Search results
Gallery of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The iconic image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam. The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. Central to the ceiling decoration are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis of which The Creation of Adam is the ...
Coordinates: 41°54′11″N12°27′16″E41.90306°N 12.45444°E. For a collection of images, see Gallery of Sistine Chapel ceiling. The Sistine Chapel ceiling ( Italian: Soffitto della Cappella Sistina ), painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art .
- The Commission
- Design & Technique
- The Story of Genesis
- Reception
The Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace complex in Rome was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV (r. 1474-1481 CE). The building was only completed c. 1481 CE but the development of a massive crack in the ceiling in 1504 CE required a repair job that also offered an opportunity to add yet more artwork to an already impressive art-packed interior. What w...
Julius II and Michelangelo had already joined forces when the artist had been commissioned to produce the Pope's tomb. This project, begun in March 1505 CE, had not been a smooth-running one. Patron and artist had quarrelled over the grandiose design that once included 40 marble statues. Contracts were rewritten several times, the design made less ...
The ceiling is an almost overwhelming assembly of Christian imagery. Along the sides of the ceiling are seven prophets and five sibyls, which alternate. According to the Christian tradition, both these groups foretold the coming of Jesus Christ. The five sibyls are representations of those from Delphi, Cumae, Libya, Persia, and Erythrae. The seven ...
The work was an immediate success with almost everyone who saw it but there were some rumblings of discontent. The main objection was the amount of nudity and particularly the depiction of genitalia in a handful of figures. This did not stop Michelangelo later being commissioned to paint the entirety of one wall of the chapel with his version of th...
- Mark Cartwright
People also ask
Did Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
When was the Sistine Chapel built?
What makes Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel so special?
What does the Sistine Chapel show?
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo: Delphic Sibyl Delphic Sibyl , detail of a fresco by Michelangelo, 1508–12; in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.
Dec 6, 2023 · Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. by Christine Zappella. God created the world in seven days, but it took Michelangelo four years to depict it on this remarkable ceiling. Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, 1508–12, fresco (Vatican, Rome). Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker.
Michelangelo completed the first half of the Ceiling, that is from the entrance wall to the Creation of Eve, in August 1510. The work must have been completed by 31 October 1512, as the Pope celebrated Mass in the Chapel on 1 November. Julius II's decision to completely renovate the decoration of the Ceiling was probably due to the serious ...
The work was finished in October 1512 and on the Feast of All Saints (1 November), Julius II inaugurated the Sistine Chapel with a solemn Mass. The nine central panels show the Stories of Genesis, from the Creation to the Fall of man, to the Flood and the subsequent rebirth of mankind with the family of Noah.
