It was Pope Sixtus IV who commissioned and gave the name to the Sistine Chapel. But it was in 1508 that Pope Julius II gave the chapel worldwide fame when he commissioned the amazing Italian artist Michelangelo to paint the 10,000 square foot ceiling with his creative frescoes.

On your way to view the Sistine Chapel and its amazing ceiling, you’ll find many other amazing artistic delights. Nearby to the Chapel is the Vatican Museum - a marvel that should require you to spend at least 1 - 2 days exploring its treasures. Also, St. Peter’s Basilica (with its magnificent Dome) contains Michaelangelo’s “The Pieta” - another treasure of the great artist himself.

By comparison to many of the other huge buildings in Rome, The Sistine Chapel is relatively small at only 135 feet wide by 44 feet tall. But in this small building are some of the most important works of art in modern history - art works that any museum in the world would be eager to add to their collections. We can be grateful that the Vatican takes good care of these treasures as evidenced by the major restoration work that was done to the chapel between 1979 and 1999.

Inside the Sistine Chapel, take time to look at their entire collection of great art because many well known masters have works there. Botticelli is well represented, including two of his best works, the 1482 “Life of Moses” as well as “The Punishment of Korah”. Near those art works you will find other great masters such as Rosselli, Ghirlandaio and Perugino.

But it is that magnificent ceiling that will hold your eyes for as long as you can look up. When the Pope commissioned Michelangelo to do this work, all that was there was a bland display of painted stars. It took Michelangelo four long and hard years of intense labor to complete his masterpiece. But the outcome is stunning, as he transformed that ceiling into a magnificent nine-panel master art work that is beyond compare.

Michelangelo used a variety of stories from the Old Testament of the Hebrew Bible to fill his painting with prophets, Noah, Sibyls, unnamed male nude figures and even the most famous segment showing the almighty God Jehovah touching his finger to Adam to bring mankind to life.

The restoration that was done in the late 20th century brought back the stunning colors that most consider to be the work of one of the finest painters ever known. The writer Goethe described the ceiling beautifully when he wrote:

“Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving.”

Michelangelo had to invent a special kind of scaffold that he would use for the four year time frame as the painting was created. The work was hard and dangerous and at times the paint itself almost blinded him. And the master had to develop and put to use many new innovations in painting never used before. One such invention was a completely new kind of plaster called intonaco which was capable of resisting mold and that held paint in place much better than previous designs. This plaster is still used by painters of modern times.

By 1512, the majority of the work on the painting was done. But to Michelangelo it was not complete until he came back 20 years later to add The Last Judgment. This part of the artwork took him from 1525 until 1541 to complete. Not only would your trip to the Sistine chapel be lacking if you didn’t spend time admiring this part of Michelangelo’s master work, but The Last Judgment is impossible not to notice as it fills the back wall of the chapel completely.

The Last Judgment had many challenging and fascinating concepts presented in artistic form, including a self portrait depiction of St. Bartholomew having his skin flayed. During his lifetime, Michelangelo endured much criticism for his work, particularly for his use of nudes in his paintings. While his stature allowed Michelangelo to win against his adversaries, sadly after his passing, many of his paintings were marred by censors who went back and blotted out the genitals of those nudes.

Even tourists for whom great art is not a passion will come away awe struck by the Sistine Chapel ceiling. And when you go home from your time in Rome, you will know that your trip was complete because you took the time to see this great masterpiece in the only place it will ever be shown, on the ceiling of this ancient chapel.

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