Video from Smarthistory
Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is one of Michelangelo's most famous works. Learn more about the history of this masterpiece. 1508-12, fresco (Vatican, Rome). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
The Sistine Chapel ceiling (Italian: Volta della Cappella Sistina), painted by Michelangelo between 1508 - 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is in the Sistine Chapel, the large papal chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 - 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named. It was painted at the commission of Pope Julius II.