Inner Sanctum: The Pope and His Bankers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, ca. 1959-82 (5th Version)

Inner Sanctum: The Pope and His Bankers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, ca. 1959–82 (5^th Version)

Mark Lombardi, Inner Sanctum: The Pope and His Bankers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, ca. 1959-82 (5th Version), 1998, colored pencil and graphite on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.32, © 1998, Donald Lombardi and Pierogi Gallery

Mark Lombardi traced the uses and abuses of power, and especially financial and political fraud, in intricate drawings he described as “narrative structures.” Inner Sanctum tracks an international scandal in which backhanded deals, money-laundering, and several mysterious deaths were linked to the Vatican Bank in the 1960s and ’70s. This elaborate schematic drawing tracks an intricate network of criminal conspiracies to reveal connections among people and events that led to the fall of the Italian government and the investigation or indictment of several hundred people.

Title

Inner Sanctum: The Pope and His Bankers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, ca. 1959–82 (5^th Version)

Artist

Mark Lombardi

Date

1998

Location