Sistine Chapel ceiling Section reference. Michelangelo wrote a poem describing the arduous conditions under which he worked The overt subject matter of the ceiling is the doctrine of humanity's need for Salvation as offered by God through Jesus. It is a visual metaphor of Humankind's need for a covenant with God. The Old Covenant of the Children of Israel through Moses and the New Covenant through Christ had already been represented around the walls of the chapel. Some experts, including Benjamin Blech and Vatican art historian Enrico Bruschini, have also noted less overt subject matter, which they describe as being "concealed" and "forbidden."
Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes out of the gloom above the lunette of Jesse. Arguimbau says: Richard Serrin, in an essay entitled "Lies and Misdemeanors: Gianluigi Colalucci's Sistine Chapel Revisited" says: Carlo Pietrangeli, former Director General of the Vatican Museums, writes of the restoration: "It is like opening a window in a dark room and seeing it flooded with light." His words resonate with those of Giorgio Vasari who, in the 16th century, said of the Sistine Chapel ceiling: Pietrangeli, in his foreword to "The Sistine Chapel", written after the restoration of the lunettes, but prior to the restoration of the ceiling, commends those who