The Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel was built by Giovannino de' Dolci for Pope Sixtus IV, in 1473. Sixtus IV is the Pontiff who also built the Sistine Bridge (Ponte Sisto) over the Tiber, is the founder of the Sistine Choir, and one of the Popes who developed into greatness the Vatican Library.

The Chapel was named after him, and was intended for the most important ceremonies. It is in this Chepel that the Cardinals sit in Conclave to elect the new Pope. Its architecture is very simple, a great hallshaped building (43 metres long, 13 metres wide and 26 metres high). A wonderful marble screen by Mino da Fiesole, XV century, divides the chapel; one section, the larger one, is reserved for the clergy, the other for the congregation. The floor in the opus Alexandrinum echoes the mediaeval Cosmatesque art; the paintings engage our attention on them more has been written perhaps than on any other work of art in the whole world, The decoration of the chapel reflects the Mediaeval conception, according to which the world was divided into three epochs: the first, before God gave the Laws to Moses; the second, after the Laws were given to Moses and the third, the period of grace starting with the Birth of Christ.

The two side walls were painted first. On one side are the panels with the Life of Moses, on the other the Life of Christ. The Old and The New Testament. These frescoes were executed by eminent Florentine and Umbrian painters. Starting from the Last Judgement, the scenes from the Life of Moses are as follows: Moses and his wife in Egypt; the Circumcision of their Son, by Pinturicchio and his pupils; the Burning Bush, Moses killing the Egyptian and Driving the Midianites from the fountain, Jethro's daughters by Botticelli; Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea, painted by Domenico Rosselli or Ghirlandaio; Moses on Mt. Sinai and the Golden Calf by Cosimo Rosselli; the Punishment of Korah, Dathan and Abiram by Botticelli; Moses giving the Rod to Joshua and the Death of Moses, by Luca Signorelli and Bartolomeo della Gatta. The panels with the Life of Christ on the other wall represent: the Baptism of Christ, by Pinturicchio or Perugino; the Temptation by Botticelli; the Calling of St. Peter and St. Andrew, by Domenico del Ghirlandaio; the Sermon on the Mount, by Cosimo Rosselli and Piero di Cosimo; the Consignment of the Keys, by Perugino; the Last Supper by Cosimo Rosselli.

For two years these prominent artists worked side by side to paint the chapel; for two years each of them endeavoured to produce his masterpiece. The decoration was accomplished between 1480 82.

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