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

Copied 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, sheet and image: 56 1⁄2 × 126 1⁄4 in. (143.5 × 320.7 cm), 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

Artwork Details

Title
Inner Sanctum: The Pope and His Bankers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, ca. 1959 – 82 (5th Version)
Artist
Date
1998
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet and image: 56 1⁄2 × 126 1⁄4 in. (143.5 × 320.7 cm)
Markings
on back upper right in pencil: Inner Sanctum: The Pope and his bankers / Michele Sindoa + Roberto Calvi / 5th version / ML © MCMXCVM
Copyright
© 1998, Donald Lombardi and Pierogi Gallery
Credit Line
Gift of Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
colored pencil and graphite on paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Abstract
  • Abstract
  • Allegory — religion
  • Occupation — religion — Pope
  • Occupation — monetary — banker
  • History — Italy
Object Number
2012.32
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2012.32

Artwork Description

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.