Michelangelo is not the only artist to have worked on the Sistine Chapel, but is well-credited with the beautiful murals and frescos that adorn its ceiling. Built inside the confines of the Vatican some time between 1477 – 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV (after whom the chapel was named), the Sistine Chapel work done by Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508.
Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo painted what has come to be known as “a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art”.
Before Michelangelo worked on the ceiling (also known as Soffitto della Cappella Sistina in Italian), several other famous artists of the 15th century worked on the chapel’s walls. These leading artists included Domenico Ghirlandaio, Sandro Botticelli, and Pietro Perugino.
The ceiling features nine central themes from the Book of Genesis, including the now-famous Creation of Adam. Once completed, Michelangelo then also created The Last Judgment, displayed as a large wall fresco behind the main altar.
A complex design, Michelangelo was given freedom to fully express the human figure in a wide variety of poses that included clothed and nude figures, as the scenes called for them.
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, and indeed the chapel itself, have been restored multiple times over the centuries. The most recent known of restorations occurred in the late 20th century.
See more works by Michelangelo here.
