This summer the Vatican Museums are hosting an exhibition of the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana Plečnik and the Sacred presenting 33 select liturgical vessels designed by Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik.

The extraordinary selection of Plečnik’s sacral objects

The theme of designing sacral objects is exceptional within the oeuvres of contemporary architects and designers, and here Plečnik created something unique on a global scale, both with regard to the number of products as well as their quality and originality. The exhibition which represents a carefully prepared selection of Plečnik’s chalices, monstrances, ciboria and sacramentaries, is in the centre of the Vatican Museums, namely, it is on display in the hall at the entrance into the Vatican gallery Pinacoteca Vaticana, where the works of the world-renowned artists from Giotto to Raphael and from Leonardo to Titian and others are kept. Jože Plečnik is thus the first Slovenian artist presented in an exhibition at the Vatican Museums, and the exhibition itself represents one of the most important projects for the promotion of Slovenian culture this year.

Photo: Andrej Peunik/MGML

Among chalices with a distinctively plastic relief additionally decorated with stones the Oman Chalice stands out. The rounded surfaces of the chalice have small reliefs of preimages of Christ’s sacrifice.

The exhibition Plečnik and the Sacred, that reveals that Jože Plečnik was not just a master of monumental architecture but was also an exceptional designer of sacral objects, was prepared by the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana (MGML) in close collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia at the Holy See and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the Archdiocese of Ljubljana and the Vatican Museums.

Major significance of the exhibition for the promotion of our culture

The exhibition was conceptually designed by Blaž Peršin, Director of MGML, who stressed: »We are convinced that this exhibition, although not broad in its scope, is going to significantly contribute to putting Plečnik’s work on the global map and it is going to contribute considerably to the promotion of Slovenia during the summer months when over 20,000 people a day visit the Vatican Museums. Plečnik’s design of sacral vessels represents an important apex of his oeuvre presenting small masterpieces of his creative spirit.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia at the Holy See Tomaž Kunstelj has for many years been investing a lot of effort in the presentation of Slovenian cultural heritage in the Vatican Museums which is finally paying off with the exhibition Plečnik and the Sacred: »Among the Slovenian minds who have with their work in architecture and design in the central European area expressed the wealth of talent enriched with hard work and personal spirituality Jože Plečnik is the undisputed champion. If anybody, then this designer of many churches, also of their interior, equipment and sacral objects, justly knocked on the doors of the Vatican Museums with his oeuvre. The Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia is greatly honoured that, in collaboration with the Vatican Museums and the extremely dynamic creative team at the Museum and Galleries Ljubljana as well as with the big financial support from the Ministry of Culture, it was able to contribute one small stone to Plečnik’s visit to Vatican.«

Barbara Jatta, Director of the Vatican Museums, welcomed the idea of presenting the oeuvre of Plečnik’s sacral objects with great excitement: »The Vatican Museums are pleased that at the heart of the Pinacoteca Vaticana we can host an important exhibition of sacral objects of Jože Plečnik, a great architect and designer of the 20^th century. Plečnik created an original and innovative style reflected both in his church and secular architecture and in the field of liturgical vessels where he produced many important works which we wanted to present to our audience.«

The exhibition Plečnik and the Sacred was conceived by a great expert of Plečnik’s work Dr. Peter Krečič in collaboration with the curator of the Plečnik House Ana Porok.

There are 33 sacral objects on display

The introduction to the exhibition is a text that provides visitors with the wider context of Plečnik’s design of sacral objects, supplemented by reproductions of his designs of exhibited sacral objects.

The central and certainly the most attractive part of the exhibition is the presentation of the 33 original sacral objects, the most beautiful examples of Plečnik’s rich oeuvre. With the support from the Archdiocese of Ljubljana, numerous custodians of heritage in churches, monasteries, and private owners loaned these artefacts for the exhibition. The exhibition also includes a video recording on Plečnik’s sacral architecture prepared by Tone Stojko which shines a light on the significance of the master’s comprehensive sacral architectural oeuvre. The video allows visitors to admire Plečnik’s sacral architecture: the churches of St. Michael and St. Francis of Assisi, the funerary complex Žale in Ljubljana and the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord in Prague.

The exhibition is on display at the Vatican Museums until 7 September 2019 and then it is moving to the Museum and Galleries Ljubljana for a short period of time, where it is opening on 26 September within the framework of marking European Heritage Days.