Sistine Chapel (Chappella Sistina), Vatican Rome, Italy

Exterior of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican, Rome

A physical chapel of the Papal Chapel

The Sistine Chapel located in the Vatican complex was made for Pope Sixtus IV and was mainly intended for the solemn functions of the Papal Conclave. This chapel happened to be the venue for one important event; election of new Pope of the Catholic Church. As a chapel of chapels it is busy with numerous functions associated with the Papal Calendar like masses that do not involve large gathering held in Vatican (masses associated with Christmas, Easter and such occasions when the crowd would be too heavy for this small Chapel to withstand).

Pope Sixtus IV

A private place

It was made in the late 15^th century as a private chapel for the Popes; built of bricks in simple design without any external facade or dome. The chapel was designed by Baccio Pontelli and works supervised by Giovannino de Dolci.

The name of this chapel ‘Sistine’ is also put after Paul Sixtus. It is comparatively a small chapel made on the same spot the ‘Cappella Maggiore’ –an old dilapidated one that was dismantled. It has a single nave (the central place of a church building) with 12 arched windows. The inside of the chapel is partitioned by a balustrade (a rail supported by short decorative pillars).

1^st floor

God creates Adam by Michelangelo after restoration

This chapel’s interior is three storied and the lowest one –the basement is strongly vaulted with windows and a door that leads to the exterior court.

2^nd floor, above the vault is the main hall or the Church; a rectangular structure (134 feet long and 44 feet wide) with measurements matching that of the Solomon’s Temple as referred in the Old Testament. It has six large arched windows and a vaulted ceiling that rises to 68 feet in height and floor paved with multicolored marble (opus Alessandrinium).

3^rd floor

Above the church is the third storey with rest rooms for guards and an open gangway around the building; which was later roofed. The roof of the structure was tiled and as cracks began to appear due to recession had to be buttressed with very large braces altering the external appearance of the structure.

A dream-child of Sixtus

For Sixtus IV; the Sistine Chapel was his dream child; he got it dedicated to Virgin Mary and entrusted the best artists available at that time to do frescoes on its walls depicting the Biblical Scenes. The artists were great names like Boticelli, Pierto Perugino, Cosimo Roselli, Domenico Ghiraldaio etc.

(Frescoes, it is an art employed from ancient times in which objects are painted on walls with water-color before the plaster getting dry. The water-color penetrates in to the fresh plaster and creates an indelible impression).

It is on the walls of the church the frescoes are drawn by the artists in straight lines (bands) images pictures in chronological order as they appear in the Holy Text. The area behind alter was painted by Michelangelo with his masterpiece the ‘Last Judgment’.

The scenes were placed in correspondence in a high band that ran just below the windows along the walls, its lower portions were not left blank; drapery designs were created along. Much of the works done by Raphael; the original drapery made in gold and silver were looted by the invading French and got distributed all around Europe (some of them could be retrieved later).

From Moses to Jesus and St Peter Sixtus IV

Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter fresco is located in the fifth compartment in the northern wall

The next row was between the windows were portraits of 30 popes in a series starting from St Peter the first. The pictorial programs of the chapel is composed of old and ancient Testament from Moses to Christ begins from the altar and continues along the wall and end at the entrance hall.

Important frescoes

‘Christ giving keys to St Peter’ by Perugino (located in the 5^th compartment of the Northern Wall), ‘The punishment of Korah’, scenes of the ‘Life of Moses’(known as Moses cycle), the ‘Temptation of Christ’ by Boticelli, the ‘Moses cycle starts from the place behind altar and to be seen from right to left, they are 1 Moses striking an Egyptian overseer, 2 Fleeing to Medianits, 3 Dispersing a group of shepherds who prevented a girl from drawing water, 4 drawing water, 5 and 6 Divine revelation in the burning bush, 7 Moses obeying God’s Commandments, Moses triumphantly leading Israelites to freedom.

On the vault

The Temptation of Christ by Sandro Botticelli.

The real glory of the Sistine Chapel lies in the works done by Michelangelo the master artist on the vault of the church. It was initially painted in sky blue with stars; as it was not appealing enough to Pope Julius II; who wanted something immensely appealing. He called in the master who was engaged in some other works; as Julius II was someone that cannot be ignored (he was known as the Papa Terrible!). In fact Michelangelo considered himself as a sculptor and loved that job; frescoes were for him; rather silly yet he accepted the job.

A ‘terrible’ connoisseur!

The Punishment of Korah by Sandro Botticelli.

Pope Julius II had a dream of bringing back the diminished glory of Rome; moreover he wanted to excel Alexander VI in accomplishment. The initial plot of picturing the 12 Apostles suggested by Pope was not accepted by Michelangelo; as a compromise Michelangelo was given a free hand to reveal what was really in his mind on the vault! And that worked wonders; the master artist was unleashed off all the shackles; the ceiling of the chapel (131 feet long and 43 feet wide) turned out to be a canvass for images; that shook the world.

The remaking of history!

Scenes from the Life of Moses by Sandro Botticelli.

Painting on the ceiling is a hazardous job as providing platform for the artist to stand and work and posture strains the artist’s health etc. Michelangelo first made a self designed scaffold to stand and work; as the ceiling was too wet and mould started to appear; he applied a type of plaster that was mould resistant; concocted by himself (the intonaco) and started his work on the ceiling that lasted 4 years (1508 -1512).

The main panel down the center contains scenes from the Book of Genesis; starting from the creation of Adam, the Fall, and up to the deluge of Noah, the Ignudi (it is a word coined by Michelangelo himself; meaning 20 nude male figures all portrayed in a style blending classical and contemporary features), numerous Cibyls (female characters who uttered prophecies regarding the arrival of the Messiah) and prophets on the sidelines, totally there are 300 figures on the ceiling.

The Last Judgment

St Bartholomew displaying his flayed skin (a self-portrait by Michelangelo) in the Last Judgement

Is a huge portrait which occupies the entire wall behind the altar, this was done 27 years after his previous assignment to draw on the vault. This massive picture describes the second coming of the Christ and judging the dead based on their deeds while they lived. The images behind the altar wall face the people; god’s all powerfulness and terror in the eyes of sinners was enough to create devotion among the believers. Michelangelo himself appears in two images one as a flayed skin in the hand of St Bartholomew with Michelangelo’s head and the other rising from the grave!

A controversy and an artistic revenge!

All the clergy were not that impressed upon the uncompromising approach of Michelangelo and the strong images that were pictured as they were not as what they wanted to be. Cardinal Carafa and Monsignor Semini blamed Michelangelo for blatant obscenity and organized the ‘fig leaf’ campaign to stop the work. Michelangelo himself a strong believer in an artists right of expression was not relenting either. He gave Biagio’s face to Minos (the former tyrant king in Crete who was being punished in hell; entwined by a deadly serpent!)

Time has its impact

As four centuries passed have their impact upon the paintings, moreover the earlier restorers cleaned it rather too harsh that the paintings done on fresh plaster (buon fresco) began to thin out letting the earlier pictures poking their heads out; creating panic among art lovers.

Nor modification

One reason attributed was that Michelangelo did never do a repeat work on painting like correction or modification and as the work was over he went after a new one hence the coat was not as thick as the restorers perceived.

Restoration

Interior of the Sistine Chapel in vatican, Rome

The comprehensive restoration work that started on 7^th November, 1984 took ten years to complete; it included the removal of the ‘works’ made by Daniele da Volterra.

Daniele Volterra was an Italian mannerist painter (nick named II Braghettone (the breaches maker) as he was engaged by the church to give vests to the exposed parts of human bodies pictured in Michelangelo’s images).

There were also dispute among restorers regarding the actual intention of the painter for which he made particular strokes; whatever be the out come the restoration was a great work and without timely interference the great treasure of a work would have disappeared behind the scenes of time.