Sistine Chapel
When we hear the name “Sistine Chapel” the first thing that comes to mind is Michelangelo, and vice versa. The chapel and the artist are bound in eternity in the human cultural mind.
Part of the buildings contained in the Vatican complex, the Sistine Chapel appears as an innocuous rectangle from the outside; one would never know looking at this very old, but decidedly plain building of what magical treasures of art lie within. Other famous artists beside Michelangelo painted parts of the interior, but his utterly incredible ceiling is known the world over, and his The Last Judgment, a mural-sized painting covering the entirety of the wall behind the altar stand out among the treasure trove of works.
The chapel’s original name was changed to “Sistine” in honour of Pope Sixtus IV who undertook the refurbishment of the space from 1477-80. Nearly 30 years later, Michelangelo applied his deft touch on the ceiling; from 1508-12 he painted The Last Judgement.
You may have seen the Sistine Chapel if you watched the 2019 film, “The Two Popes”; if you did, that is enough inspiration to visit Rome and marvel at it in person.