Elena Rossi
The Sistine Chapel, constructed between 1477 and 1480, is renowned for its frescoes, particularly those on the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. The chapel features frescoes by several other artists, including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Pietro Perugino, who decorated the walls in the late 15th century. Michelangelo's frescoes, however, are considered the defining feature of the chapel, with his work on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the west wall behind the altar being among the most important paintings in the world.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Michelangelo |
| Year | 1508-1512 |
| Location | Vatican City, Rome |
| Number of Figures | More than 300 |
| Number of Pictorial Fields | 175 |
| Style | Renaissance |
| Technique | Fresco |
| Subject Matter | Incidents and personages from the Old Testament, including the Creation of Man, the Creation of the Heavens and Earth, the Creation of Adam and Eve, the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and Noah and the Great Flood |
| Size | Over 500 square meters |
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What You'll Learn
Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling
The frescoes depict incidents and personages from the Old Testament. They tell the story of the Creation of the Heavens and Earth, the Creation of Adam and Eve, the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and Noah and the Great Flood. Ignudi, or nude youths, sit in fictive architecture around these frescoes, accompanied by prophets and sibyls (ancient seers who, according to tradition, foretold the coming of Christ) in the spandrels. In the four corners of the room, in the pendentives, are scenes depicting the Salvation of Israel.
The most famous of these frescoes is undoubtedly The Creation of Adam, which has become ubiquitous in modern culture for its dramatic positioning of the two monumental figures reaching towards each other. However, not all of the frescoes are painted in this style. The first frescoes Michelangelo painted contain multiple figures, much smaller in size, engaged in complex narratives. This can be seen in The Deluge, where Michelangelo uses the physical space of the water and the sky to separate four distinct parts of the narrative. On the right side of the painting, a group of people seeks shelter from the rain, while on the left, others climb up a mountain to escape the rising water. In the background, a small boat is about to capsize, and in the foreground, men work on building an arc.
The frescoes were created using the ancient method of painting murals, known as fresco. This technique relies on a chemical reaction between damp lime plaster and water-based pigments to permanently fuse the work into the wall. Michelangelo had been an apprentice to one of the most competent and prolific Florentine fresco painters, Domenico Ghirlandaio, at the time that the latter was employed on a fresco cycle at Santa Maria Novella.
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The frescoes on the side walls
The Sistine Chapel is a simple brick building with six arched windows on each of its two main walls and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The chapel's exterior is unadorned, but its interior walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes by many Florentine Renaissance masters. The frescoes on the side walls of the chapel were painted from 1481 to 1482, two decades before Michelangelo began work on the ceiling.
The north wall features six frescoes depicting events from the life of Christ. These were painted by Perugino, Pinturicchio, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Cosimo Rosselli. The south wall features six frescoes depicting events from the life of Moses. These were painted by Perugino, Pinturicchio, Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benedetto Ghirlandaio, Rosselli, Luca Signorelli, and Bartolomeo della Gatta. Above these works, smaller frescoes between the windows depict various popes.
For great ceremonial occasions, the lowest portions of the side walls were covered with a series of tapestries designed by Raphael. These tapestries depicted events from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and were woven in Brussels from 1515 to 1519. The surviving tapestries are still hung on special occasions.
The frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, collectively known as the Sistine Ceiling, were painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1512. They depict incidents and personages from the Old Testament and are considered among the greatest achievements of Western painting. Michelangelo returned to the chapel twenty years later to execute the Last Judgment fresco on the altar wall.
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The Last Judgement fresco
The Sistine Chapel, located in the Vatican City, was built between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV. The interior walls and ceiling of the chapel are adorned with frescoes by several Florentine Renaissance masters, including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Luca Signorelli, and Cosimo Rosselli.
Michelangelo began working on The Last Judgement 25 years after completing the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The commission for this fresco was initially given by Pope Clement VII, but it was completed under Pope Paul III, whose stronger reforming views may have influenced the modifications made to the original nudes. The creation of this masterpiece required the destruction of existing artwork, including an altarpiece of the Assumption of Mary by Pietro Perugino and two lunettes with the first two Ancestors of Christ from Michelangelo's own ceiling scheme.
The Last Judgement caused strong reactions among contemporaries, including criticism from Biagio da Cesena, the Master of Ceremonies, who found the numerous nude figures inappropriate for a chapel. However, the fresco is now recognised as a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art, showcasing Michelangelo's imaginative interpretation of biblical and mythological themes.
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The complex fresco painting method
The Sistine Chapel's frescoes were painted between 1481 and 1541. The frescoes on the ceiling were painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. The entire ceiling is a fresco, which is an ancient method for painting murals that relies on a chemical reaction between damp lime plaster and water-based pigments to permanently fuse the work into the wall.
Fresco painting is a complex and meticulous process that requires careful planning and execution. Here is a step-by-step guide to the complex fresco painting method:
Preparation
Firstly, the artist creates a full-scale preparatory drawing of the image to be painted, known as a cartoon. This drawing serves as a reference for transferring the design onto the wall. The cartoon is then traced, and the outlines of the design are transferred onto the wall, ensuring accurate placement and composition.
Plaster Application
Before painting, the walls of the Sistine Chapel were prepared with a layer of plaster. The base plaster layer, known as arriccio, is created by mixing lime and sand and is applied to the walls. The thickness of the arriccio can vary depending on the complexity and weight of the decorations to be applied. A thinner layer of intonaco, a mix of weaker lime and finer sand, is then spread over the arriccio. The purity and quality of the materials, including water, are crucial to the success of the fresco.
Painting
The colours for fresco painting are made by grinding dry-powder pigments in pure water. These water-based pigments are then applied to the freshly applied plaster. The colours dry and set with the plaster, becoming a permanent part of the wall. The painting process must be completed while the plaster is still wet, as the colours will ""stick"" to the wall through the wetness of the plaster and penetrate it. This process is known as buon fresco or "true fresco".
Scaffolding
Given the scale and complexity of the Sistine Chapel frescoes, scaffolding was necessary to access the ceiling. It is believed that the frescoes were painted in phases, with the scaffolding being dismantled and moved to a different section of the room after each phase. This allowed the artists to reach the various parts of the ceiling while minimising disruption to the clerical use of the chapel.
Challenges
One challenge faced during the painting process was the growth of mildew or mould on the plaster due to excessive moisture. This issue was resolved with guidance from Giuliano da Sangallo, who explained how to remove the fungus.
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The Sistine Chapel's construction
The Sistine Chapel is a large papal chapel built within the Vatican between 1473 and 1481 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named. The architecture was designed by Baccio Pontelli and built under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci (also known as Giovanni dei Dolci). The chapel's exterior is simple and unadorned, but its interior walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes by many Florentine Renaissance masters.
The frescoes on the side walls of the chapel were painted from 1481 to 1482 by a team of Renaissance painters, including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Benedetto Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli, Luca Signorelli, and Bartolomeo della Gatta. The frescoes on the north wall depict events from the life of Christ, while the frescoes on the south wall depict events from the life of Moses. Above these works, smaller frescoes between the windows depict various popes.
The frescoes on the ceiling, collectively known as the Sistine Ceiling, were painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the ceiling with a geometric ornament and the twelve apostles in spandrels. However, Michelangelo proposed to paint scenes from the Old Testament, divided by fictive architecture. The ceiling's various painted elements form part of a larger scheme of decoration within the chapel.
Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling depict incidents and personages from the Old Testament, including The Creation of the Heavens and Earth, The Creation of Adam and Eve, the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and the story of Noah and the Great Flood. The Creation of Adam is particularly famous for its dramatic positioning of the two monumental figures reaching towards each other. The complex design includes several sets of figures, some clothed, and some nude, allowing Michelangelo to showcase his skill in depicting the human figure in a variety of poses.
After the ceiling was painted, Raphael designed a set of tapestries (1515-1516) to cover the lowest of three levels of the walls. The surviving tapestries are still hung on special occasions. Michelangelo returned to the chapel to create another fresco, The Last Judgment, on the west wall behind the altar. This fresco was painted between 1534 and 1541 for Pope Paul III and is considered one of the greatest achievements of Western painting.
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Frequently asked questions
The Sistine Chapel features numerous frescoes, with Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling and on the west wall behind the altar being the most notable.
Michelangelo painted the frescoes on the ceiling and on the west wall of the Sistine Chapel. Many other Florentine Renaissance masters also contributed to the frescoes on the side walls of the chapel.
Michelangelo painted the frescoes on the ceiling and west wall of the Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1512. The frescoes on the side walls were painted from 1481 to 1482, about 20 years before Michelangelo's work.
Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling depict incidents and personages from the Old Testament, specifically the story of the creation of Man according to the Book of Genesis. They include scenes such as The Creation of the Heavens and Earth, The Creation of Adam and Eve, and The Deluge. The frescoes on the side walls depict events from the life of Christ and Moses.
The frescoes in the Sistine Chapel were created using the ancient fresco technique, which involves painting on damp lime plaster with water-based pigments, permanently fusing the artwork into the wall. This technique required a high level of precision and planning, and the artists had to work in small sections or 'giornate' to complete the work before the plaster dried.
