paul VI in June 1973. These anniversaries alone demonstrate the historical insights that the exhibition offers visitors to the Pope's Museums. Due to the broad theme covered, the exhibition required an inevitable selection based on certain key moments and points. In this regard, I am pleased to mention the publication of the proceedings from the Les Maritain et Rome conference, which was promoted by the French Embassy to the Holy See. The conference was held in two editions, one in 2023 and one in 2024. It gave ample space to the many aspects of the "Maritain universe."
During the first half of the century, Maritain and his wife, Raïssa (née Oumancoff), created an intense international circle, which was a crucial moment in the reflection on Christianity in the 20th century. This circle gained new momentum when Maritain became the French ambassador to the Holy See and moved to the Palazzo Taverna residence in Rome from 1945 to 1948. There, he strengthened his friendship with Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, who would become Pope Paul VI.
His relationship with the pontiff lasted well beyond his diplomatic experience and remained active during the Second Vatican Council. Maritain's neo-Thomist thinking contributed to the Council's focus on the relationship between art and faith, and between the world of culture and Catholicism, as envisioned by his concept of "integral humanism." Over time, the Maritains had amassed a collection of artworks gifted to them by their many artist friends. Some of these ended up in the Vatican Museums' Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art when the philosopher and the "Cercle des études Jacques et Raïssa Maritain" gifted them to Paul VI in the early 1970s. Other works were donated by the artists themselves and clearly reference their relationship with the Maritains. These works are important additions to the Vatican Collection because they reaffirm the mutual respect between Montini and Maritain and underscore Maritain's immediate understanding of Paul VI's project. The philosopher was one of the project's theoretical driving forces.
Pope Montini's project had clear connotations that were even more inclusive and open than Maritain's ideas. It officially began with the appeal to artists to mend the "divorce between the Church and contemporary art," which took place in the Sistine Chapel on May 7, 1964. The first phase concluded with the opening of the collection on June 23, 1973. It was set up in the historic heart of the Vatican Museums, between the Borgia Apartment and the rooms that lead to the Sistine Chapel. The works on display today in those same rooms include great artists such as Maurice Denis, Émile Bernard, Georges Rouault, Chagall, Matisse, and Severini. They tell the stories of the protagonists of this cultural and spiritual adventure and retrace key episodes in the renewal of sacred art in France, Switzerland, and Italy between the late 19th and 20th centuries.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the French Embassy to the Holy See, particularly to Ambassador Florence Mangin, for supporting and encouraging our initiative. I would also like to thank the Centre Culturel Saint-Louis des Français/Institut français – Centre Saint-Louis, the Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire de Strasbourg, Reverend Father Augustin Laffay, and all the scholars involved in publishing the catalog for their tremendous institutional support and invaluable assistance in locating documents from that period. I would also like to thank all the Vatican Museums staff involved in creating the exhibition, the Exhibitions Office, and the Department of Nineteenth-Century and Contemporary Art, curated by Micol Forti. Ms. Forti promoted and coordinated the initiative with her valuable collaborators, Francesca Boschetti and Rosalia Pagliarani.
Barbara Jatta Director of the Vatican Museums
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Paolo VI, Jaques Maritain