The Sistine Chapel
The famed chapel of the Apostolic Palace and Papal conclaves, the Sistine Chapel gets its name from Pope Sixtus IV who restored the chapel between 1477 and 1480. In 1508, Pope Julius II decided to adjust the design and assigned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling.
The ceiling decoration consists of nine scenes from Book of Genesis, highlighted by The Creation of Adam, the most infamous of the painted scenes depicted. The scenes starting from the alter are in the following order:
- The Separation of Light and Darkness
- The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Earth
- The Separation of Land and Water
- The Creation of Adam
- The Creation of Eve
- The Temptation and Expulsion
- The Sacrifice of Noah
- The Great Flood
- The Drunkenness of Noah
Michelangelo
Michelangelo used a painstaking method of fresco painting to create some 300 figures in elaborate scenes over four years. Contrary to popular assumption that Michelangelo painted the ceiling on his back atop scaffolding, he actually painted the ceiling standing upright from scaffolding he built himself. This proved uncomfortable at best as the artist describes his physical discomfort in a sonnet he wrote.
In 1536, Michelangelo painted The Last Judgement on the alter wall in the Sistine Chapel. The fresco depicts the moment preceding when the verdict of the Last Judgement is uttered. It also took four years to complete. The painting contains a self portrait of the artist in the skin held by St. Bartholomew. Much controversy plagued the painting as Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena said that “it was most dishonest in such an honoured place to have painted so many nude figures.” As a result of the continued controversy, the Council of Trent decided to cover “obscene” figures with painted drapery in 1564.
Other Renaissance artists that contributed to the decoration include Sandro Botticelli, Cosimo Roselli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, and Domenico Ghirlandaio. Examples of their work include frescos depicting the Life of Christ and the Life of Moses on the chapel walls.
Ruth’s Lonely Planet 