Image: Wikimedia
The Sistine Chapel named after Pope Sixtus IV was restored in 1477. Its frescoed ceiling has lasted over five centuries.
Image: Wikimedia
In 1508 Michelangelo began painting the Sistine Ceiling working backward from Noah to Eve's creation in the fifth vault bay.
Image: Wikimedia
Michelangelo suffered while painting, writing a poem lamenting his pain and stating, “I am not a painter; this is not my place.”
Image: Wikimedia
In the Last Judgement, St. Bartholomew holds his flayed skin, often seen as Michelangelo’s melancholy self-portrait.
Image: Wikimedia
The angels and robes around God in the ceiling resemble the human brain, complete with stem, frontal lobe, and arteries.
Image: Wikimedia
Michelangelo’s depiction of God as a wise old man with white hair and a beard revolutionized religious art in the Renaissance.
Image: Wikimedia
Critics of Michelangelo’s nude figures in the Sistine Chapel called them disgraceful but they remained after his death.
Image: Wikimedia
Papal conclaves have been held in the Sistine Chapel since the 15th century with white smoke signaling a new pope’s election.
Image: Wikimedia
Gary Bevan had no academic art training but in 1987 after visiting the Vatican he painted a duplicate of the Sistine Chapel in West Sussex.
Image: Wikimedia
The Sistine Chapel ceiling showcases nine scenes from Genesis including the well-known "Creation of Adam" that is frequently likened to the Mona Lisa.
Image: Wikimedia