Sistine Chapel ceiling Elijah's role as a prophet was one marked by accusation and warnings to repent, and the purpose of his translation into Heaven was traditionally seen as so that he might stand before God to condemn Israel for its sins. In four of the five most highly finished "medallions" the space is crowded with figures in violent action, similar to Michelangelo's cartoon for the "Battle of Cascina". The application of gold on the shields, in contrast to its absence on the rest of the ceiling, serves to link the ceiling to some extent with the frescoes around the walls. In the
Sistine Chapel Choir Thus the ""magister capellae"" came immediately after the cardinals, followed, in the order given, by the ""sacrista"", ""cantores"", ""capellani"" and ""clerici"". With the building by Sixtus IV (1471–84) of the church for the celebration of all papal functions since known as the Sistine Chapel, the original ""schola cantorum"" and subsequent ""capella pontificia"" or ""capella papale"" became the ""capella sistina"", or Sistine Choir. Up to this time the number of singers had varied considerably, there being sometimes as few as nine men and six boys. By a Bull dated November, 1483, Sixtus IV fixed the number at twenty-four, six for each