Michelangelo sistine chapel last judgement

Sistine Chapel fresco by Michelangelo

The Last Judgment (Italian: Il Giudizio Universale)^[1] is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.

Michelangelo sistine chapel last judgement

It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. The dead rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ who is surrounded by prominent saints. Altogether there are over figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes; many were later partly covered up by painted draperies, of which some remain after recent cleaning and restoration.

The work took over four years to complete between and (preparation of the altar wall began in ). Michelangelo began working on it 25 years after having finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and was nearly 67 at its completion.^[2] He had originally accepted the commission from Pope Cle