The Sistine Chapel is the most significant room in the Vatican Museum. It is popular for its magnificent Renaissance paintings on the ceiling, frescoes, and walls, painted by the famous Italian artist Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. The “Last Judgement” and “The Creation of Adam” are some of Michelangelo’s most popular paintings, drawing millions of crowds annually. This article discusses all the paintings from their beginning until the latest restoration.
About Sistine Chapel Paintings
Pope Julius II commissioned the chapel’s decoration to renovate its previous wall paintings from the 15th century. The paintings use vibrant color palettes, a typical Renaissance feature, to depict life’s different moods and phases through color.
In addition to Michelangelo, the other painters who contributed to the decoration included Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli, and others. The chapel walls featured false drapes and windows, the narratives of Christ and Moses, and the papal portraits on the north, south, and entrance walls. These strong references to the advent and existence of Christianity relate to the papal ceremonies, baptism, and election of the new Pope that take place in the Sistine Chapel.
In this section, we will discuss the different parts of the chapel that consist of the famous paintings.
Ceiling
The paintings on the Sistine Chapel ceiling are divided into four parts:
Central Panel
It depicts the nine episodes from the Book of Genesis, divided into three panels each.
- Creation of the sun, moon and plants (Separation of Light from Darkness, Separation of Land from Sea)
- Creation of Adam and Eve (with figures of man and woman in their nakedness, the symbol of innocence lost)
- Original Sin and Banishment from the Garden of Eden
- The Flood (the drunkenness of Noah symbolizing the fall of mankind and Noah’s rebirth for repopulating the earth)
Side Panel
The side panel has paintings of 12 prophets and sibyls seated on monumental thrones. Ten of the 12 are alternately placed along the length of the ceiling. The paintings of two prophets along the breadth of the hall, prophets Jonah (above the altar) and Zechariah hold a unique place as symbols of Christ. These notable prophets and sibyls are thought to have been the first to sense the arrival of the Redeemer and offer proof of humanity’s ongoing expectation of redemption.
Curves of the Arch or Spandrels
The groups of eight images depicted in the frescoes on the curves of the arches are the last in the series of Christ’s ancestors, as shown in the lunettes below. These are alternately placed and captured inside the triangular shapes. They include Jesse, David, Solomon, Josiah, Jechoniah, and Shealtiel.
Four Corners or Pendentives
The ceiling’s four corners depict four different moments in the story of Israel’s miraculous redemption. These include episodes from the following:
- Stories of David and Goliath
- Stories of Judith and Holofernes
- Stories of Brazen Serpent
- Story of the punishment of Haman
Altar Wall with ‘The Last Judgement’
This wall of the Sistine Chapel is famous for the painting “The Last Judgement” by Michelangelo, which is above the altar. It starts from the ceiling and goes down to the wooden panel and the altar for about 14 m (46 feet). It presents all the episodes and the people involved in them during Christ’s last judgment.
This magnificent piece of art gained both praise and strong controversy for having so many nude figures in an honored or sacred place. Volterra was tasked with painting the covering drapery, which he started, and others were added in the later centuries.
North Wall
This includes the different episodes of Christ’s life, which are painted across the wall alternatively. These include:
- Christ’s Baptism
- Temptations of Christ
- Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew,
- Sermon on the Mount
- Curing of the Leper,
- Handing over of the keys ( transfer of power from Christ to Peter),
- Attempted stoning of Christ,
- Last Supper,
- Arrest of Jesus,
- the Crucifixion, and
- Resurrection of Christ
There are full figures and figures in a three-quarter profile holding a scroll or book or giving a blessing. Each panel of the stories has a corresponding false drape painted in the lower section to resemble curtains in a chapel. You can even see windows and pillars painted to create a concept of space inside the hall.
South Wall
The stories of Moses are mostly found on the south wall. Originally, the upper frieze had eight panels that began on the altar wall and continued down. Later, Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” took some space on the wall, and the Birth and Finding of Moses by Perugino, later changed by Michelangelo, led to the following episodes:
- Journey of Moses in Egypt.
- Events of Moses’ life
- Crossing of the Red Sea
- Handing over the Tablets of the Law
- Punishment of Korah and Dathan e Abiram, the Jewish priests who denied Moses and Aaron civil and religious authority
- Legacy and death of Moses
The display painting ends on the entrance wall with a dispute over the body of Moses. Instead of following a wall, their series alternates with the wall on the other side. There are full figures and figures in a three-quarter profile offering a blessing or holding a book or scroll. A matching false drape is painted on the lower portion of each story panel to create the illusion of chapel curtains, windows, and pillars.
Entrance Wall
This wall fresco portrays the two final episodes of the cycles of Christ and Moses:
- the Resurrection of Christ
- the Discussion over the body of Moses
Originally painted by Ghirlandaio and Signorelli, the paintings were destroyed when the door collapsed in 1522. Similar to the stories of Christ’s and Moses’ lives on the north and south walls, some Popes are depicted from a high viewpoint, and the lower register has false draperies.
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Restoration of the Sistine Chapel Paintings
Over the years, the Sistine Chapel has undergone several cleanings and restorations of paintings. Apart from routine cleaning, the first significant restoration was completed around 1635.
The second cleaning and restoration happened in the 18th century, followed by some initiatives in the 19th century. The restorers coated the surface with animal glue instead of cleaning the frescoes during this time. As a result, the paintings appeared moist and glossy, as though they could seep through the dirt.
A major chapel restoration began in 1965 by cleaning the lower side walls. Over 450 years, the paintings had accumulated numerous layers of soot and dirt from candles and torches. The chapel roof had been leaking for hundreds of years, causing a network of cracks in the scenes of ‘The Creation’ and tough dirt layers to form over the paint. Eventually, in late 1975, a walkway was built over the chapel vault in the attic, the roof was fixed, and the tiles were changed.
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