Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes and by the painting of the "Last Judgment", commissioned by Pope Clement VII and completed in 1541, again by Michelangelo. The tapestries on the lowest tier, today best known from the Raphael Cartoons (painted designs) of 1515–16, completed the ensemble. Together the paintings make up the greatest pictorial scheme of the Renaissance. Individually, some of Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling are among the most notable works of western art ever created. The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel and in particular the ceiling and accompanying lunettes by Michelangelo have been subject to a number of restorations, the most recent taking place
Sistine Chapel Choir Michael's Cathedral Basilica. Sistine Chapel Choir The Sistine Chapel Choir, as it is generally called in English, or properly the "Coro della Cappella Musicale Pontificia" in Italian, is one of the oldest choirs in the world, having been formally active since 1471. Based in Vatican City, it normally comprises twenty men (tenors and basses) and thirty boys (sopranos and altos), the latter receiving free tuition. As early as in the pontificate of Sylvester I (314–35), a regularly constituted company of singers, under the name of "schola cantorum", lived together in a building devoted to their exclusive use. The word ""schola""