Michelangelo Finishes Sistine Chapel: Renaissance Art Reaches its Peak
Michelangelo spent four years on his back atop scaffolding 60 feet above the Sistine Chapel floor, painting roughly 5,000 square feet of frescoes depicting nine scenes from the Book of Genesis. He completed the work on November 1, 1512, and Pope Julius II unveiled it to the public. Michelangelo had resisted the commission, insisting he was a sculptor, not a painter. Julius II insisted. The resulting ceiling includes over 300 human figures, many larger than life, rendered with anatomical precision that remains unmatched in fresco painting. The central image of God creating Adam, their fingers nearly touching, became one of the most reproduced images in Western art. Michelangelo returned to the chapel 24 years later to paint The Last Judgment on the altar wall. The chapel now receives roughly 25,000 visitors per day.
November 1, 1512
514 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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