Matisse Room Opens At Rome's Vatican Museums

The Matisse Room has been opened to showcase the plans that led French artist Henri Matisse to create his sole religious artworks - the stained glass windows for the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary.

The exhibition features scale drawings, each more than five metres high, that formed the basis of the polychrome windows for the apse and nave of the Chapel, which is located in Vence on the French Riviera.

The collection also includes the drawing of the Virgin and Child, conceived for the white ceramic panels in the Chapel's presbytery, along with other drawings and pieces.

The collection was donated to the Pontifical Collection by Matisses's son in 1980 in line with the artist's wishes. Visitors to the city might like to take out an apartment for rent in Rome while they enjoy the eternal city's world famous attractions.

Matisse was quoted as saying: 'When the stained-glass windows are finished I wish to donate to a museum the preparatory sketches: it would be a folly for the original drawings and the stained-glass windows to remain in the same place,' the museum said in a statement.

The exhibition was put together with the help and advice of Vittoria Cimino, from the Curator's Office of the Vatican Museums.

Tickets to the Vatican Museums cost 15 euros (£13.20) each. The religious buildings are open from 9am to 6pm local time but the box office closes at 4pm.