THE SISTINE CHAPEL,
built by Sixtus IV. in 1473. It is celebrated for its paintings in fresco by Michael Angelo; the roof alone occupied twenty months in the painting.
The Roof.—On the flat part are nine compartments illustrative of—(1) The Separation of Light from Darkness; (2) Creation of the Sun and Moon; (3) Land and Sea; (4) Adam; (5) Eve; (6) the Fall and Expulsion (the figure of Eve is considered to be the most perfect painting of the female form in existence); (7) the Sacrifice of Noah; (8) the Deluge; (9) Noah inebriated. These are bordered by sitting figures of prophets and sibyls: over the altar, Jonah; on the left, Joel, the Sibyl Erithræa, Ezekiel, the Sibyl Persica, Jeremiah and Zechariah; on the right, the Sibyl Lybica, Daniel, the Sibyl Cumæa, Isaiah, and the Sibyl Delphica. In the four corners are—Moses lifting up the Brazen Serpent, King Artaxerxes, Esther and Haman, David and Goliath, Judith and Holofernes. In the arches over the windows, and in the recesses, Genealogy of Christ from Abraham to Joseph.
The Walls.—Behind the altar is the great fresco of Michael Angelo, representing the Last Judgment, designed by him when in his sixtieth year, and completed in eight years (1540). At the top is our Saviour, with the Virgin seated on his right, above angels bearing the instruments of the passion. On one side of our Lord are saints and patriarchs, and on the other martyrs. Below, a group of angels sounding the last trump and bearing the books of judgment. On the right is represented the fall of the condemned; Charon ferrying some of them across the river Styx, striking the tumultuous with his oar. The figure in the right-hand corner, representing Midas with ass's ears, is Messer Biagio of Casena, the Pope's master of the ceremonies, who said the nude figures were indecent; on which account the Pope ordered Daniele da Volterra to cover them with drapery, which obtained for him the cognomen of Braghettone (breeches-maker). Michael Angelo said, "Let the Pope reform the world, and the pictures will reform themselves." And to spite Biagio, he represented him in hell, whereat he complained to the Pope in order to have his figure removed. The Pope replied that as he was in hell he must stop there, as he had no power to release from hell, but from purgatory! On the left, the blessed are ascending to heaven assisted by angels and saints.
Between the windows, portraits of the Popes of the time, by the artist of the subject below. The lower part of the walls is painted in imitation of drapery, over which were hung on grand ceremonies tapestries from Raphael's cartoons.
On the side walls are scenes from the life of Moses typical of the life of our Lord. On entering, to the right—
| TYPE. | FULFILMENT. |
| Moses and Zipporah going down into Egypt. By Luca Signorelli. | Baptism of Christ in Jordan. By Perugino. |
| Moses slaying the Egyptian. Driving away the shepherds. The Lord appearing in the burning bush. By Sandro Botticelli. | Our Lord being tempted. By Sandro Botticelli. |
| Pharaoh overwhelmed in the Red Sea. By Cosimo Rosselli. | Christ calling Peter and Andrew. By Dom Ghirlandajo. |
| Moses receiving the tables of the law. Destruction of the Golden Calf. By Cosimo Rosselli. | The Sermon on the Mount. By Cosimo Rosselli. |
| Destruction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the sons of Aaron. By Sandro Botticelli. | Christ giving unto Peter "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. xvi. 19). By Perugino. |
| Death of Moses. Reading of the law. By Luca Signorelli. | The Last Supper. By Cosimo Rosselli. |
| The Archangel contending about the body of Moses.[7] By Francesco Salviati. | Christ's Resurrection. By Dom Ghirlandajo. |
Apply to the custodi of the Sistine Chapel to visit the Pauline Chapel, which is entered from the