NORFOLK, Va. - This month, see one of the world's most renowned artistic masterpieces up close and personal.
Michelangelo's Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel kicks off Friday inside the MacArthur Center and runs until August 30.
The exhibit breaks down the chapel's 15th and 16th century paintings into around 50 large, high-resolution photographs.
Showcased are some of artist Michelangelo's most famous works like The Last Judgment and The Creation of Adam, which is painted onto the Sistine Chapel's 72-foot high ceiling. To give exhibit visitors a better view, paintings from the chapel's ceiling have been placed on the floor.
Virginia Arts Festival says this is the Vatican Museums-licensed show's first appearance in the United States. It was supposed to open in May and was delayed due to the pandemic.
But everything happens for a reason.
"We can't travel right now so we've brought the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel to you. It's very inspirational and if there's ever a time that we need to be inspired and have a place you can go and reflect, now is the time and this is the exhibit to come to," said Dianna Starkey with the Virginia Arts Festival.
The Virginia Arts Festival says it's following the CDC's COVID-19 guidelines and only allowing so many people into the exhibit at one time. Masks are required.
Tickets are $10 for adults 25 and over and $5 for everyone else. They can be purchased at the door or in advance. A digital guidebook is available for the exhibit.
The showcase is open to everyone but some subjects of the paintings appear nude. Just like in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, photographs of the exhibit are not permitted.
Michelangelo's Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel is located on the MacArthur Center's second floor in the space once occupied by Forever 21.
