FILE: 20_Sistine Ceiling_Michelangelo.jpg

TITLE: PAINTING - Sistine Ceiling - HIGH ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

DESCRIPTION: by MICHELANGELO. FRESCO. VATICAN PALACE, ROME. Ceiling 70' high. Sistine Chapel named after its builder, Pope Sixtus. Michelangelo stopped work on tomb for Pope Julius II in order to do Sistine Ceiling. 300 figures. Down the center: Scenes from Old Testament foretelling coming of Christ. Along ceiling's sides in triangular SPANDRELS and LUNETTES: Hebrew prophets and Greek sybils from mythology (females who could see future). Each scene tells its own story and is separated by FAUX ARCHITECTURE and 4 "IGNUDI" (nudes). CEILING IS NOT ILLUSIONIST since it has multiple scenes sharing the same space. ILLUSIONIST ceilings have one scene sharing the same space = see Mantegna, Early Ren #34 & Correggio, Mannerist Style #5). Side walls are scenes painted by various artists of the day (see #9, Delivery of Keys to Peter) .