Michelangelo Sistine Chapel

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It is well known worldwide for being the room where the Conclave is held and other ceremonies including some papal coronations and of course has been decorated by Michelangelo.  It is located on the right of St. Peter's Basilica, after the Scala Regia and originally used as a chapel inside the old Vatican fortress.

It is a large rectangular room covered in vaults.  The long walls are painted by important artists such as Perugino, Botticelli and Ghirlandaio, showing scenes from the life of Moses and Christ.  But the most significant frescoes were painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, who painted the ceiling of the chapel.  In fact Michelangelo was not happy about the huge work to be done (over 300 hundred square metres to be painted) because he considered himself a sculpture and not a painter plus the fact that it would take all of his time, preventing him from doing other work that he considered more important, a monument of Julius II.

Forced to reluctantly accept the post, for four years he worked alone on special scaffolding, refusing any help.  The result was one of the most beautiful masterpieces of the world.  In the vault of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo created an extraordinary gallery of characters (more than 300 figures) that gives life to the whole history of humanity, from creation until the coming of Christ.

Two decades later, Michelangelo was again called to work on the Sistine Chapel on behalf of Pope Paul III.  Between 1533 and 1541 he painted the Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar.  It is a painting of a great expression; in the centre of the painting you can see Christ surrounded by Saints and Angels, who proclaimed the Last Judgment.  Toward him rise the resurrected for eternal salvation, while the damned are falling to hell.

The Last Judgment was the issue of a tough dispute between the Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo.  The artist was accused of immorality and intolerable obscenity, because he had painted nude figures with their genitals clearly exposed, in the most important church of Christianity.

Therefore a campaign of censorship (known as the campaign of fig leaves) was organized by Cardinal Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Ambassador of Mantova) to remove the frescoes.  Giordano Vasari said that the Master of Ceremonies for the Popes, Biagio of Cesena, made a similar complaint, saying that it was more suited to a thermal bath than a chapel.  Also when Michelangelo painted a self-portrait, painted on the figure of Minosse, Judge of Hell, Biagio da Cesena complained to the Pope.  The Pontiff replied that its jurisdiction did not apply to hell and so the portrait remained.  According to other studies, the character portrayed in the Minosse is Pierluigi Farnese, the son of Pope Paul III, well known in Rome for being violent and to have raped a young cleric causing his death.

Coinciding with the death of Michelangelo, a law was issued to cover the genitals of the painting (‘Pictura in Chapel Ap.ca coopriantur’), so Daniele of Volterra, who was Michelangelo’s apprentice, carried out the work.  After, he was nicknamed ‘Braghettone’, because he covered the genitals, but left intact the rest of the painting.

When the work was restored in the 1993, restores did not uncover the figures that Daniele had painted.  However a replica of the painting, without being censured, by the artist Marcello Venusti, is displayed in the Museum of Capodimonte in Naples.  The Chapel was restored (from 1981 to 1994).List of Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel:

- Sibyl Delphica - 1509 (Michelangelo)

The Sibyl Delphica is a fresco in the Sistine Chapel ceiling, 350 x 380 cm, painted in 1509 by the Italian painter Michelangelo Buonarroti.

The fresco is part of a series of paintings placed at the base of the chapel and alternatively shows the prophets of the Old Testament to the Sibyls (Pagan priests).  The Catholic Renaissance iconography maintained the Sibyls, due to their powers of foresight and of the coming of Christ.

Like the other Sibyls and prophets, the Sibyl Delphica wears a ceremonial dress on a stone throne.  The expression of surprise is imprinted on her face, as if to see the appearance of the Lord, confirming the prophecy (prediction).  The Sibyl Delphica is scrolling down a paper roll, with her left arm bent forward.  A blue and orange cloak tied around her shoulders with a light tunic and a blue cloth wrapped around her head.- Creation of Adam - around 1511 (Michelangelo)

The creation of Adam is a fresco painted by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 280 x 570 cm.  It is believed that this work was carried out in 1511.  This is one of  the most famous frescos of the Sistine Chapel and is stored in the Vatican’s Museum.

The body of Adam lies without the spark of life, while the Lord in his cloak surrounded by Angels floats towards Adam in an explosion of power and energy.  Adam rests his arm on bended knee, while God extends his arm so that their fingers are almost touching.  Under the thigh of Adam depicts the hand of one of the Ignudi, which is one of the 20 male nudes incorporated in the fresco. 

The Cornucopia (referred to as The Horn of Plenty) made of oak leaves and acorns that is held by hand, is one of many references to the oak that are painted along the ceiling.  These refer to the name of the family of Pope Julius II, which was Della Rovere meaning of oak.  Only in recent times was it discovered that the hand of Adam was repainted due to a fracture of the plaster during restoration in the 15th Century, from Michelangelo’s young apprentices, after his death.- Last Judgment – 1536-1541 (Michelangelo)

This amazing fresco focuses mainly on the dominant figure of Christ, taken in the moment that precedes the verdict of the Last Judgment.

His gesture is imperative and calm, so it seems, but at the same time draws the attention and placates the tension surrounding him.  He then slowly begins to rotate, in which all the figures are involved, except for the two arches on the top part of the fresco with two groups of flying Angels holding in their hands the symbols of passion (on the left; the cross and crown of thorns and on the right; the column of the Flagellazione, the ladder and the rod with a sponge soaked vinegar).

Next to Christ is the Virgin Mary, she turns her head in a gesture of resignation, in fact she can no longer intervene the verdict, but only await the consequences of the Last Judgment.

It is important to see how pleasantly she is looking at those who have been elected to the Kingdom of Heaven, while Christ is reserving a hard, harsh gaze to those who are falling to the underworld.  Also the Saints and those elected are placed around Christ and the Virgin Mary, whilst awaiting the verdict. 

Some of them are easily recognizable; St. Peter with two keys without tassels is no longer needed to open and close the doors of Heaven.  St. Lorenzo holding the grill, St. Bartholomew holding his own skin attempting to self-portrait Michelangelo, St. Catherine holding a spiked, broken wheel and St. Sebastian with arrows in his hand.

Discover the most important and famous works of art of the great Italian artist Michelangelo: visit the Sistine Chapel!