Today, 133 cardinals around the world enter the conclave to determine the next pope, during which they will vote in the Sistine chapel. Despite one of the most famous tourist attractions in Europe, the Sistine Chapel still serves as a place of official functions as important, just as it did since its completion in 1481. When its Homonyh Rosselli Pope. He also made the unusual choice to have the ceiling of the crossed cramp covered with a blue and gold paint from the night sky, skillfully executed by Piermatteo Lauro from ‘Manfredi da Amelia.
Cardinals no longer vote for their next leader under the stars, and they also have no half-millennial. Even if you have never set foot in the Sistine Chapel, you surely know it as the building whose ceiling was painted by MichelangeloLying flat on a scaffold all the time (a pleasant but very doubtful image in collective cultural memory).
In fact, this master of the masters of the Renaissance only touched his brush in the place in 1508. He had been brought by a subsequent pope, Julius II, after having first resisted the commission, insisting that he was a sculptor first, not a painter. Fortunately for lovers of Renaissance art, not only Julius II prevailed over Michelangelo, therefore, almost thirty years later, Paul III, who had him painted on the altar, the work which turned out to be the Last Judgment.
In the video at The top of the postYouTuber Manuel Bravo of history and architecture (previously presented here on open culture for his explanations on historical places such as Venice,, PompeiTHE Cathedral of Santa Maria del FioreAnd Saint-Pierre Basilicawhich was also affected by Michelangelo's hand) recounts a 3D virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel. This format makes it possible to see not only his many works of biblical art, by Michelangelo and a host of other painters in addition, from all possible angles, but also the building itself as it would have looked in past eras, even before Michelangelo made its contribution. The more you understand each individual element, the better you can appreciate this “real Divina Commedia of the Renaissance ”, as Bravo calls it, when you can see him in person.
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Based in Seoul, Colin MArshall Written and broadcastTS on cities, language and culture. His projects include the substack newsletter Books on cities And the book The stateless city: a walk through Los Angeles from the 21st century. Follow it on the social network formerly known as Twitter in @ColinmArshall.
