The Last Judgment is a canonical fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo executed on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The work took four years to complete and was done between 1536 and 1541 Michelangelo began working on it some twenty years after having finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. The souls of humans rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ... surrounded by prominent saints including Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Peter, Lawrence, Bartholomew, Paul, Peter Simon, Sebastian, John the Baptist, and others. The Last Judgment was an object of a heavy dispute between critics within the Catholic counter-reformation and those who understood the genius of the artist and the mannerist style of the painting. Michelangelo was accused of being insensitive to proper decorum, and of flaunting personal style over appropriate depictions of content.
more
| Artist: | Michelangelo |
| Artform: | Fresco |
| Date begun: | 1535 |
| Date completed: | 1541 |
| Genre: | History painting, Christian art |
| Height: | 44' 11" |
| Width: | 40' 0" |