Easter 2011
'Resurrection of Christ'
by Hendrick van den Broeck

A stamp celebrating Pasqua (Easter) 2011 represents the second year in a row that the philatelic program included an Easter stamp (a three-stamp set was also issued in 1969, Scott 467-469). The 2011 issue depicts the risen Christ in a Renaissance setting on a €0,75 stamp in a horizontal format, issued in sheets of 10. The stamp consists of detail from a fresco (The Resurrection of Christ) located at an entrance to the Sistine Chapel by Flemish artist Hendrick Van Den Broeck (1519-1597). Van Den Broeck (also known as Arrigo Fiammingo) contributed to decoration of the Sala Regia, the antechamber of the Sistine Chapel, as well as decoration of the Sistine Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore. The original fresco of the Resurrection was painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi, 1449-1494) and was destroyed when a door frame collapsed in 1522. Ghirlandaio, a Renaissance painter of the Florentine school, is noted for detailed frescoes. Ghilrandaio's Vatican Sistine Chapel fresco was commissioned in 1481-1482 when he completed other paintings in Rome. Some of his other paintings are found in the Santa Maria Novella and the Sasetti Chapel in Santa Trinita, both located in Florence. As noted above, these are the first Easter stamps issued by the Vatican in 1969. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1462 - 1462 Date Issued - 21 March 2011 Face Value - €0,75 Perforations - 12.8x12.8 Printing Process - Offset Printer - Sweden Post (Sweden) Max Printed - 600,000

(Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 59 Issue: 349 Page: 4-6)