Difference between revisions of "Sistine Chapel" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Michelangelo Buonarroti 014.jpg|thumb|200px|The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (unrestored)]]
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The '''Sistine Chapel''' ({{lang-it|Cappella Sistina}}) is a [[chapel]] in the [[Apostolic Palace]], the official residence of the [[Pope]], in the [[Vatican City]]. Its fame rests on its architecture, which evokes [[Solomon's Temple]] of the [[Old Testament]], its decoration, frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists, including [[Michelangelo Buonarroti]] whose [[Sistine Chapel ceiling|ceiling]] is legendary, and its purpose, as a site of papal religious and functionary activity, notably the [[Papal conclave|conclave]], at which a new Pope is selected. Indeed, the Sistine Chapel is more than the sum of its artistic wonders; it is a symbolic statement of papal authority.
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[[Image:Chapelle sixtine plafond.jpg|thumb|200px|The ceiling after restoration]]
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The '''Sistine Chapel''' ({{lang-it|Cappella Sistina}}) is a [[chapel]] in the [[Apostolic Palace]], the official residence of the [[Pope]], in [[Vatican City]]. Its fame rests especially on its decoration, frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists, most notably [[Michelangelo Buonarroti]], whose [[Sistine Chapel ceiling|ceiling]] is legendary. Named for Pope Sixtus IV, the chapel is also noted for its architecture, which evokes [[Solomon's Temple]] of the [[Old Testament]]. It serves as a site of papal religious and functionary activity, notably the [[Papal conclave|conclave]], at which a new Pope is selected.
  
 
Due to the extraordinary talents of [[Michelangelo]] (1475-1564), the Sistine Chapel has become one of the most famous art displays in the western world. The famous Sistine ceiling depicts scenes from ''[[Genesis]]'' in striking detail, and ''[[The Last Judgment]]'' on the chapel's end wall is equally dramatic. In addition to these famous artworks, the side walls are festooned with frescoes of [[Moses]] and [[Christ]] and portraits of popes.  
 
Due to the extraordinary talents of [[Michelangelo]] (1475-1564), the Sistine Chapel has become one of the most famous art displays in the western world. The famous Sistine ceiling depicts scenes from ''[[Genesis]]'' in striking detail, and ''[[The Last Judgment]]'' on the chapel's end wall is equally dramatic. In addition to these famous artworks, the side walls are festooned with frescoes of [[Moses]] and [[Christ]] and portraits of popes.  
 
   
 
   
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In recent decades, the Sistine Chapel has been fastidiously cleaned and restored, beginning with the fifteenth-century, wall [[frescoes]] in 1965. The cleaning and restoration of the [[lunettes]], the ceiling, and the ''Last Judgment'', a painstaking process using [[computer]] analysis, lasted from 1980 to 1994. The restoration included the removal of several of the "modesty" drapes that had been added over some of the nude figures.
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In recent decades, the Sistine Chapel has been fastidiously cleaned and restored, beginning with the fifteenth-century wall [[frescoes]] in 1965. The cleaning and restoration of the [[lunettes]], the ceiling, and the ''Last Judgment,'' a painstaking process using [[computer]] analysis, lasted from 1980 to 1994. The restoration included the removal of several of the "modesty" drapes that had been added over some of the nude figures.
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{{toc}}
 
The end result of the restoration has been controversial: Critics say a vital, second layer of [[paint]] was removed, and argue that many of the restored figures seem flat compared with the originals, which had more shadow and detail. Others have hailed the project for saving Michelangelo's masterpiece for future generations to appreciate and for revealing the vibrancy of his color [[palette]].
 
The end result of the restoration has been controversial: Critics say a vital, second layer of [[paint]] was removed, and argue that many of the restored figures seem flat compared with the originals, which had more shadow and detail. Others have hailed the project for saving Michelangelo's masterpiece for future generations to appreciate and for revealing the vibrancy of his color [[palette]].
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[[Image:Salmon detail.jpg|thumb|125px|One of the ancestors of Jesus, as conceived by Michelangelo]]
  
 
==Purpose and history==  
 
==Purpose and history==  
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Most famously, the Sistine Chapel is the place where Papal Conclaves take place for the election of a new pope. More commonly, it is the physical chapel of a corporate body known as the [[Papal Chapel]]. At the time of [[Pope Sixtus IV]] in the late-fifteenth century, this body comprised about 200 persons, including clerics, officials of the Vatican, and distinguished laity.
 
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The Papal Calendar prescribed 50 occasions during the year that the whole Papal Chapel should meet. Of these, 35 were masses, of which eight were held in Basilicas—generally St. Peters— and were attended by large congregations. These included the Christmas Day and Easter masses, at which the Pope himself was the celebrant. The other 27 masses could be held in a smaller, less-public space, for which the Sistine Chapel was built on the site of its predecessor, the ''Cappella Maggiore'', which had served the same purpose.
 
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The ''Cappella Maggiore'' derived its name, the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel also in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of [[Pope Nicholas V]], which had been decorated by [[Fra Angelico]]. The ''Cappella Maggiore ''is recorded as existing in 1368. According to a communication from Andreas of Trebizond to Pope Sixtus IV, by the time of its demolition to make way for the present chapel the ''Cappella Maggiore ''was in a ruinous state with its walls leaning, . <ref name= "Shearman">John Shearman, "The Chapel of Sixtus IV," in ''The Sistine Chapel'', editor Alberto Giacometti, Harmony Books, 1986, ISBN 0-517-56274-X </ref>
 
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The present chapel, on the site of the ''Cappella Maggiore'', was designed by [[Baccio Pontelli]] for [[Pope Sixtus IV]], for whom it is named, and built under the supervision of [[Giovannino de Dolci]] between 1473 and 1484. The proportions of the present chapel appear to follow those of the original closely. After its completion, the chapel was decorated with frescoes by a number of the most famous artists of the late-fifteenth century, including [[Botticelli]], [[Ghirlandaio]] and [[Perugino]]. <ref name= "Shearman" />
 
  
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The first [[mass (liturgy)|mass]] in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on August 9, 1483, the Feast of the [[Assumption]], at which ceremony the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]].
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Outside of its art, the Sistine Chapel is most famous for being the place where [[Papal Conclave]]s take place for the election of a new pope. Lesser known is that the chapel also houses a corporate body known as the [[Papal Chapel]]. At the time of Pope [[Sixtus IV]] in the late-fifteenth century, this body comprised about 200 persons, including clerics, officials of the Vatican, and distinguished laity.
  
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The Sistine Chapel has maintained its function to the present day, and continues to host the important services of the Papal Calendar, unless the Pope is travelling. There is a permanent choir for whom much original music has been written, the most famous piece being Allegri's ''[[Miserere (Allegri)|Miserere]]'', a setting of the psalm for [[Maundy Thursday]].  
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The Papal calendar prescribes 50 occasions during the year that the entire Papal Chapel should meet. Of these, most are masses, of which eight are held in basilicas—generally [[St. Peters]]—and are attended by large congregations. These include the [[Christmas]] Day and [[Easter]] masses, at which the Pope himself is the celebrant. The other masses can be held in a smaller, less-public space, such as the Sistine Chapel, which was built on the site of its predecessor, the ''Cappella Maggiore'' that in its time served the same purpose.  
  
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===Papal Conclave===
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The ''Cappella Maggiore'' derived its name, translated as the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel also in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of [[Pope Nicholas V]], which had been decorated by [[Fra Angelico]]. The ''Cappella Maggiore'' is recorded as existing in 1368, but by the time of its demolition to make way for the present chapel, the ''Cappella Maggiore'' was in a ruinous state with its walls leaning.  
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{{main|Papal conclave}}
 
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One of the most significant functions of the Sistine Chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive pope in a [[Papal conclave|conclave]] of the College of Cardinals. The [[Papal conclave, 1492|1492 papal conclave]] was the first to use the Sistine Chapel for this purpose.
 
  
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On the occasion of a conclave, a chimney is installed in the roof of the chapel, from which smoke arises as a signal. If white smoke appears, created by burning the ballots of the election and some chemical additives, a new Pope has been elected. If the cardinals send up black smoke, created by burning the ballots along with wet straw or other chemical additives, it means that no successful election has yet occurred. This method has become somewhat unreliable at times, with mixed readings of the chimney smoke as recently as the conclaves electing John Paul I and John XXIII.
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The present chapel was designed by [[Baccio Pontelli]] for [[Pope Sixtus IV]], for whom it is named, and built under the supervision of [[Giovannino de Dolci]] between 1473 and 1484. After its completion, the chapel was decorated with [[fresco]]es by a number of the most famous artists of the late-fifteenth century, including [[Botticelli]], [[Ghirlandaio]], and [[Perugino]].  
  
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During present-day meetings of cardinals, the chapel is carefully searched for bugs, recorders, and cameras. The floor is raised to accommodate the necessary equipment. The Cardinals themselves are also not permitted to use cellular phones, or even newspapers, while sequestered to ensure total liberty to vote without any undue outside influences. In previous times, the windows were even painted over.
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The first [[mass (liturgy)|mass]] in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on August 9, 1483, the Feast of the [[Assumption]], at which the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]].
  
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Canopies for each cardinal-elector were once used during conclaves — a sign of equal dignity. After the new Pope accepts his election, he would give his new name; at this time, the other Cardinals would tug on a rope attached to their seats to lower their canopies. Until reforms instituted by Saint Pius X, the canopies were of different colors to designate which Cardinals had been appointed by which Pope. Paul VI abolished the canopies all together, since under his papacy, the population of the College of Cardinals had increased so much to the point that they would need to be seated in rows of two against the walls, making the canopies obstruct the view of the cardinals in the back row.
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The Sistine Chapel has maintained its function to the present day, and continues to host the important services of the Papal calendar, unless the Pope is traveling. It also houses a permanent choir, for whom much original music has been written, the most famous piece being Allegri's ''[[Miserere (Allegri)|Miserere]],'' a setting of the psalm for [[Maundy Thursday]].
  
 
==Architecture==
 
==Architecture==
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===Exterior===
 
===Exterior===
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The Sistine Chapel is a high, rectangular, brick building; its exterior unadorned by architectural or decorative details, as is common in many Medieval and Renaissance churches in Italy. It has no exterior facade or exterior processional doorways, as the ingress has always been from internal rooms within the Papal Palace. The internal spaces are divided into three stories of which the lowest is a robustly vaulted basement with several utilitarian windows and a doorway giving onto the exterior court.
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The Sistine Chapel is a high rectangular brick building; its exterior unadorned by architectural or decorative details, as is common in many Italian Medieval and [[Renaissance]] churches. It has no exterior facade or processional doorways, since access is from internal rooms within the [[Papal Palace]]. The chapel's internal spaces are divided into three stories, of which the lowest is a robustly vaulted basement with several utilitarian windows and a doorway onto the exterior court.  
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Above is the main space, the Chapel, the internal measurements of which are 134 feet long by 44 feet wide, (the [[dimension]]s of the [[Temple of Solomon]], as given in the [[Old Testament]]). The vaulted ceiling rises to 68 feet. The building had six tall, arched windows down each side and two at either end. Several of these have been blocked.  
 
  
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Above the vault rises a third story with wardrooms for guards. At this level was constructed an open, projecting gangway which encircled the building supported on an arcade springing from the walls. The gangway has been roofed since there was a continual source of water penetration to the vault of the Chapel. The building is roofed with pantile tiles.  
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Above is the main space, the chapel, with internal measurements of 134 feet long by 44 feet wide, thought to be the same [[dimension]]s as the [[Temple of Solomon]] noted in the [[Old Testament]]. The vaulted ceiling rises to 68 feet. The building has six tall, arched windows down each side and two at either end, several which have been blocked.  
  
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Subsidence and cracking of masonry, such as must also have affected the Cappella Maggiore, has necessitated the building of very large buttresses to brace the exterior walls. The accretion of other buildings has further altered the exterior appearance of the Chapel.
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Above the vault rises a third story with wardrooms for guards. Encircling the building at this level is an open projecting gangway, supported by an arcade protruding from the walls. The building is roofed with pantile tiles. The sinking and cracking of masonry, has necessitated the addition of large buttresses to brace the exterior walls.
  
 
===Interior===  
 
===Interior===  
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As with most buildings measured internally, absolute measurement is hard to ascertain. However, the general proportions of the chapel are clear to within a few centimetres. The length is the module of measurement and has been divided by three to get the width and by two to get the height. There is a ratio of 6:2:3 between the length, width and height. Maintaining the ratio, there were six windows down each side and two at either end. The screen which divides the chapel was originally placed half way from the altar wall, but this has changed. Clearly defined proportions were a feature of [[Renaissance architecture]] and reflected the growing interest in the Classical heritage of Rome.
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There ratio between the length, width, and height of the interior chapel is 6:2:3. The ceiling of the chapel is a flattened barrel vault that is cut transversely by smaller vaults over each window. The barrel vault was originally painted brilliant blue and dotted with gold stars, to the design of [[Pier Matteo d'Amelia]]. The pavement is in [[opus alexandrinum]], a decorative style using marble and colored stone in a pattern that reflects the earlier proportion in the division of the interior. It also marks the processional way from the main door, used by the Pope on important occasions such as [[Palm Sunday]].
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The ceiling of the chapel is a flattened barrel vault springing from a course that encircles the walls at the level of the springing of the window arches. This barrel vault is cut transversely by smaller vaults over each window, which divide the barrel vault at its lowest level into a series of large pendentives rising from shallow pilasters between each window. The barrel vault was originally painted brilliant blue and dotted with gold stars, to the design of Pier Matteo d'Amelia. <ref name= "Shearman" /> The pavement is in [[opus alexandrinum]], a decorative style using marble and coloured stone in a pattern that reflects the earlier proportion in the division of the interior and also marks the processional way form the main door, used by the Pope on important occasions such as [[Palm Sunday]].
 
  
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The screen or ''transenna'' in [[marble]] by [[Mino da Fiesole]], [[Andrea Bregno]] and [[Giovanni Dalmata]] divides the chapel into two parts. Originally these made equal space for the members of the Papal Chapel within the sanctuary near the [[altar]] and the pilgrims and townsfolk without. However, with growth in the number of those attending the Pope, the screen was moved giving a reduced are for the faithful laity.
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[[Image:V&A - Raphael, St Paul Preaching in Athens (1515).jpg|thumb|250px|''Saint Paul Preaching in Athens'': Raphael's drawing for a tapestry in the Sistine Chapel.]]
  
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The ''transenna'' is surmounted by a row of ornate candlesticks, once gilt, and has a wooden door, where once there was an ornate door of gilded wrought iron. The sculptors of the ''transenna'' also provided the ''cantoria'' or projecting [[choir]] gallery.  
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A screen or ''transenna'' in [[marble]] by [[Mino da Fiesole]], [[Andrea Bregno]], and [[Giovanni Dalmata]] divides the chapel into two parts. Originally these made equal space for the members of the Papal Chapel within the sanctuary near the [[altar]] and for the pilgrims and townsfolk without. However, with growth in the number of those attending the Pope, the screen was moved giving a reduced area for the laity. The ''transenna'' is surmounted by a row of ornate candlesticks, once gilt, and has a wooden door, where once there was an ornate door of gilded, wrought iron. The sculptors of the ''transenna'' also provided the ''cantoria,'' or projecting [[choir]] gallery.
  
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===Raphael's tapestries===
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During important, occasional ceremonies, side walls are covered with a series of tapestries. These were originally designed for the chapel by [[Raphael]], and his drawings for them still exist. The tapestries themselves were looted by the French armies and scattered around Europe. The tapestries depict events from the ''Life of St. Peter'' and the ''Life of Saint Paul,'' as described in the ''Gospels'' and the ''Acts of the Apostles.''
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During occasional ceremonies of particular importance, side walls are covered with a series of tapestries originally commissioned for the chapel by [[Raphael]], but looted by the French armies and scattered around Europe. The tapestries depict events from the ''Life of St Peter'' and the ''Life of St Paul'' as described in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. In the late 20th century the set was reassembled and displayed again in the Sistine Chapel in 1983.
 
  
 
==Decoration==  
 
==Decoration==  
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[[Image:Sistine Chapel vertical scheme.PNG|thumb|250px|Diagram of the fresco decoration of the walls and ceiling.]]
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The pictorial decoration of the Sistine Chapel is comprised of frescoes and a set of tapestries. They are the work of different artists and are part of a number of different commissions, some of which were in conflict with each other.  
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The pictorial decoration of the Sistine Chapel comprises frescoes and a set of tapestries. They are the work of different artists and are part of a number of different commissions, some of which were in conflict with each other.  
 
  
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The walls are divided into three main tiers. The lower is decorated with frescoed wall hangings in silver and gold. The central tier of the walls has two cycles of paintings, which complement each other, ''The Life of Moses'' and ''The Life of Christ''. They were commissioned in 1480 by [[Pope Sixtus IV]] and executed by [[Ghirlandaio]], [[Botticelli]], [[Perugino]] and [[Cosimo Roselli]] and their workshops.
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The walls are divided into three main tiers. The lower is decorated with frescoed, wall hangings in silver and gold. The central tier of the walls has two cycles of paintings, which complement each other, ''The Life of Moses'' and ''The Life of Christ.'' The upper tier is divided into two zones. At the lower level of the windows is a ''Gallery of Popes'' painted at the same time as the ''Lives.'' Around the arched tops of the windows are areas known as the ''lunettes'' which contain the ''Ancestors of Christ,'' painted by Michelangelo as part of the scheme for the ceiling.  
  
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The upper tier is divided into two zones. At the lower level of the windows is a ''Gallery of Popes'' painted at the same time as the ''Lives''. Around the arched tops of the windows are areas known as the ''lunettes'' which contain the ''Ancestors of Christ'', painted by Michelangelo as part of the scheme for the ceiling.
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[[Image:God2-Sistine Chapel.png|thumb|350px|The Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel's ceiling]]
  
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The ceiling, commissioned by [[Pope Julius II]] and famously painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1511, has a series of nine paintings showing ''God's Creation of the World'', ''God's relationship with Mankind'' and ''Mankind's fall from God's Grace''. On the large pendentives that support the vault are painted twelve Biblical and Classical men and women who prophesied that God would send Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.  
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The ceiling, commissioned by [[Pope Julius II]] and painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1511, has a series of nine paintings showing ''God's Creation of the World,'' ''God's relationship with Mankind'' and ''Mankind's fall from God's Grace.'' On the large pendentives that support the vault are painted 12 Biblical and Classical men and women who prophesied that God would send Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.  
  
 
Subsequently, Raphael was commissioned by [[Pope Leo X]] to design a series of tapestries to hang around the lower tier of the walls. These depict the lives of the two leaders among the [[Apostles]] who established the Christian church in Rome, Saints Peter and Paul.  
 
Subsequently, Raphael was commissioned by [[Pope Leo X]] to design a series of tapestries to hang around the lower tier of the walls. These depict the lives of the two leaders among the [[Apostles]] who established the Christian church in Rome, Saints Peter and Paul.  
  
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Although Michelangelo's complex design for the ceiling was not quite what his patron, [[Pope Julius II]], had in mind when he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the [[Twelve Apostles]], the scheme displayed a consistent iconographical pattern. However, this was disrupted by the a further commission to Michelangelo to decorate the wall above the altar with ''[[The Last Judgement]]'', 1537-1541. The painting of this scene necessitated the obliteration of two episodes from the ''Lives'', several of the ''Popes'' and two sets of ''Ancestors''. Two of the windows were blocked and two of Raphael's tapestries became redundant.
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Although Michelangelo's complex design for the ceiling was not quite what his patron, [[Pope Julius II]], had in mind when he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the [[Twelve Apostles]], the scheme displayed a consistent iconographical pattern. However, this was disrupted by a further commission to Michelangelo to decorate the wall above the altar with ''[[The Last Judgment]],'' 1537-1541. The painting of this scene necessitated the obliteration of two episodes from the ''Lives,'' several of the ''Popes'' and two sets of ''Ancestors.'' Two of the windows were blocked and two of Raphael's tapestries became redundant.
  
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==Frescos==
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==Wall frescos==
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[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 034.jpg|thumb|Scenes of the Life of Moses (detail) by Botticelli, 1481-1482]]
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The wall paintings were executed by premier painters of the fifteenth century: [[Perugino]], [[Sandro Botticelli|Botticelli]], [[Domenico Ghirlandaio|Ghirlandaio]], [[Cosimo Rosselli|Rossellini]], [[Luca Signorelli|Signorelli]], and their respective workshops, which included [[Pinturicchio]], [[Piero di Cosimo]], and [[Bartolomeo della Gatta]]. The subjects were historical religious themes, selected and divided according to the medieval concept of the partition of world history into three epochs: before the [[Ten Commandments]] were given to [[Moses]], between Moses and Christ's birth, and the Christian era thereafter. They underline the continuity between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, or the transition from the [[Mosaic law]] to the Christian religion.
  
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The wall paintings were executed by premier painters of the 15th century: [[Perugino]], [[Sandro Botticelli|Botticelli]], [[Domenico Ghirlandaio|Ghirlandaio]], [[Cosimo Rosselli|Rossellini]], [[Luca Signorelli|Signorelli]] and their respective workshops, which included [[Pinturicchio]], [[Piero di Cosimo]] and [[Bartolomeo della Gatta]]. The subjects were historical religious themes, selected and divided according to the medieval concept of the partition of the world history into three epochs: before the [[Ten Commandments]] were given to [[Moses]], between Moses and Christ's birth, and the Christian era thereafter. They underline the continuity between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, or the transition from the [[Mosaic law]] to the Christian religion.
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The walls were painted over an astonishingly short period of time, barely 11 months, from July 1481 to May 1482. The painters were each required first to execute a sample fresco; these were to be officially examined and evaluated in January 1482. However, it was so evident at such an early stage that the frescoes would be satisfactory that by October 1481, the artists were given the commission to execute the remaining ten stories.
  
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{{Painting| image_file=Sandro Botticelli 034.jpg
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The pictorial arrangement for the chapel was comprised of a cycle each from the Old and New Testament depicting scenes from the lives of [[Moses]] and [[Christ]]. The narratives began at the altar wall—the frescoes painted there yielding to Michelangelo's [[Last Judgment]] a mere 30 years later—continued along the long walls of the chapel, and ended at the entrance wall. A gallery of papal portraits was painted above these depictions, and the latter were completed underneath by representations of painted curtains. The individual scenes from the two cycles contain typological references to one another. The Old and New Testament are understood as constituting a whole, with Moses appearing as the prefiguration of Christ.
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| title=Scenes of the Life of Moses (detail)
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[[Image:Pietro Perugino 034.jpg|thumb|300px|Peter receives the keys from Jesus, an authority passed on to each successive pope, according to Catholic tradition.]]
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| artist=Sandro Botticelli
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The typological positioning of the Moses and Christ cycles has a political dimension going beyond a mere illustrating of the correspondences between Old and [[New Testament]]. Sixtus IV was employing a precisely conceived program to illustrate through the entire cycle, the legitimacy of papal authority running from Moses, via Christ, to Peter and ultimately to the present Pope. The portraits of the latter above the narrative depictions served emphatically to illustrate the ancestral lineage of their God-given authority.
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| year=1481-1482
 
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| type=Fresco
 
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| height=348.5
 
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| width=558
 
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| height_inch=137.2
 
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| width_inch = 219.7
 
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| city = The Vatican
 
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| museum=Sistine Chapel}}
 
  
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The walls were painted over an astonishingly short period of time, barely eleven months, from July, 1481 to May, 1482. The painters were each required first to execute a sample fresco; these were to be officially examined and evaluated in January, 1482. However, it was so evident at such an early stage that the frescoes would be satisfactory that by October 1481, the artists were given the commission to execute the remaining ten stories.
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Among [[Pietro Perugino]]'s frescoes in the chapel, the ''Christ Giving the Keys to [[Saint Peter]]'' is stylistically the most instructive. These keys represent the power to "bind and loose" on earth and in heaven and are particularly significant in papal theology, which sees the Pope as the inheritor of Peter's keys, and thus the "[[Vicar of Christ]]."
  
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The pictorial programme for the chapel was comprised of a cycle each from the Old and New Testament of scenes from the lives of Moses and Christ. The narratives began at the altar wall - the frescoes painted there yielding to Michelangelo's Last Judgment a mere thirty years later - continued along the long walls of the chapel, and ended at the entrance wall. A gallery of papal portraits was painted above these depictions, and the latter were completed underneath by representations of painted curtains. The individual scenes from the two cycles contain typological references to one another. The Old and New Testament are understood as constituting a whole, with Moses appearing as the prefiguration of Christ.
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===Botticelli's work===
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[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 032.jpg|thumb|300px|thumb|left|''Scenes from the Life of Moses'' by Sandro Botticelli.]]
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Sandro Botticelli painted three scenes within the short period of 11 months: ''Scenes from the Life of [[Moses]],'' ''The Temptation of [[Christ]],'' and ''The Punishment of [[Korah]].'' He also painted (with help from his workshop) some portraits of popes, which have been considerably painted over.
  
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The typological positioning of the Moses and Christ cycles has a political dimension going beyond a mere illustrating of the correspondences between Old and New Testament. Sixtus IV was employing a precisely conceived program to illustrate through the entire cycle the legitimacy of papal authority, running from Moses, via Christ, to Peter, whose ultimate authority, conferred by Christ, ultimately to the Pope of present. The portraits of the latter above the narrative depictions served emphatically to illustrate the ancestral lineage of their God-given authority.
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The ''Scenes of the Life of Moses'' fresco is opposite ''The Temptation of Christ,'' also painted by Botticelli. As the Moses cycle starts on the wall behind the altar, the scenes unfold from right to left: (1) Moses angrily strikes an Egyptian overseer and then (2) flees to the [[Midianites]]. There (3) he disperses a group of shepherds who were preventing the daughters of [[Jethro]] from (4) drawing water at the well. After (5, 6) the divine revelation in the burning bush at the top left, Moses obeys God's commandment and (7) leads the people of Israel in a triumphal procession from slavery in Egypt.
  
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The two most important scenes from the fresco cycle, Perugino's ''[[Sistine Chapel#Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter|Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter]]'' and Botticelli's ''[[Sistine Chapel#The Punishment of Korah|The Punishment of Korah]]''; both contain in the background the triumphal arch of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, who gave the Pope temporal power over the Roman western world. The triumphal arch alludes to the imperial grant of papal power of the Pope. Sixtus IV was thereby not only illustrating his position in a line of succession starting in the Old Testament and continuing through the New Testament up to contemporary times, but was simultaneously restating the view of the papacy as the legitimate successor to the [[Roman Empire]].
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[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 031.jpg|thumb|300px|thumb|''The Punishment of Korah'']]
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Some believe that the message of this Botticelli's ''The Punishment of Korah'' provides a key to an understanding of the Sistine Chapel as a whole, before [[Michelangelo]]'s work. The fresco reproduces three episodes, each of which depicts a rebellion by the [[Hebrews]] against God's appointed leaders, [[Moses]] and [[Aaron]], along with the ensuing divine punishment of the agitators. Korah was a [[Levite]] who challenged the idea that the priesthood belong only to Aaron and his sons, on the basis that the whole congregation of the Israelites was holy. The principal message of these scenes is made manifest by the inscription in the central field of the triumphal arch: "Let no man take the honor to himself except he that is called by God, as Aaron was."
  
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====''Christ Giving the Key to St. Peter''====
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[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 036.jpg|thumb|300px|left|''The Temptation of Christ'']]
  
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[[Image:Pietro Perugino 034.jpg|center|600px|]]
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In the ''Temptation of Christ'' Botticelli depicts [[Jesus]]' threefold temptation by the [[Devil]], as described in the Gospel according to Matthew, can be seen in the background of the picture, with the devil disguised as a hermit. At top left, up on the mountain, he is challenging Christ to turn stones into bread; in the center, we see the two standing on a temple, with the Devil attempting to persuade Christ to cast himself down; on the right-hand side, finally, he is showing the Son of God the splendor of the world's riches, over which he is offering to make Him master. However, Christ drives away the Devil, who ultimately reveals his true devilish form.
  
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This fresco is located in the fifth compartment in the northern wall.
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==Michelangelo's painting==
 +
[[Image:Sistine Chapel Center Left.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Left-center section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling]]
 +
[[Image:Sistine Chapel Center Right.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Right-center section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling]]
 +
[[Michelangelo|Michelangelo Buonarroti]] was commissioned by [[Pope Julius II]] in 1508 to repaint the ceiling, originally representing golden stars on a blue sky; the work was completed between 1508 and November 1511. He painted the [[Last Judgment]] over the [[altar]], between 1535 and 1541, being commissioned by [[Pope Paul III]] Farnese. Michelangelo felt that he was a more developed sculptor than a painter, but he accepted the offer.
  
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Among Perugino's frescoes in the Chapel, the ''Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter'' is stylistically the most instructive. This scene is a reference to the bible passage in which the "keys" to heaven are given to not only St.Peter but to the entire fellowship of believers. These keys represent the power to forgive and to share the word of God thereby giving them the power to allow others into heaven. The main figures are organized in a frieze in two tightly compressed rows close to the surface of the picture and well below the horizon. The principal group, showing Christ handing the silver and gold keys to the kneeling St. Peter, is surrounded by the other Apostles, including Judas (fifth figure to the left of Christ), all with halos, together with portraits of contemporaries, including one said to be a self-portrait (fifth from the right edge). The flat, open square is divided by coloured stones into large foreshortened rectangles, although they are not used in defining the spatial organization. Nor is the relationship between the figures and the felicitous invention of the porticoed [[Temple of Solomon]] that dominates the picture effectively resolved. The triumphal arches at the extremities appear as superfluous antiquarian references, suitable for a Roman audience. Scattered in the middle distance are two secondary scenes from the life of Christ, including the Tribute Money on the left and the Stoning of Christ on the right.
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[[Image:The Deluge after restoration.jpg|thumb|350px|Michaelangelo's portrayal of [[The Flood]]]]
  
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The style of the figures is inspired to [[Verrocchio]]. The active drapery, with its massive complexity, and the figures, particularly several apostles, including St. John the Evangelist, with beautiful features, long flowing hair, elegant demeanour, and refinement recall St Thomas from Verrocchio's bronze group on Orsanmichele. The poses of the actors fall into a small number of basic attitudes that are consistently repeated, usually in reverse from one side to the other, signifying the use of the same cartoon. They are graceful and elegant figures who tend to stand firmly on the earth. Their heads are smallish in proportion to the rest of their bodies, and their features are delicately distilled with considerable attention to minor detail.
+
[[Michelangelo]] painted the vault, or ceiling, of the chapel. To be able to reach the ceiling, Michelangelo needed a support; the first idea was by [[Donato Bramante|Bramante]], who wanted to build him a special scaffold, suspended in the air with ropes. But Michelangelo suspected that this would leave holes in the ceiling once the work ended, so he built a scaffold of his own, a flat, wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall, high up near the top of the windows. He stood on this scaffolding while he painted.
  
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The octagonal temple with its ample porches that dominates the central axis must have had behind it a project created by an architect, but Perugino's treatment is like the rendering of a wooden model, painted with exactitude. The building with its arches serves as a backdrop in front of which the action unfolds. Perugino has made a significant contribution in rendering the landscape. The sense of an infinite world that stretches across the horizon is stronger than in almost any other work of his contemporaries, and the feathery trees against the cloud-filled sky with the bluish-gray hills in the distance represent a solution that later painters would find instructive, especially Raphael.
+
The first layer of plaster began to grow mold because it was too wet. Therefore, Michelangelo had to remove it and start again, so he tried a new mixture of plaster, called [[intonaco]], which was resistant to mold. It was created by one of Michelangelo's assistants, [[Jacopo l'Indaco]], and is still in use today.
  
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====''Scenes of the Life of Moses''====
+
Michelangelo used bright colors, easily visible from the floor. On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ. Above this he alternated male and female prophets, with [[Jonah]] over the altar. On the highest section Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of [[Genesis]].
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[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 032.jpg|center|600px|thumb|''Scenes from the Life of Moses'' by Sandro Botticelli.]]
 
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Botticelli painted three scenes within the short period of eleven months: ''Scenes from the Life of Moses'', ''The Temptation of Christ'' and ''The Punishment of Korah''. He also painted, with much help from his workshop, in the niches above the biblical scenes, some portraits of popes which have been considerably painted over. In all these works his painting appears relatively weak.
 
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The ''Scenes of the Life of Moses'' fresco is opposite ''The Temptation of Christ'' also painted by Botticelli. The two pictures are typologically related in that both deal with the theme of temptation. Botticelli integrated seven episodes from the life of the young Moses into the landscape with considerable skill, by opening up the surface of the picture with four diagonal rows of figures.
 
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As the Moses cycle starts on the wall behind the altar, the scenes should, unlike the pictures of the temptations of Christ, be read from right to left: (1) Moses in a shining yellow garment, angrily strikes an Egyptian overseer and then (2) flees to the Midianites. There (3) he disperses a group of shepherds who were preventing the daughters of Jethro from (4) drawing water at the well. After (5,6) the divine revelation in the burning bush at the top left, Moses obeys God's commandment and (7) leads the people of Israel in a triumphal procession from slavery in Egypt.
 
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====''The Punishment of Korah''====
 
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[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 031.jpg|center|600px|thumb|''The Punishment of Korah'' by Sandro Botticelli.]]
 
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The message of this painting provides the key to an understanding of the Sistine Chapel as a whole before Michelangelo's work. The fresco reproduces three episodes, each of which depicts a rebellion by the Hebrews against God's appointed leaders, Moses and Aaron, along with the ensuing divine punishment of the agitators. On the right-hand side, the revolt of the Jews against Moses is related, the latter portrayed as an old man with a long white beard, clothed in a yellow robe and an olive-green cloak. Irritated by the various trials through which their emigration from Egypt was putting them, the Jews demanded that Moses be dismissed. They wanted a new leader, one who would take them back to Egypt, and they threatened to stone Moses; however, Joshua placed himself protectively between them and their would-be victim, as depicted in Botticelli's painting.
 
−
[[Image:Korah Botticelli.jpg|thumb|Detail of ''The Punishment of Korah''.]]
 
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The centre of the fresco shows the rebellion, under the leadership of Korah, of the sons of Aaron and some Levites, who, setting themselves up in defiance of Aaron's authority as high priest, also offered up incense. In the background we see Aaron in a blue robe, swinging his incense censer with an upright posture and filled with solemn dignity, while his rivals stagger and fall to the ground with their censers at God's behest. Their punishment ensues on the left-hand side of the picture, as the rebels are swallowed up by the earth, which is breaking open under them. The two innocent sons of Korah, the ringleader of the rebels, appear floating on a cloud, exempted from the divine punishment.
 
−
 
 
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The principal message of these scenes is made manifest by the inscription in the central field of the triumphal arch: "Let no man take the honour to himself except he that is called by God, as Aaron was." The fresco thus holds a warning that God's punishment will fall upon those who oppose God's appointed leaders. This warning also contained a contemporary political reference through the portrayal of Aaron in the fresco, depicted wearing the triple-ringed tiara of the Pope and thus characterized as the papal predecessor. It was a warning to those questioning the ultimate authority of the Pope over the Church. The papal claims to leadership were God-given, their origin lay in Christ giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and thereby granting him primacy over the young Church. Perugino painted this crucial element of the doctrine of papal supremacy immediately opposite Botticelli's fresco.
 
−
 
 
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====''The Temptation of Christ''====
 
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[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 036.jpg|center|thumb|600px|''The Temptation of Christ'' by Sandro Botticelli.]]
 
−
The fresco which Botticelli began in July, 1481, is the third scene within the Christ cycle and depicts the ''Temptation of Christ''. Christ's threefold temptation by the Devil, as described in the Gospel according to Matthew, can be seen in the background of the picture, with the devil disguised as a hermit. At top left, up on the mountain, he is challenging Christ to turn stones into bread; in the centre, we see the two standing on a temple, with the Devil attempting to persuade Christ to cast himself down; on the right-hand side, finally, he is showing the Son of God the splendour of the world's riches, over which he is offering to make Him master. However, Christ drives away the Devil, who ultimately reveals his true devilish form.
 
−
[[Image:Sandro Botticelli 037.jpg|thumb|Detail of ''The Temptation of Christ''.]]
 
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On the right in the background, three angels have prepared a table for the celebration of the Eucharist, a scene which only becomes comprehensible when seen in conjunction with the event in the foreground of the fresco. The unity of these two events from the point of view of content is clarified by the reappearance of Christ with three angels in the middle ground on the left of the picture, where He is apparently explaining the incident occurring in the foreground to the heavenly messengers. We are concerned here with the celebration of a Jewish sacrifice, conducted daily before the Temple in accordance with ancient custom. The high priest is receiving the blood-filled sacrificial bowl, while several people are bringing animals and wood as offerings.
 
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At first sight, the inclusion of this Jewish sacrificial scene in the Christ cycle would appear extremely puzzling; however, its explanation may be found in the typological interpretation. The Jewish sacrifice portrayed here refers to the crucifixion of Christ, who through His death offered of His flesh and blood for the redemption of mankind. Christ's sacrifice is reconstructed in the celebration of the Eucharist, alluded to here by the gift table prepared by the angels.
 
−
 
 
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===Michelangelo's painting===
 
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[[Michelangelo|Michelangelo Buonarroti]] was commissioned by [[Pope Julius II]] in 1508 to repaint the ceiling, originally representing golden stars on a blue sky; the work was completed between 1508 and 1 November 1512. He painted the [[Last Judgment]] over the [[altar]], between 1535 and 1541, being commissioned by [[Pope Paul III]] Farnese. Michelangelo felt that he was a more developed sculptor than a painter, but he accepted the offer.
 
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<gallery>
 
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Image:sistine.left.600pix.jpg|Left section of the ceiling, after restoration
 
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Image:sistine.leftcentre.600pix.jpg|Left centre section of the ceiling, after restoration
 
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Image:sistine.rightcentre.600pix.jpg|Right center section of the ceiling, after restoration
 
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Image:sistine.right.600pix.jpg|Right section of the ceiling, after restoration
 
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</gallery>
 
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====Ceiling====
 
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[[Image:Chapelle sixtine plafond.jpg|thumbnail|245px|Detail of the [[Sistine Chapel ceiling]]]]
 
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{{main|Sistine Chapel ceiling}}
 
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In 1508 [[Michelangelo]] was commissioned by [[Pope Julius II]] to paint the vault, or ceiling of the chapel. It took him until 1512 to complete. To be able to reach the ceiling, Michelangelo needed a support; the first idea was by [[Donato Bramante|Bramante]], who wanted to build for him a special scaffold, suspended in the air with ropes. But Michelangelo suspected that this would leave holes in the ceiling once the work was ended, so he built a scaffold of his own, a flat wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall, high up near the top of the windows. He stood on this scaffolding while he painted.
 
−
 
 
−
The first layer of plaster began to grow mold because it was too wet. Michelangelo had to remove it and start again, so he tried a new mixture of plaster, called [[intonaco]], which was resistant to mold. It was created by one of Michelangelo's assistants, [[Jacopo l'Indaco]], and is still in use today.
 
  
−
Michelangelo used bright colors, easily visible from the floor. On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ. Above this he alternated male and female prophets, with [[Jonah]] over the altar. On the highest section Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of [[Genesis]].
+
The artist was originally commissioned to paint only 12 figures, the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]]. He turned down the commission because he saw himself as a sculptor, not a painter. The Pope offered to allow Michelangelo to paint biblical scenes of his own choice as a compromise. When the work was finished there were more than 300. His figures showed the creation, [[Adam and Eve]] in the [[Garden of Eden]] and the [[Great Flood]].
  
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Michelangelo was originally commissioned to paint only 12 figures, the [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]].  He turned down the commission because he saw himself as a sculptor, not a painter.  The Pope offered to allow Michelangelo to paint biblical scenes of his own choice as a compromise. When the work was finished there were more than 300. His figures showed the creation, [[Adam and Eve]] in the [[Garden of Eden]] and the [[Great Flood]].
+
Michelangelo's inspirational, biblical images covering the Sistine Chapel's ceiling were imbued with a special significance due to the immediacy of the pope. For this reason, his artwork took on the significance of religious icons, which to this day inform the public notion of biblical imagery and theological meaning.
  
 
====''Last Judgment''====
 
====''Last Judgment''====
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[[Image:Last judgement.jpg|left|thumbnail|200px|[[St Bartholomew]] displaying his flayed skin (a self-portrait by Michelangelo) in the ''Last Judgement'']]
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The [[Last Judgment]] was painted by [[Michelangelo]] from 1535-1541, after the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|Sack of Rome]] in 1527 by Protestant forces from the [[Holy Roman Empire]], which effectively ended the Roman [[Renaissance]], and just before the [[Council of Trent]], a time of great uncertainty as to the future of the Church.
  
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{{main|The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)}}
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[[Image:JuicioFinale.jpg|thumb|150px|Detail of Christ and Mary from the Last Judgment]]
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The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. ''The Last Judgment'' is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. The souls of humanity rise and descend to their fates as judged by Christ and his saintly entourage. The wall on which ''The Last Judgment'' is painted cants out slightly over the viewer as it rises, and is meant to be somewhat fearful and to instill piety and respect for God's power. In contrast to the other frescoes in the chapel, the figures are heavily muscled and appear somewhat tortured. Christ is depicted especially powerfully—even the [[Virgin Mary]] at the center appears to cower beneath him.
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[[Image:Last judgement.jpg|left|thumbnail|200px|[[St Bartholomew]] displaying his flayed skin (a self-portrait by Michelangelo) in the ''Last Judgement'']]  
 
−
The Last Judgment was painted by Michelangelo from 1535-1541, after the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|Sack of Rome]] of 1527 by Protestant forces from the [[Holy Roman Empire]], which effectively ended the Roman Renaissance, and just before the [[Council of Trent]], a time of great uncertainty as to the future of the church.  The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. The souls of humanity rise and descend to their fates as judged by Christ and his saintly entourage. The wall on which The Last Judgment is painted cants out slightly over the viewer as it rises, and is meant to be somewhat fearful and to instill piety and respect for God's power. In contrast to the other frescoes in the Chapel, the figures are heavily muscled and appear somewhat tortured – even the Virgin Mary at the center cowers beneath him.
 
  
−
The Last Judgment was an object of a heavy dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo: the artist was accused of immorality and intolerable obscenity, having depicted naked figures, with genitals in evidence, so a [[censorship]] campaign (known as the "Fig-Leaf Campaign") was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini ([[Mantua]]'s ambassador) to remove the frescoes.  When the Pope's own Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, said "it was mostly disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully, and that it was no work for a papal chapel but rather for the public baths and taverns," Michelangelo worked da Cesena's semblance into the scene as [[Minos]], judge of the underworld. It is said that when he complained to the Pope, the pontiff responded that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell, so the portrait would have to remain.
+
''The Last Judgment'' was an object of a heavy dispute between [[Cardinal Carafa]] and Michelangelo: the artist was accused of immorality and intolerable obscenity, having depicted naked figures, with genitals in evidence, so a [[censorship]] campaign (known as the "Fig-Leaf Campaign") was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini to remove the [[fresco]]es.
  
 
The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist [[Daniele da Volterra]], whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter").
 
The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist [[Daniele da Volterra]], whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter").
  
 
====Restoration and controversy====
 
====Restoration and controversy====
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{{main|Sistine Chapel - restoration of frescoes}}
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[[Image:Jesse spandrel beforeandafter.jpg|thumb|200px|Photos show the same image before (left) and after (right) restoration.]]
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The chapel has been recently restored (1981 through 1994). This restoration was initially surrounded by a heated controversy in the art world, some claiming it a success and a breakthrough revelation, while a few claiming it ruined the masterpiece. Some conservationists complained about the loss of a brown [[patina]] that had developed over centuries, composed of candle smoke, soot, and repeated applications of poor quality varnish. Despite evidence to the contrary, they claim that this layer of murky material was actually applied by Michelangelo himself in order to "harmonise" what they called 'ice-cream colours.' (Because no substantial evidence has been found proving that these were Michelangelo's original intentions, the arguments are often disregarded.) The bright colours reveal Michelangelo to have been a masterful colourist, and close-ups of the frescos show complex brushwork that would not be matched, nor even attempted until the Impressionist movement of the 19th century. Others comment that bright colours were necessary for the frescos to stand out in the gloom of the chapel, with its high, narrow windows. Now that the electric lighting has been removed and the frescos illuminated solely by the light from the windows, the original colours and effect have been restored.
+
The chapel has been recently restored (1981 through 1994). This restoration was initially surrounded by a heated controversy in the art world, some claiming it a success and a breakthrough revelation, while a few claiming it ruined the masterpiece. Some conservationists complained about the loss of a brown [[patina]] that had developed over centuries, composed of candle smoke, soot, and repeated applications of poor quality varnish.
 +
 
 +
The newly-revealed bright colors reveal Michelangelo to have been a masterful colorist, and close-ups of the frescoes show complex brushwork that would not be matched, nor even attempted, until the Impressionist movement of the nineteenth century. Others comment that bright colors were necessary for the frescoes to stand out in the gloom of the chapel, with its high, narrow windows. Now that the electric lighting has been removed and the frescoes illuminated solely by the light from the windows, the original colors and effect have been restored.
 +
 
 +
==Cultural significance, tourism==
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<blockquote>"Without having seen the Sistine Chapel
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one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving."
 +
—[[Johann Wolfgang Goethe]], 1787</blockquote>
  
 +
[[Image:Forbidden fruit.jpg|thumb|300px|Michaelangelo's portrayal of the Fall of Man]]
  
 +
Due to the extraordinary talents of [[Michelangelo]] Buonarroti, the Sistine Chapel has become one of the most famous art galleries in the western world. The chapel has become a repository not only for some of the finest artworks ever created, but also Christian images of iconic dimensions.
  
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==Notes==
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One of the most popular tourist destinations in Rome/Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel receives some 1600 people every hour during the summer. Visitors are encouraged to bring along binoculars, and patience, to view the 10,000 square feet of ceiling painted by Michelangelo, amidst the crowds. However, no photography is permitted in the chapel.
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{{reflist}}
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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* Giacometti, Alberto (Ed.) ''The Sistine Chapel'', Harmony Books, 1986, ISBN 0-517-56274-X
+
 
−
*Stone, Irving. ''The Agony and the Ecstasy'', Signet, 1961.ISBN 978-0451171351
+
* Hall, Marcia B. ''Michelangelo: The Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.'' Harry N. Abrams, 2002. ISBN 978-0810935303
−
*King, Ross. ''Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling'', Pimlico, 2006. ISBN 978-1844139322
+
* King, Ross. ''Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.'' Pimlico, 2006. ISBN 978-1844139322
−
*Seymour, Charles (Ed.) ''Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling'', W.W. Norton & Company, 1995. ISBN 978-0393314052
+
* Mancinelli, Fabrizio. ''The Sistine Chapel.'' Treasures Inc., 1996. ISBN 978-8886921015
−
*Hall, Marcia B. ''Michelangelo: The Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel'', Harry N. Abrams, 2002. ISBN 978-0810935303
+
* Pietrangeli, Carlo, and Takashi Okamura (photographer). ''The Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration.'' Abradale Press, 1999. ISBN 051756274X 
−
*Mancinelli, Fabrizio. ''The Sistine Chapel'', Treasures Inc., 1996. ISBN 978-8886921015
+
* Seymour, Charles (Ed.) ''Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling.'' W.W. Norton & Company, 1995. ISBN 978-0393314052
−
*Pietrangeli, Carlo, & Okamura, Takashi (photographer). ''The Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration'', Abradale Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0910981768
+
* Stone, Irving. ''The Agony and the Ecstasy.'' Signet, 1961. ISBN 978-0451171351
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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*[http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Main.html Vatican Museums Online: Sistine Chapel — A virtual detailed tour of the frescoes and panels]
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All links retrieved January 29, 2023.
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*[http://www.christusrex.org/www1/sistine/0-Tour.html Master Plan & Pictures: Cappella Sistina]
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*[http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/CSN/CSN_Main.html Vatican Museums Online: Sistine Chapel — A virtual detailed tour of the frescoes and panels]. ''mv.vatican.va''.  
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*[http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/tours/sistina/ Web Gallery of Art: Visit to the Sistine Chapel in Vatican]
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*[http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/tours/sistina/ Web Gallery of Art: Visit to the Sistine Chapel in Vatican]. ''www.kfki.hu''.
  
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[[Category:Geography]]
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[[Category:nations and places]]
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[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
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[[Category: art, music, literature, sports and music]]
 
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Latest revision as of 22:35, 29 January 2023

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (unrestored)
The ceiling after restoration

The Sistine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Sistina) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in Vatican City. Its fame rests especially on its decoration, frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists, most notably Michelangelo Buonarroti, whose ceiling is legendary. Named for Pope Sixtus IV, the chapel is also noted for its architecture, which evokes Solomon's Temple of the Old Testament. It serves as a site of papal religious and functionary activity, notably the conclave, at which a new Pope is selected.

Due to the extraordinary talents of Michelangelo (1475-1564), the Sistine Chapel has become one of the most famous art displays in the western world. The famous Sistine ceiling depicts scenes from Genesis in striking detail, and The Last Judgment on the chapel's end wall is equally dramatic. In addition to these famous artworks, the side walls are festooned with frescoes of Moses and Christ and portraits of popes.

In recent decades, the Sistine Chapel has been fastidiously cleaned and restored, beginning with the fifteenth-century wall frescoes in 1965. The cleaning and restoration of the lunettes, the ceiling, and the Last Judgment, a painstaking process using computer analysis, lasted from 1980 to 1994. The restoration included the removal of several of the "modesty" drapes that had been added over some of the nude figures.

The end result of the restoration has been controversial: Critics say a vital, second layer of paint was removed, and argue that many of the restored figures seem flat compared with the originals, which had more shadow and detail. Others have hailed the project for saving Michelangelo's masterpiece for future generations to appreciate and for revealing the vibrancy of his color palette.

One of the ancestors of Jesus, as conceived by Michelangelo

Purpose and history

Outside of its art, the Sistine Chapel is most famous for being the place where Papal Conclaves take place for the election of a new pope. Lesser known is that the chapel also houses a corporate body known as the Papal Chapel. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV in the late-fifteenth century, this body comprised about 200 persons, including clerics, officials of the Vatican, and distinguished laity.

The Papal calendar prescribes 50 occasions during the year that the entire Papal Chapel should meet. Of these, most are masses, of which eight are held in basilicas—generally St. Peters—and are attended by large congregations. These include the Christmas Day and Easter masses, at which the Pope himself is the celebrant. The other masses can be held in a smaller, less-public space, such as the Sistine Chapel, which was built on the site of its predecessor, the Cappella Maggiore that in its time served the same purpose.

The Cappella Maggiore derived its name, translated as the Greater Chapel, from the fact that there was another chapel also in use by the Pope and his retinue for daily worship. At the time of Pope Sixtus IV, this was the Chapel of Pope Nicholas V, which had been decorated by Fra Angelico. The Cappella Maggiore is recorded as existing in 1368, but by the time of its demolition to make way for the present chapel, the Cappella Maggiore was in a ruinous state with its walls leaning.

The present chapel was designed by Baccio Pontelli for Pope Sixtus IV, for whom it is named, and built under the supervision of Giovannino de Dolci between 1473 and 1484. After its completion, the chapel was decorated with frescoes by a number of the most famous artists of the late-fifteenth century, including Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Perugino.

The first mass in the Sistine Chapel was celebrated on August 9, 1483, the Feast of the Assumption, at which the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The Sistine Chapel has maintained its function to the present day, and continues to host the important services of the Papal calendar, unless the Pope is traveling. It also houses a permanent choir, for whom much original music has been written, the most famous piece being Allegri's Miserere, a setting of the psalm for Maundy Thursday.

Architecture

Exterior of the Sistine Chapel.

Exterior

The Sistine Chapel is a high rectangular brick building; its exterior unadorned by architectural or decorative details, as is common in many Italian Medieval and Renaissance churches. It has no exterior facade or processional doorways, since access is from internal rooms within the Papal Palace. The chapel's internal spaces are divided into three stories, of which the lowest is a robustly vaulted basement with several utilitarian windows and a doorway onto the exterior court.

Above is the main space, the chapel, with internal measurements of 134 feet long by 44 feet wide, thought to be the same dimensions as the Temple of Solomon noted in the Old Testament. The vaulted ceiling rises to 68 feet. The building has six tall, arched windows down each side and two at either end, several which have been blocked.

Above the vault rises a third story with wardrooms for guards. Encircling the building at this level is an open projecting gangway, supported by an arcade protruding from the walls. The building is roofed with pantile tiles. The sinking and cracking of masonry, has necessitated the addition of large buttresses to brace the exterior walls.

Interior

There ratio between the length, width, and height of the interior chapel is 6:2:3. The ceiling of the chapel is a flattened barrel vault that is cut transversely by smaller vaults over each window. The barrel vault was originally painted brilliant blue and dotted with gold stars, to the design of Pier Matteo d'Amelia. The pavement is in opus alexandrinum, a decorative style using marble and colored stone in a pattern that reflects the earlier proportion in the division of the interior. It also marks the processional way from the main door, used by the Pope on important occasions such as Palm Sunday.

Saint Paul Preaching in Athens: Raphael's drawing for a tapestry in the Sistine Chapel.

A screen or transenna in marble by Mino da Fiesole, Andrea Bregno, and Giovanni Dalmata divides the chapel into two parts. Originally these made equal space for the members of the Papal Chapel within the sanctuary near the altar and for the pilgrims and townsfolk without. However, with growth in the number of those attending the Pope, the screen was moved giving a reduced area for the laity. The transenna is surmounted by a row of ornate candlesticks, once gilt, and has a wooden door, where once there was an ornate door of gilded, wrought iron. The sculptors of the transenna also provided the cantoria, or projecting choir gallery.

During important, occasional ceremonies, side walls are covered with a series of tapestries. These were originally designed for the chapel by Raphael, and his drawings for them still exist. The tapestries themselves were looted by the French armies and scattered around Europe. The tapestries depict events from the Life of St. Peter and the Life of Saint Paul, as described in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.

Decoration

The pictorial decoration of the Sistine Chapel is comprised of frescoes and a set of tapestries. They are the work of different artists and are part of a number of different commissions, some of which were in conflict with each other.

The walls are divided into three main tiers. The lower is decorated with frescoed, wall hangings in silver and gold. The central tier of the walls has two cycles of paintings, which complement each other, The Life of Moses and The Life of Christ. The upper tier is divided into two zones. At the lower level of the windows is a Gallery of Popes painted at the same time as the Lives. Around the arched tops of the windows are areas known as the lunettes which contain the Ancestors of Christ, painted by Michelangelo as part of the scheme for the ceiling.

The Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel's ceiling

The ceiling, commissioned by Pope Julius II and painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1511, has a series of nine paintings showing God's Creation of the World, God's relationship with Mankind and Mankind's fall from God's Grace. On the large pendentives that support the vault are painted 12 Biblical and Classical men and women who prophesied that God would send Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.

Subsequently, Raphael was commissioned by Pope Leo X to design a series of tapestries to hang around the lower tier of the walls. These depict the lives of the two leaders among the Apostles who established the Christian church in Rome, Saints Peter and Paul.

Although Michelangelo's complex design for the ceiling was not quite what his patron, Pope Julius II, had in mind when he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Twelve Apostles, the scheme displayed a consistent iconographical pattern. However, this was disrupted by a further commission to Michelangelo to decorate the wall above the altar with The Last Judgment, 1537-1541. The painting of this scene necessitated the obliteration of two episodes from the Lives, several of the Popes and two sets of Ancestors. Two of the windows were blocked and two of Raphael's tapestries became redundant.

Wall frescos

Scenes of the Life of Moses (detail) by Botticelli, 1481-1482

The wall paintings were executed by premier painters of the fifteenth century: Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Rossellini, Signorelli, and their respective workshops, which included Pinturicchio, Piero di Cosimo, and Bartolomeo della Gatta. The subjects were historical religious themes, selected and divided according to the medieval concept of the partition of world history into three epochs: before the Ten Commandments were given to Moses, between Moses and Christ's birth, and the Christian era thereafter. They underline the continuity between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, or the transition from the Mosaic law to the Christian religion.

The walls were painted over an astonishingly short period of time, barely 11 months, from July 1481 to May 1482. The painters were each required first to execute a sample fresco; these were to be officially examined and evaluated in January 1482. However, it was so evident at such an early stage that the frescoes would be satisfactory that by October 1481, the artists were given the commission to execute the remaining ten stories.

The pictorial arrangement for the chapel was comprised of a cycle each from the Old and New Testament depicting scenes from the lives of Moses and Christ. The narratives began at the altar wall—the frescoes painted there yielding to Michelangelo's Last Judgment a mere 30 years later—continued along the long walls of the chapel, and ended at the entrance wall. A gallery of papal portraits was painted above these depictions, and the latter were completed underneath by representations of painted curtains. The individual scenes from the two cycles contain typological references to one another. The Old and New Testament are understood as constituting a whole, with Moses appearing as the prefiguration of Christ.

Peter receives the keys from Jesus, an authority passed on to each successive pope, according to Catholic tradition.

The typological positioning of the Moses and Christ cycles has a political dimension going beyond a mere illustrating of the correspondences between Old and New Testament. Sixtus IV was employing a precisely conceived program to illustrate through the entire cycle, the legitimacy of papal authority running from Moses, via Christ, to Peter and ultimately to the present Pope. The portraits of the latter above the narrative depictions served emphatically to illustrate the ancestral lineage of their God-given authority.

Among Pietro Perugino's frescoes in the chapel, the Christ Giving the Keys to Saint Peter is stylistically the most instructive. These keys represent the power to "bind and loose" on earth and in heaven and are particularly significant in papal theology, which sees the Pope as the inheritor of Peter's keys, and thus the "Vicar of Christ."

Botticelli's work

Scenes from the Life of Moses by Sandro Botticelli.

Sandro Botticelli painted three scenes within the short period of 11 months: Scenes from the Life of Moses, The Temptation of Christ, and The Punishment of Korah. He also painted (with help from his workshop) some portraits of popes, which have been considerably painted over.

The Scenes of the Life of Moses fresco is opposite The Temptation of Christ, also painted by Botticelli. As the Moses cycle starts on the wall behind the altar, the scenes unfold from right to left: (1) Moses angrily strikes an Egyptian overseer and then (2) flees to the Midianites. There (3) he disperses a group of shepherds who were preventing the daughters of Jethro from (4) drawing water at the well. After (5, 6) the divine revelation in the burning bush at the top left, Moses obeys God's commandment and (7) leads the people of Israel in a triumphal procession from slavery in Egypt.

The Punishment of Korah

Some believe that the message of this Botticelli's The Punishment of Korah provides a key to an understanding of the Sistine Chapel as a whole, before Michelangelo's work. The fresco reproduces three episodes, each of which depicts a rebellion by the Hebrews against God's appointed leaders, Moses and Aaron, along with the ensuing divine punishment of the agitators. Korah was a Levite who challenged the idea that the priesthood belong only to Aaron and his sons, on the basis that the whole congregation of the Israelites was holy. The principal message of these scenes is made manifest by the inscription in the central field of the triumphal arch: "Let no man take the honor to himself except he that is called by God, as Aaron was."

The Temptation of Christ

In the Temptation of Christ Botticelli depicts Jesus' threefold temptation by the Devil, as described in the Gospel according to Matthew, can be seen in the background of the picture, with the devil disguised as a hermit. At top left, up on the mountain, he is challenging Christ to turn stones into bread; in the center, we see the two standing on a temple, with the Devil attempting to persuade Christ to cast himself down; on the right-hand side, finally, he is showing the Son of God the splendor of the world's riches, over which he is offering to make Him master. However, Christ drives away the Devil, who ultimately reveals his true devilish form.

Michelangelo's painting

Left-center section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling
Right-center section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling

Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 to repaint the ceiling, originally representing golden stars on a blue sky; the work was completed between 1508 and November 1511. He painted the Last Judgment over the altar, between 1535 and 1541, being commissioned by Pope Paul III Farnese. Michelangelo felt that he was a more developed sculptor than a painter, but he accepted the offer.

Michaelangelo's portrayal of The Flood

Michelangelo painted the vault, or ceiling, of the chapel. To be able to reach the ceiling, Michelangelo needed a support; the first idea was by Bramante, who wanted to build him a special scaffold, suspended in the air with ropes. But Michelangelo suspected that this would leave holes in the ceiling once the work ended, so he built a scaffold of his own, a flat, wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall, high up near the top of the windows. He stood on this scaffolding while he painted.

The first layer of plaster began to grow mold because it was too wet. Therefore, Michelangelo had to remove it and start again, so he tried a new mixture of plaster, called intonaco, which was resistant to mold. It was created by one of Michelangelo's assistants, Jacopo l'Indaco, and is still in use today.

Michelangelo used bright colors, easily visible from the floor. On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ. Above this he alternated male and female prophets, with Jonah over the altar. On the highest section Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of Genesis.

The artist was originally commissioned to paint only 12 figures, the Apostles. He turned down the commission because he saw himself as a sculptor, not a painter. The Pope offered to allow Michelangelo to paint biblical scenes of his own choice as a compromise. When the work was finished there were more than 300. His figures showed the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the Great Flood.

Michelangelo's inspirational, biblical images covering the Sistine Chapel's ceiling were imbued with a special significance due to the immediacy of the pope. For this reason, his artwork took on the significance of religious icons, which to this day inform the public notion of biblical imagery and theological meaning.

Last Judgment

St Bartholomew displaying his flayed skin (a self-portrait by Michelangelo) in the Last Judgement

The Last Judgment was painted by Michelangelo from 1535-1541, after the Sack of Rome in 1527 by Protestant forces from the Holy Roman Empire, which effectively ended the Roman Renaissance, and just before the Council of Trent, a time of great uncertainty as to the future of the Church.

Detail of Christ and Mary from the Last Judgment

The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse. The souls of humanity rise and descend to their fates as judged by Christ and his saintly entourage. The wall on which The Last Judgment is painted cants out slightly over the viewer as it rises, and is meant to be somewhat fearful and to instill piety and respect for God's power. In contrast to the other frescoes in the chapel, the figures are heavily muscled and appear somewhat tortured. Christ is depicted especially powerfully—even the Virgin Mary at the center appears to cower beneath him.

The Last Judgment was an object of a heavy dispute between Cardinal Carafa and Michelangelo: the artist was accused of immorality and intolerable obscenity, having depicted naked figures, with genitals in evidence, so a censorship campaign (known as the "Fig-Leaf Campaign") was organized by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini to remove the frescoes.

The genitalia in the fresco were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra, whom history remembers by the derogatory nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter").

Restoration and controversy

Photos show the same image before (left) and after (right) restoration.

The chapel has been recently restored (1981 through 1994). This restoration was initially surrounded by a heated controversy in the art world, some claiming it a success and a breakthrough revelation, while a few claiming it ruined the masterpiece. Some conservationists complained about the loss of a brown patina that had developed over centuries, composed of candle smoke, soot, and repeated applications of poor quality varnish.

The newly-revealed bright colors reveal Michelangelo to have been a masterful colorist, and close-ups of the frescoes show complex brushwork that would not be matched, nor even attempted, until the Impressionist movement of the nineteenth century. Others comment that bright colors were necessary for the frescoes to stand out in the gloom of the chapel, with its high, narrow windows. Now that the electric lighting has been removed and the frescoes illuminated solely by the light from the windows, the original colors and effect have been restored.

Cultural significance, tourism

"Without having seen the Sistine Chapel

one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving."

—Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 1787

Michaelangelo's portrayal of the Fall of Man

Due to the extraordinary talents of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Sistine Chapel has become one of the most famous art galleries in the western world. The chapel has become a repository not only for some of the finest artworks ever created, but also Christian images of iconic dimensions.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in Rome/Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel receives some 1600 people every hour during the summer. Visitors are encouraged to bring along binoculars, and patience, to view the 10,000 square feet of ceiling painted by Michelangelo, amidst the crowds. However, no photography is permitted in the chapel.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Hall, Marcia B. Michelangelo: The Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Harry N. Abrams, 2002. ISBN 978-0810935303
  • King, Ross. Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. Pimlico, 2006. ISBN 978-1844139322
  • Mancinelli, Fabrizio. The Sistine Chapel. Treasures Inc., 1996. ISBN 978-8886921015
  • Pietrangeli, Carlo, and Takashi Okamura (photographer). The Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration. Abradale Press, 1999. ISBN 051756274X
  • Seymour, Charles (Ed.) Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling. W.W. Norton & Company, 1995. ISBN 978-0393314052
  • Stone, Irving. The Agony and the Ecstasy. Signet, 1961. ISBN 978-0451171351

External links

All links retrieved January 29, 2023.


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