THE WORLDWIDE FAMOUS PAINTERS

'Last Judgment'
The Last Judgment is
a painting covering the whole altar wall
of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.
Altogether there are over 300 figures,
with nearly all the males and angels
originally shown as nudes; many were
later partly covered up by painted
draperies, of which some remain after
recent cleaning and restoration.
The work took over four years to
complete between 1536 and 1541
(preparation of the altar wall began in
1535). Michelangelo began working on
it twenty-five years after having finished
the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and was
nearly 67 at its completion. In the lower
part of the fresco, Michelangelo
followed tradition in showing the saved
ascending at the left and the damned