Inside the Sistine Chapel

                 The chapel was completed in 1483 during the reign of Pope Sixtus IV, the chapel's namesake.  It was built according to the dimensions in the Old Testament description of the Temple of Solomon.  Its walls are adorned with works by various artists, but its spectacular ceiling and altar wall, painted by Michelangelo in the early 1500s, are the most famous.  The works are frescoes, which means that they are actually part of the plaster, not just painted on top.

The chapel ceiling
Is considered by many to be the gold standard to which all subsequent figure painting is measured ----- though Michelangelo considered himself a much better sculptor than painter.

Odd detail
Michelangelo was reluctant to paint The Last Judgement because of fatigue and age.  It is believed that he painted his own droopy likeness onto the flayed skin of St. Bartholomew to express his weariness.

Not without humor:
Biagio da Cesena, Pope Paul III's master of ceremonies, heavily criticized Michelangelo's work for its use of nudity.  The painter got his revenge by putting da Cesena's face on Minos, judge of the underworld.

At the alter:
cardinals place their votes on a plate.

Back of the chapel:
is not used for the conclave.

Front of the chapel:
where the cardinals meet.