The Sistine Chapel is a small chapel found in the Vatican, Rome. To many Catholics the chapel is a monument, the pope's chapel, an important symbol of faith. The chapel makes the building in which the “Conclave” meetings to elect the Popes takes place. Thanks to the extraordinary talents of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), the Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina) has become one of the most famous art galleries in the western world. But the Sistine Chapel is more than the sum of its artistic wonders: it is a symbolic statement of papal authority and a UNESCO world heritage site. The Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV, from whom it derives its name, in 1475. It was consecrated and dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin on August 15, 1483.
Michelangelo's famous Sistine ceiling depicts scenes from Genesis in dramatic and moving detail, while The Last Judgment on the end wall is striking and powerful. As if that were not enough, the side walls are covered with important Renaissance frescoes by other artists, depicting biblical scenes and contemporary popes. The art work came to be realized by painters from from Florence including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio and others. It is said that the fresco project took eleven months to be completed (July 1481 – Many 1482).
The wall frescoes, though often missed by visitors captivated by the ceiling, are stunning in their artistic beauty and fascinating in their meaning. The fresco cycle consists of scenes from the Old Testament on the left wall that correspond with scenes from the New Testament on the right wall. From the famous Sistine ceiling can be see Michelangelo's work including 9 scenes from Genesis, 4 corner pendentives, 4 pairs of bronze nudes above the pendentives, 8 triangular spandrels with pairs of bronze nudes, 7 prophets (4 major: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel; and 3 minor: Zechariah, Joel and Jonah), 5 sybils, and 20 ignudi, 10 medallions. Michelangelo's other great work is The Last Judgment, on the altar wall. This powerful work centers on Christ the Judge, who compels the damned to hell with his left hand and lifts up the saved to heaven with his right. Surrounding Christ are the planets, the sun and saints.
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