Sistine Ceiling

The largest figures consist of the prophets and sibyls of the ancient world all predicting the coming of christ.

Sistine ceiling. Above the windows the triangular spaces and lunettes are decorated with an array of men and women who await the birth of the saviour. In 1508 ce the pope commissioned the celebrated florentine sculptor and painter michelangelo 1475 1564 ce to paint scenes on the ceiling of the vatican s sistine chapel. The ceiling of the sistine chapel the sistine chapel had great symbolic meaning for the papacy as the chief consecrated space in the vatican used for great ceremonies such as electing and inaugurating new popes.

The complex design includes several sets of individual figures both clothed and nude which allowed michelangelo to fully demonstrate his skill in creating a huge. The ceiling is that of the sistine chapel the large papal chapel built within the vatican between 1477 and 1480 by pope sixtus iv for whom the chapel is named. Volta della cappella sistina painted by michelangelo between 1508 and 1512 is a cornerstone work of high renaissance art.

The walls of the chapel had already received decoration from some of the greatest of renaissance artists but in four years of toil michelangelo would outshine them all with his ambition and technical skill producing one of the defining works of western art of any century. It already contained distinguished wall paintings and michelangelo was asked to add works for the relatively unimportant ceiling. A shift in style.

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 best known the hands of god and adam being reproduced in countless imitations. The vault of the sistine ceiling covers 800 sqm of fresco painting.

The sistine chapel ceiling italian.