Gallery of Sistine Chapel ceiling on the Flight into Egypt. The "Ignudi" which surround the narrative scenes may show the perfection of Humanity, or may represent angels. They were often imitated by other artists. The shields represent violent episodes in the history of Israel. Gallery of Sistine Chapel ceiling The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. Central to the ceiling decoration are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis of which "The Creation of Adam" is the best known, the hands of God and Adam being reproduced in countless imitations.
Sistine Chapel ceiling Julius who began the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in 1506, as the most potent symbol of the source of papal power. In the same year 1506, Pope Julius conceived a program to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The walls of the chapel had been decorated twenty years earlier. The lowest of three levels is painted to resemble draped hangings and was (and sometimes still is) hung on special occasions with the set of tapestries designed by Raphael. The middle level contains a complex scheme of frescoes illustrating the "Life of Christ" on the right side and the