The Sistine Chapel (/ˌsɪsˈtiːnˈtʃæpəl/; Latin: Sacellum Sixtinum; Italian: Cappella Sistina[kapˈpɛllasiˈstiːna]) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, it has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The chapel's fame lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate its interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.
During the reign of Sixtus IV, a team of Renaissance painters including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, created a series of frescos depicting the Life of Moses and the Life of Christ, offset by papal portraits above and trompe-l'œil drapery below. They were completed in 1482, and on 15 August 1483 Sixtus IV celebrated the first mass in the Sistine Chapel for the Feast of the Assumption, during which the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.[3][4]
Between 1508 and 1512, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the chapel's ceiling, a project that changed the course of Western art and is regarded as one of the major artistic accomplishments of human civilization.[5][6] In a different political climate, after the Sack of Rome, he returned and, between 1535 and 1541, painted The Last Judgment for Popes Clement VII and Paul III.[7] The fame of Michelangelo's paintings has drawn multitudes of visitors to the chapel since they were revealed five centuries ago.
^ abcCite error: The named reference EHT2006_313 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Vatican City, Whc.unesco.org, archived from the original on 25 December 2017, retrieved 9 August 2011
^Pietrangeli 1986, p. 28
^Monfasani, John (1983), "A Description of the Sistine Chapel under Pope Sixtus IV", Artibus et Historiae, 4 (7), IRSA s.c.: 9–18, doi:10.2307/1483178, ISSN 0391-9064, JSTOR 1483178, archived from the original on 1 August 2015, retrieved 7 March 2009.
^Gardner, Helen (1970) Art through the Ages, p. 469, Harcourt, Brace and World. ISBN 978-0-15-508315-8
^Robert Coughlan, The World of Michelangelo, Time-Life International, (1966) p. 116
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