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."
Sistine Chapel ceiling and passionate Christian beliefs. The Sistine Chapel is 40.9 metres long and 14 metres wide. The ceiling rises to 13.4 metres above the main floor of the chapel. The vault is of quite a complex design and it is unlikely that it was originally intended to have such elaborate decoration. Pier Matteo d'Amelia provided a plan for its decoration with the architectural elements picked out and the ceiling painted blue and dotted with gold stars, similar to that of the Arena Chapel decorated by Giotto at Padua. The chapel walls have three horizontal tiers with six windows in the upper