What is the purpose of that marble screen that nearly divides the Sistine Chapel in two? I had a vague idea that it might serve some function during a conclave, but during the “opening ceremonies” on TV last night it didn’t seem to be doing anything more than blocking the view of the cardinals on the other side.
i didn’t see what you were talking about, but I was there about 3 years ago and I don’t recall anything like that in the Sistine Chapel. It must have been set up for this month. Actually I don’t recall anything there, it was just a wide open space. They didn’t want anyone sitting down and hanging out, or bumping into anything I guess so there was nothing in it.
It’s smaller than it looks, but that doesn’t really matter. The walls and ceiling are gorgeous.
It’s the screen which separates the part of the chapel used by the clergy from that used by the laity. In other words, it’s the equivalent of a choirscreen. Or the arrangement can be thought of as a chapel and an antechapel.
What makes the Sistine Chapel rather unusual is that it is a court chapel for a ruler who is a clergyman and whose senior courtiers are mostly clergymen. This means that its liturgical east end (actually the west end) is even more important than was the case in most court chapels, where more of the ritual action would focus on the lay ruler sitting at the other end. Hence the disporportionate amount of space allocated to the clergy.
The most famous image of the Sistine Chapel in its heyday is probably this engraving (which unfortunately doesn’t seem to enlarge). It shows the strict division between the clerical and the lay members of the papal household.
No, it’s always there. You can see it at the bottom of this picture.