The Last Judgement Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to paint a fresco of The Last Judgement on the wall of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo portrayed God in the centre raising the dead to Heaven, as the damned fall to Hell. He included the story from Ancient Rome of Charon, the boatman, ferrying the people across the River Styx.
Did You Know? Michelangelo included a self-portrait in
The Last Judgement as the flayed skin held by Saint Bartholomew, below and to the right of Christ.
1. Why do you think this is considered a great painting?
2. How would you compare it with the painting of the ceiling?
The Last Judgement was painted behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel
How good was Michelangelo as an architect? Michelangelo was given the job of redesigning the Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Ancient Rome. He created a square (piazza) with three palaces around it and steps leading up to it. The buildings followed Classical (or Roman) designs.
What features of Classical architecture can you see in the Campidoglio?
The Campidoglio, a square on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, designed by Michelangelo 92
