The document provides an overview of Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel. It summarizes the key scenes depicted on each wall, including The Life of Moses and Christ on the northern wall, portraits of popes and ancestors of Christ on the southern wall. The most prominent works are Michelangelo's ceiling, featuring biblical scenes, and his iconic Last Judgment on the altar wall. The paintings reinforced the authority and legitimacy of the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.

1. First created 26 Jan 2011. Version 2.0, 1 May 2020. Jerry Daperro. London.
Sistine
Chapel
The Painting

2. Entrance Wall
The Entrance Wall collapsed in 1522,
destroying the two paintings by Domenici
Ghirlandaio and by Luca Signorelli.
These painting were replaced at a later date
by works on the same subjects by Hendrick
van den Broeck and Matteo da Lecce.

3. North Wall
On the eye level, the wall is covered by a
set of tapestries (not shown above), which
are normally covered.
Above the tapestries are two series of
paintings – ‘The Life of Moses’ and ‘The
Life of Christ’. They complement each
other and was commissioned in 1480
during the construction of the building.
The following are paintings on the northern
wall by Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and
Rosselli.

4. Perugino & Pinturicchio
Christ Preaching.
Sermon of John
the Baptist.
The Baptism of Christ is
equivalent to the spiritual
circumcision of Judism,
depicted on the painting
on the opposite wall.
Baptism shows the deeper spiritual belief of the
new religion, Christianity.
Click to advance

5. Botticelli Christ met the devil after fasting 40 days in the wilderness, prior to his crucifixion.
Devil challenged
Christ to turn
stone into bread.
Devil challenged
Christ to jump
from the roof.
Devil offered Christ
riches and power to
rule the world.
A Jewish sacrificial offering scene, with the girl
offering a bowl of blood to the priest. This is a hint
of the coming crucifixion of Christ, who offer his
flesh and blood for the salvation of mankind.

6. Ghirlandaio Christ recruits the Apostles.
A group of
women, why?
Christ on the shore with
Simon, Peter and
Andrew on their fishing
boat.
Group of influential
Florentine who lived
in Rome.
A Medici bankers in black
standing behind Christ, who
sponsored Ghirlandaio.
A landscape background
with a city, with castles
and Churches.

7. Rosselli & Cosimo
Christ’s Sermon on the
Mount, at which he
handed out Christian
guidelines
Christ’s healed
the leper.
The disciples
Guildlines from Christ.

8. Perugino Christ handed the key to haven to St Peter, who founded the church.
This directly connected Christ to the Catholic church.
Christ handing the key
to heaven to St Peter.
The Virgin and
the Apostles.
The Apostles.Judas Perugino
The triumph arch is a
reference to Ancient Rome
adopted Christianity.
Stoning of Christ
The
architect

9. Rosselli
Christ praying
on the mount
Christ Arrested Crucifixion
Chalice on the table
refer to the institution
of sacrament.
The wine
Dancing
dog
Connecting Catholic practices and rituals to Christ
Click to advance

10. South Wall
Above the row of paintings is a row of
portraits of popes.
Above the popes are paintings of the
Ancestors of Christ (the Lunette). Above
them is a row decorative paintings
(Spandrel).
The following are paintings on the southern
wall telling of stories of ‘The Life of Christ’
and ‘The Life of Mosses’.

11. Signorelli Signorelli was a student of Piero della Francesca. Part of the work was
painted by Bartolomeo della Gatta.
Angel led Moses to
the mountain to see
the Promise Land
before he died.
Joshua appointed as
Moses successor
The death of Moses
The Ark of Covenant
with two tablet of the
laws.
Not quite sure why this
group of people were
included with a male
nude and a pregnant
woman.

12. Botticelli This holds the key to understand the Sistine Chapel. The message is “Any
challenge to the authority of the church will be punished by God.” The painting
depicts three episodes in the rebellion against God’s chosen Moses and Aaron.
Rebellious mob threatened
to stone Moses, with
Joshua protecting them.
Moses called God to
punish the rebels, as
they were swallowed by
the Earth.
Innocents
protected by
standing on
clouds
Aaron, the high priest
attacked by mob, raised
his incense burner, as
rebels staggered and fell.

13. Rosselli & Cosimo
Moses received the
Ten Commandments.
Moses showed the
Ten Commandments
to his people.
Moses smashed the
Ten commandments
in anger.
Moses received the
Ten Commandments.
Israelites worshiped
the Golden Calf idol.
Idol worshipers
put to death.
Jewish laws from God.

14. Rosselli Non-believers drown in pursuit of God’s chosen people.
Moses asked the pharaoh
to release the Jews.
The Egyptian army chasing
the Jews were drown by the
Red Sea
The Jews safely crossed the
Red Sea with a miracle of God
Prophetess
Miriam
Moses with
staff in hand

15. Botticelli 7 episodes in the life of Moses.
Moses
attacked his
Egyptian
overseer.
Moses
fled.Moses dispersed the
shepherds, who stopped
the daughters of Jethro
using the well.
God appeared
in the burning
bush.
Moses followed
God commands
and led Israeli out
of Egypt.

16. Perugino & Pinturicchio
Circumcision
Landscape painted by Pinturicchio
Journey to Egypt
after exile.
Angel tells Moses
to circumcise his
son.
Circumcision is a reference to the older Jewish religion.
Click to advance

17. Completed in 1483, based on the dimension of the Temple of Solomon in Holy land.

18. Ceiling
At the centre of the ceiling is a row of nine paintings from the Book of Genesis. Originally,
Michelangelo turned down the commission. He saw himself as a sculptor and not a painter. The
work on the ceiling was started in 1508. It took 4 years to complete. It took its toll on Michelangelo
working on his back. He also refused a team of assistants to help with the paintings. After he
finished the work, he hardly painting anything until 24 years later when he started on the Last
Judgment.

19. This is one of the four larger paintings on the centre of the ceiling. The painting is comprised of
two scenes with God appears twice. With splendid foreshortening, Michelangelo succeeded
created the illusion of God floating in the air.

20. God gives the life to Adam, at that moment man was created. Adam appears to be without energy.
He barely able to raise his arm. God on the contrary is the source of energy. God was surrounded
by characters, to form a shape that some interpreted as reassembling a human brain or a uterus.

21. Again the painting is divided into two scenes – temptation and expulsion with the Tree of
Knowledge of Good and Evil in the middle.

22. Michelangelo repainted some of the scene, as he was unhappy about the work of his assistance.

28. At the corner of the paintings on the
ceilings are the Ignudi (The Nude). They
are beautifully painted with animated
posture. This one is unusual in that the
head seems to be just stuck on the body,
with a face of a female.
Ignudi

29. Sibyls
Sibyl is the Greek word meaning prophetess
from the antiquity. They are only known
through legends.
Delphic Sibyl, 1509.

30. Erythraean Sibyl, 1509. Persian Sibyl, 1511.

31. Libyan Sibyl, 1509. Cumaean Sibyl, 1510.

32. Prophets
Amongst the sybils are the
prophets from the Bible, who
foretold the coming of Christ.
Prophet Jonah, 1511.

33. Prophet Zechariah, 1508-09. Prophet Jeremiah, 1511.

34. Prophet Joel, 1509. Prophet Ezekiel, 1510.

35. Prophet Isaiah, 1509. Prophet Daniel, 1511.

36. Ancestors
of Christ
This is just one of eight panels of
the Ancestors of Christ. Each of
one is made up of the bronze
ignudi at the top, with figures
painted on the spandrel and below
are the ancestors of Christ
painted on the lunette.

37. The Pendentives
On the four corners of the ceiling are paintings on the pendentives. This one tells the story of
Judith and Holofernes, whose head was cut off by the Jewish heroine. Holofernes was sent by
the Assyrian king Nebuchadnezzar to punish the rebellious Israelites by destroying their city
Bethulia.

38. Altar Wall
The wall is dominated by single painting.
The ‘Last Judgment’ painted by
Michelangelo. It was painted some 24
years later, in 1535 and it took about 6
years to complete.
The painting is largely inspire by a Latin
hymn and Dante’s Inferno. It some 400
figures are on the painting. The painting
is divided into several scenes or zones
and organised into four tiers.
At the top is instrument of Passion,
below is Christ the judge, surrounded by
groups of the Blessed. Below the
trumpets of the Last Judgment. On the
left the righteous rise toward the heaven
and the damned being driven into the
Underworld.

39. Last
Judgement
The Last Judgement is
Michelangelo’s best painting.
He started when his was in his
mid-fifties. He chose a multi-
view point composition.
The ascend of the Blessed and
the driving of the Damned into
the Underworld is as good as
his paintings on the ceiling.
The appearance of the demons
of the Underworld shows his
imagination was powerful as
he ever been.
He had never lost his sense of
drama in telling the story. The
painting is full of energy,
vitality and movements. It is
almost an animation. if
Michelangelo is alive today, I
think he would be an animator.

42. The Blessed.
St John the
Baptist
Christ & the Virgin

43. Christ the Judge.

44. St Peter
with keys
St Lawrence
with his skin
St Catherine
St Sebastian
The skin is a
self-portrait of
Michelangelo

48. Is this a self
portrait of
Michelangelo?

50. This is Baigio da Cesena (central figure
on the painting on the right), a papal
master of ceremonies, often criticized
Michelangelo’s work for the nude
figures. So Michelangelo made him the
Master of the Underworld, Mino, with
donkey’s ears (stupid). Have a closer
look at what the green snake is biting.

51. When the fresco was unveiled,
controversy raged about the nudity. It
was left to Daniele da Volterra to cover
the nudity with loin cloth and drapery.
Thus Michelangelo’s masterpiece had
been censored. The diagram above
shows the areas that was repainted.

52. Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel
Altogether, Michelangelo spent 10 years painting
the Sistine Chapel – 4 years for the ceiling and 6
years for the ‘Last Judgment’. It was his most
important painting commissions and it included
a very large proportion of his known paintings. It
is not possible to talk about the Sistine Chapel
without discussing Michelangelo as a painter.
Michelangelo greatest achievements of the
Sistine Chapel lies in his imagination, animated
painted figures, the frozen energetic movements
and the dramatic story that he told.
The paintings in the Sistine Chapel are symbols
of power, the legitimacy and the reasons for the
existence of the Catholic Church. It was as icon
of its cultural supremacy and wealth, in
particular at a time when the Catholic Church
was challenged by the Protestant Reformation.
Martin Luther, who posted his challenge to the
Catholic in 1517. It also marks the apogee of
Roman papal power and Italian artistic
leadership of the world.
The Sistine chapel testifies Michelangelo's
monumental vision, showing humanity in all its
guises and emotions, giant god-like figures
modelled on contemporaries to make a timeless
message. They illustrate the great Christian
legends as didactic and moral lessons.
The frescoes were intended to inspire awe, even
terror, so that believers would obey their
injunction and thus reaffirm the religious power
of the Catholicism.

53. All rights reserved. Available free for non-commercial and non-profit use only
Music – Ave Maria. James Galway.
Michelangelo’s self portrait.
The
End

54. Rome’s Art Gallery