The Sistine Chapel ceiling was painted by Michelangelo, when the Pope Julius II della Rovere commissioned him. Michelangelo started work in 1508 and completed it in 1512. As part of the ceiling, Micelangelo painted the Ancestors of Christ around the arched tops of the windows, which are also known as the lunettes.
The frescoes on the ceiling consist of a series of nine paintings including God’s Creation of the World, the Creation of Adam, God’s Relationship with Mankind, and Mankind’s Fall from God’s Grace.
To be able to reach the ceiling, Michelangelo created his own scaffold. It was a wooden platform that was supported by brackets. This scaffold was positioned high up, close to the top of the windows.
So that the ceiling was easily visible from the ground level, Michelangelo used very bright colors. On the lowest portion of the ceiling, he painted the ancestors of Christ. On top of this, he painted both male and female prophets and over the altar he placed Jonah. On the uppermost portion of the ceiling, he created a series of nine paintings which represented nine stories from the Book of Genesis. There are a total of 300 Biblical scenes painted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The more well-known among these scenes are the Great Flood and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
The Last Judgement, a fresco, was painted between 1535 and 1541, when Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Paul III Farnese. This work covers the complete end wall of the chapel. To accommodate this fresco, the two large windows set into the altar wall were closed. The Last Judgment depicts the resurrection of Christ and the Apocalypse. As compared to the other frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, the figures in this painting are heavily muscled and appear to be fearful of God. Michelangelo had to face severe criticism for this work as he had shown naked figures in the painting. He was accused of immorality and obscenity. The genitalia in the fresco were later painted over by the artist Daniele da Volterra.
Surprisingly enough, Michelangelo did not like the idea of painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, as he thought it was only a means of serving the Pope’s need for grandeur. Today this same ceiling and The Last Judgment are considered monumental works. The ceiling is composed of a series of nine painting including God’s Creation of the World, God’s Relationship with Mankind, and Mankind’s Fall from God’s Grace.
Michelangelo all along felt he was not the right person for the commission to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling as he was more of a sculptor than a painter.
