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The third set of Vatican City stamps to focus on the restoration of the Sistine Chapel was released on May 9, 2000. It would be the first in a series of three releases over the next three years which would call attention to the works of some of the great artists of the Renaissance era who contributed to the wealth of artwork gracing the Great Chapel. The stamps of these three issues had similar designs and are described as such in the Scott Catalog as the “Sistine Chapel Restoration Type of 2000”. The main feature differentiating the three sets is the color of the left- and right-hand frames of the stamps. For the year 2000, the frames were blue in color. BUT, there is one other distinction between the three sets which will be revealed when we reach the last set for the year 2002.
 
The UFN release announcing this three-year series including the following introduction to the artwork which is found on the stamps:
<blockquote>”After having given back to humanity the colorful wonders of the ceiling and the Last Judgment, the work of Michelangelo’s genius, the restoration [of the Sistine Chapel] has now been completed with the 15th century frescoes, carried out by famous painters, which act as historical and artistic ‘foundation’ to the extraordinary frescoes of Buonarrotti. 
“A cycle of frescoes whose size and complexity animate and enhance Michelangelo’s work, making the Sistine Chapel a place where Art reaches its greatest heights, the cycle is made up of twelve large scenes, six dedicated to the Old Testament (Moses) and six to the New (Jesus). Vatican City will show all the frescoes on its stamps, divided into three years, giving an artistic rather than a theological slant to the series.”</blockquote>
The four stamps for the year 2000 portray the following masterpieces: 
<li>500 lire (Scott 1156). The Calling of Saint Peter and Saint Andrew, by Domenico Ghirlandaio: 
			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 <center>
<img height='200' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1156.jpg'> 
</center> 
<li>1000 lire (Scott 1157). The Trials of Moses, by Sandro Botticelli:
			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 <center>
<img height='200' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1157.jpg'> 
</center> 
<li>1500 lire (Scott 1158). The Donation of the Keys, by Pietro Perugino:
			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 <center>
<img height='200' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1158.jpg'> 
</center> 
<li>3000 lire (Scott 1159). The Worship of the Golden Calf, by Cosimo Rosselli:
			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 			 <center>
<img height='200' src='http://vaticanstamps.org/VPS/images/296/1159.jpg'> 
</center> 
The restoration of the twelve frescoes to be shown on this stamp series was part of the initial phase of the Sistine Chapel restoration. The cleaning of frescoes started in 1964 and was completed in 1974.
 
REFERENCES:
<li>Wikipedia, <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel'>Sistine Chapel</a> 
<li>Wikipedia, <a href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restoration_of_the_Sistine_Chapel_frescoes#:~:text=Between%20June%201980%20and%20October,II%20on%208%20April%201994.'>Restoration of the Sistine Chapel Frescoes</a> 
<li>UFN, May 9, 2000, <a href='https://www.vaticanstamps.org/UFN/images/2000-2-05-1.jpg'>The Sistine Chapel Restored: The Masterpieces of the 15th Century, First Issue</a> 
<li>Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search

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