Last Judgment

About 30 years after the ceiling, Michelangelo frescoed The Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel.
This work was commissioned by Pope Clement VII who died before seeing it completed.

What can you see in the Last Judgement?

In the Last Judgment, Michelangelo depicts the moment when the angels blow the trumpets as the Apocalypse unfolds. Christ resurrects the dead, taking the righteous with him into Paradise and ordering the angels to throw the damned into hell.

In the center is Christ with the Virgin; around his figure are some characters from the Old Testament: prophets, apostles, heroines, sibyls and patriarchs. Saints, virgins and martyrs also appear.

The band below is divided into five sectors with angels with trumpets in the centre.
At the bottom left is the resurrection of the dead, while the blessed rise a little above.
On the right side, the damned above are cast into Hell, which has been frescoed in the lower part.

Michelangelo had to paint only the 12 figures of the apostles. At the end of the proceedings of the Last Judgment there were more than 300 characters present.

Michelangelo was accused of immorality and obscenity by Cardinal Carafa because he had painted nude figures, with the genitals in evidence.
A censorship campaign was thus organized (known as the "campaign of fig leaves") to cover the obscenities of the frescoes by Daniele da Volterra. Today, fortunately, one can admire the fresco in the original version frescoed by Michelangelo because following restoration work, the complaints were removed.