Sistine Chapel ceiling Sistine Chapel ceiling The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is that of the Sistine Chapel, the large papal chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV, for whom the chapel is named. It was painted at the commission of Pope Julius II. The chapel is the location for papal conclaves and many other important services. The ceiling's various painted elements form part of a larger scheme of decoration within the Chapel, which includes the large fresco "The Last Judgment" on
Sistine Chapel with wet straw and chemical additives — it means that no successful election has yet occurred. The first papal conclave to be held on the Sistine Chapel was the conclave of 1492, which took place from August 6 from August 11 of the same year and in which Pope Alexander VI, also known as Rodrigo Borja, was elected. The conclave also provided for the cardinals a space in which they could hear mass, and in which they could eat, sleep, and pass time attended by servants. From 1455, conclaves have been held in the Vatican; until the Great Schism, they