Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

[@henry-bo3np]

Most of us have never been to the Sistine Chapel. And yet Michelangelo's ceiling paintings are so iconic that many of us are quite familiar with them. It is without a doubt one of the world's greatest works of art.

[@Truther2001]

Your comment, and watching this video, has just made me appreciate (in such a way I cannot even find the right words) how grateful I am that I had the pleasure and privilege of living in Italy for 10yrs and that my kids are half Italian. I was in Rome just this week, while travelling back to Malta, and took a selfie with the colosseum! The Vatican is such a wondrous place that I think, if funds allow, everyone with an artistic bone in their body should visit at least once in their lives.

[@johnabney3530]

Each panel is a masterpiece in addition to the ceiling as a whole - that’s 10 masterpieces in one place. Unparalleled and I think it is the greatest artwork ever accomplished.

[@earthakitt3661]

To anyone who is non-Christian, the art in churches is because a lot of people back then didn't know how to read or write and therefore didn't have a vast knowledge of the Bible. So fortunate people like Michelangelo who actually did have a good sense of literacy used art to explain and symbolize stories and events of the Bible. This is also seen in stained glass windows which are also in many Christian structures of worship.

[@iamnoone348]

It's similar to Buddhist temples...Buddha himself said that no image or statue of him should be made but not all people could read his teachings that's why there are a lot of mural paintings in the temples.

[@charlylopezmusic]

people back then didn't know how to read or write, the church took advantage of that and told the people a story. People didn't have any way to verify or criticize objectively anything, so they just believed the story they were told. Today we are in a position where we can say if that story is true or not.

[@john-lj7te]

That's kind of an insult to Michaelangelo to suggest that his masterpiece was supposed to serve as a picture book for serfs and commoners. I think the reason art is in churches is because the church was wealthy and it was the cultural hub of Europe at the time. And art is the ultimate expression of culture. There are easier ways to help illiterates understand a book. Like reading it out to them, for example.

[@iandorian611]

john I appreciate your zeal I’m certain you are both correct But pictures and sculptures taught even those that didn’t speak the language And Images are inspirational and express in a more complex and yet immediate and memorable way This was painted to venerate Their God To clearly demonstrate the lineage To inspire faith and conversion To demonstrate the strength of the church To beautify the chapel

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

@@john-lj7te as someone who studied art history, yes, the illiterate population did depend on paintings, sculptures, and stained glass to tell them stories of the Bible. Patrons hired the best artists they could afford (so of course the pope hired Michelangelo) because it reflected on their status and wealth.

[@fidelspagolla22]

I was there just yesterday, it is breathtaking.

[@fidelspagolla22]

Well, I booked the ticket online and went there during the day. If you do the same you avoid standing in long lines. =)

[@PILOSOPAUL]

Have you been to the Raphael Rooms as well?

[@claireglory]

i was there yesterday, i felt nothing.

[@hayley5712]

Ok

[@Lilly-hh9es]

​@@claireglory because you don't value true art and beauty

[@danman7438]

You guys are such experts it blows my mind! Not only your knowledge but your passion and articulate unpacking of information. Clearly you have both spent a great deal of time in your fields. Thank you!

[@Truther2001]

Underrated comment right here!

[@karenmattera8123]

Wonderful description. I had the opportunity to see this masterpiece in person a few years ago. Looking forward to my next visit. Your commentaries open my eyes and inspire me to learn more. Thank you.

[@snipermafia3609]

One day I'm gonna visit the Sistine Chapel. I'm gonna be more mesmerized now that I know the story and creation of such a magnificent piece by a historical artist from the Renaissance Period. Magnifico!

[@weixiangzhang1060]

wow, I cried. thank you for making this.

[@TheMactoni]

Love this series. Brief, clear, delicate voices… even the jazz ending. You re great. Thank you!

[@SonicPhonic]

Fantastic video which presents Michelangelo's architecture of his Sistine Chapel better than anything else I've seen!

[@dps812]

Just heard this while in the Sistine Chapel. What a feeling. Thanks for such amazing and accurate description

[@smarthistory-art-history]

What fun! We were also just there a few days ago. December is a great time to visit.

[@aminsyed2205]

Is here permitted every person.

[@uffa00001]

@@aminsyed2205 If that's a question, yes, every person who visits the Vatican Musea also visits the Sistine Chapel, but you need to pay the ticket and to queue, and the queue can be discouragingly long. If that is referred to religion, yes of course, Italy is not a barbarian Country, and you can visit a church regardless of what your religion is.

[@Truther2001]

What a great idea, I'm going to save this video and do the same next time I'm in Rome. Tnx 🙏🙏🙏

[@thegreathawk3659]

(Michelangelo high up on scaffolding at night, painting, with the gleam of unparalleled genius in his eyes and nearly reaching a perfect union with god. Then he drops his brush and it tumbles down 40 feet and it lands with an echoing thud down below): *"SONOMABITCH!"*

[@darrenjohnson2912]

🤣🤣🤣

[@radioactivedetective6876]

😁 reality strikes

[@joshvalle5521]

yup

[@baharmonyy]

Haaaaa

[@jenn5628]

😂

[@xihuantiyu]

I visited this place last month. It was magnificent. Almost all other part of Vatican museum is open for taking pictures except this chapel. I quietly took a few shots without aiming from the viewfinder of my DSLR. It made me feel like I got a piece of painting on the ceiling.

[@NoU-ou9tc]

Not the most religious person by any means but to hear and see them explain his art in the chapel is amazing, the art is amazing and the story it depicts is captivating

[@Truther2001]

Likewise

[@johnhranty]

Michelangelo, painted the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome, 1509-1512. Fresco; 5800 sq. ft.

[@rupertrozells5816]

So inspirational, Michelangelo is a master genius of all time. He must be God's gift to mankind. His paintings are lifelike &it looks better than photographs. His paintings are a divine creation bestowed from God Almighty.

[@kedarisgreat]

I was there the day before. You have to spent about 3-4 hours through the Vatican Musuem before you reach the Sistine chapel. Your neck is already sour as you watch countless ceiling art through the Vatican. But as you reach the Sistine chapel, you realise the worth of that hustle. You take seat and try to grasp the realisation that you are seeing Michelangelo’s work with your own eyes. Your mind creates the image of Michelangelo working in the chapel above the scaffold to create this masterpiece. You thank the lord for this day and then it dawns upon you that you are in the room of lord.

[@MJTributeChannel2040]

Michelangelo was the definiton of a pure genius. Every single brush stroke of this absolutely incredible art was done by that ONE man! Everytime I let that fact sink in, I feel a bit lost in the vastness of my own mind. If one human can do something like this, imagine what we could do together if we all would unfold and unite the power of our souls and the heavenly spirit that lies deep inside of us. The world would be a different place...

[@Raysliquidity]

My only complaint- I wish this was longer, would have loved to hear both narrators explore more of the chapel

[@smarthistory-art-history]

We do have more, please visit Smarthistory: smarthistory.org/michelangelo-last-judgment/ and smarthistory.org/perugino-christ-giving-the-keys-of-the-kingdom-to-st-peter/ and while not in the chapel, very near by smarthistory.org/raphael-school-of-athens/ and smarthistory.org/bernini-st-peters-square-2/

[@nyx4081]

What a moment in time indeed... When time travel becomes real I am going there to see this amazing artists at work 😜

[@PILOSOPAUL]

You guys made me realize how these paintings in the Sistine Chapel is full of stories about oppositions and separations Light-Day, Earth-Sky, Man-Woman, Good-Evil (original sin), separation of the sea, etc. and the greatest separation of all, the grand depiction of the Judgment Day behind the altar Ironically, this place houses not separation but the unity of divine vote for the selection of the next Pope

[@roidAholic]

This place is breathtaking

[@annsh6906]

Amazing Michelangelo's art works

[@circle2867]

i like the fact that they all worked out in these depictions

[@ChristineGPadua]

Very insightful!! WOWWW!! I AM AMAZED!!!

[@mohammadnayeem9383]

Mohammad to the first

[@gazellepop]

Stupendous work of art and it plays a trick on your eyes...

[@Gk-nm2jv]

I just haven't enough words to appreciate you for your great work!!!Thank YOU sooo muchhh!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@thierrybeurey9748]

Michelangelo, you mean ?

[@rickaguilar1833]

I have to book of the ceiling restored and cleaned up! Its Amazing!!

[@francisjoseph7024]

Art with extra ordinary visions.

[@scuscu2078]

Wonderful video, thank you soooo much!!!!

[@콩애기]

Thank you so much for the Korean subtitles I was really impressed 💚

[@tyty.o6314]

That is very beautiful like.....wow !!!!

[@mosesd.478]

Bless god/ the universe etc. for giving us such a genius.

[@tombakmelayu3379]

He describes God as a old man with beard, and surprisingly the images here has a strong influence of Greek God. Another question is, in the Ten Commandment item number two, clearly stated that no images of God

[@Alex-vb3do]

Been there last week. Magnificent ❤

[@lastname354]

i know this is obvious but you'd appreciate this so much more when you yourself are an artist. I literally can't find the right word to describe it in it's entirety. This is not even taking into consideration the many challenges he had to face, outside painting.

[@1231hat]

I appreciate this video. However, I wish they had shown more of the individual panels rather than the same ones over and over.

[@ma.cristinavaleriano738]

True.

[@beholt]

i loved the video and your inspiring conversation,thank you so much!

[@laurachapple6795]

When I visited the Sistine Chapel the ceiling was impressive but I wish the walls and floor got more love, as they are also breathtaking.

[@howardkoor9365]

A nice job of explaining ♥️♥️

[@jasper_of_puppets]

1:40 lol "shhhhhhhhhh"

[@Sasha0927]

Some of the frescoes on the ceiling appear to jump out at you, it's amazing... It's nice to see some cleanings can be done well - what a major difference it made! The Lybian Sybil is striking - there's something about the cracks on half of her back that actually appealed to me.. It's like kintsugi without the gold... Beautiful.

[@MilciadesAndrion]

This video takes us on a great adventure and appreciates with more intensity this great work that perhaps is beyond my knowledge. I liked the video and I subscribed to the channel.

[@amyfleming6099]

Breath-taking 😍

[@wadepitre579]

Must have been soooo difficult to create

[@jessewhite2374]

I'm an atheist but this art is amazing

[@bretdouglas9407]

the ArkhamKnight 123 im not an atheist. But wow this art is amazing

[@combatantezoteric2965]

God is what is beyond reality. God exist yet dosen't exist. The benefit of believing in Him is that you can instantly loose any connection with the world and understand that your world doesn't actually mean anything. Thus you will learn to develop your life based on things that you *know* that matter more than your selfish desires...

[@combatantezoteric2965]

It is foolish to claim that God doesn't exist in *that* way, since everything about our perspective of God is true.

[@combatantezoteric2965]

Any genuine religion is showing us the path to God and to either final liberation based on the understanding of God's true nature, or simply, based also on this understanding, of living in a working society that is made in such a way to keep this principle at absolute imoortance.

[@combatantezoteric2965]

I agree though that a cosmological and ontological god cannot exist.

[@Simonjose7258]

5:34 who are all those people carrying God? And whose that one person under his arm...looking right at Adam.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Leo Steinberg can help, start on page 70: books.google.com/books?id=IDeIswEACAAJ&pg=PA70&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=2#v=onepage&q&f=false

[@jenn5628]

Going to the Sistine Chapel is a place I would love to go to before I die

[@hatzlmike1]

Bravos for this presentation

[@bethedmonds3028]

Absutuely Amazing❣️

[@sarahmartin5730]

Michelangelo lived more than 50 years after painting frescoes in the Sistine Chapel (in his early 30s). This text inaccurately says he painted the Sistine Chapel “late in life.”

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Please quote in context and accurately. We say that he (Michelangelo) paints the Last Judgment "later in his life" in contrast to the earlier ceiling painting in the Sistine Chapel. Please take more care when you find fault.

[@Simonjose7258]

Oh! It's all paint! I thought those were real columns.

[@kfwimmer]

Really excellent

[@jorislieftinck1616]

Geweldig!!! Zó educatief !!!

[@Iovepretzels]

AMAZING. Wonder how long it took Michelangelo to finish all of the scenes!

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Less than four years.

[@FishCaptainMorgan]

MICHAELANGELO IS BEAUTY AND LIFE FOREVER❤️❤️❤️

[@ms.donaldson2533]

"Creating Reality" is exactly right!

[@shelleyharris2850]

Breathtaking. Amen😎😇✌🙌🙏💛

[@FranciscoSantos-ss3uq]

❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟🌟🌟sensacional este documentarios. Parabens!!!⭐⭐⭐⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐⭐

[@murphymary1015]

Ok so I wanted to finally see what this artist drew on this chapel wherever it is, but I'm really glad that instead of watching a phone video by someone I instead found this video with the two peepz explaining everything. Wow so history and stuff here I come, I walked out of school on my 14th birthday and never went home until I was 20, so I know nothing about history. I was watching the Animaniacs this morning and the cartoon had Michelangelo in it, so I just had to check it out, wow there is so much I don't know about history around the world. I wonder what else I can see through the wonders of hd camera, as apposed to documentaries, I realised after watching a fan video of Monsterjam monster trucks that there is about watching a persons hd personal video than watching a pro shot documentary, providing they shoot well enough and use good equipment.

[@pedrozaragoza2253]

Absolutely Divine. Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

[@Kevin14henrY]

Speechless

[@RitaDevi-en3ku]

Vin L xxxxx

[@FranciscoSantos-ss3uq]

❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐❄⭐⭐⭐belezas e muita perfeicao do universos do mundo das artes.🌟🌟🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟❄🌟🌟🌟

[@Happy_HIbiscus]

dude, this is cool

[@tneighbors]

Is it possible to obtain permission to use the video tilt shot that happens at 20 seconds in for my personal art video? If so, is it available in full HD resolution?

[@cindysantovena1870]

I love this

[@andyroo9381]

Michelangelo was a genius.

[@ACoustaDC]

what happened to your other video where you were flying around in second life or whatever?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

That was 2008 or so. Back then the resolution maximums on YT were very low 360 or 480. The images just don't hold up so they were removed.

[@ACoustaDC]

@@smarthistory-art-history That's too bad I really enjoyed that presentation. I found it more in-depth in detail compared to what you currently have both are good it's just one was better.

[@SeelenTaucher]

St Peters Basilica looks like a KEY and a KEYwhole at the same time...as we know...key keeper peter in the bible? Michael Angelo was a complex thinker, very smart and talented. So in every single painting, sculpture, there always is deep meaning and since he is an intuitive guy and believed in God, he sees the world in a larger zoomed out way. Every single gesture, color, feet or head movement, do they have deeper meaning? Was Pope Julius named Julia? There are so much more meanings and hidden secrets within angelos works...because he liked to be mysterious and not that clear and quite direct.

[@wartegsukses8062]

I wonder what these paintings would be like if the chapel were in Africa.

[@zervzerv1214]

Need to get past the stoneage first.

[@reneelynn3949]

Were you allowed to take pictures?

[@borisstuller6968]

no

[@pedroaguilar1972]

The flash damages the paint

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Gracias Smarthistory.

[@pixelwaz]

They did all this when America was not even discovered. Italy my my

[@larikipe940]

What did they make paint out of back then?

[@pedroaguilar1972]

Lari Kipe crushed stone

[@mariahschriner8679]

They used plaster

[@DavidDoesntLikeDogs]

It came from natural pigments sometimes from plants or precious stones or metals. Purple and blues were the most expensive paints to make because they came from Lapis Lazuli which was an exotic stone that was shipped from the Middle East. To avoid cheap imitations, the patron would specify in the contract "ultramarine" which meant they wanted the pigment from the lapis lazuli stone. In a fresco painting such as this entire commission, the painter would have to apply the paint onto wet plaster where the painting essentially is the wall. You would have to have people constantly mixing plaster while the painter worked before it was dry. It is already an extremely arduous labor that Michelangelo had very little experience or knowledge of. At this time, he wasn't even a painter but an accomplished sculptor. It is still unknown today why Pope Sixtus even approached him to paint the ceiling in the first place.

[@uffa00001]

Good video but too hasty. I would have preferred if all parts of the ceiling were explained, rather than just a few. I suggest a half-an-hour video would be (barely) appropriate.

[@FranciscoSantos-ss3uq]

🔷🔷🔷🔷♠♠♠♠♠❄🌟🌟🌟aqui esta as mais puras belezas do mundo das artes bem conpletas.♠🔷♠🔷♠🔷🔷🔷♠🔷♠♠♠♠⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@ihsanbajwa3974]

سسٹائن چیپل چرچ کی چھت پر بنائی جانے والی تصاویر اٹلی کے مجسمہ ساز مائیکل اینجلو نے بنائی تھی۔۔۔

[@Mrrossj01]

Even the females are male bodybuilders. Please recognize M’s artistic expression as an extension of his homosexuality, which may or may not be a repressed longing. His fascination with muscular young men is hard to overlook. Also, please recognize Michelangelo and Raphael’s debt to Luca Signorelli’s and his magnificent frescoes in Orvieto Cathedral, all of which precede their works.

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Gracias

[@josephinecassar4573]

And there was the sack of Rome between the time he painted the creation of Adam and The Last Judgement

[@blockedinchina6015]

Yes, funny narator indeed.

[@kp_shadow]

I love this paintings

[@breveennkukan3603]

Great

[@vijayakrishnanmariveetil9637]

Marvellous.....

[@zionmainframe5165]

Sistine? My whole life I thought it was sixteenth

[@PILOSOPAUL]

Congrats on your enlightenment!

[@robinpunneo7562]

Zion Mainframe Me too. Lol I wonder what the other 15 look like.

[@larikipe940]

LMFAO!

[@lehuynguyen8400]

Sistine chapel was named after pope Sixtus IV.

[@nyx4081]

@@robinpunneo7562 lol

[@marvinthemaniac7698]

How come all the people in those paintings are naked?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

This is a complex question. In the case of Adam and Eve, the simple answer is because the Bible specifically states that they are naked (Genesis 3:25) and in fact that nakedness is an important part of the narrative. Other nude figures on the ceiling have to do with the cultural moment, one that looked back to Ancient Greece and Rome and the tradition of the heroic nude, and the human body as an expression of beauty, and a reflection of the perfection of God.

[@marvinthemaniac7698]

@@smarthistory-art-history the Bible never said anything about David being naked when he slayed Goliath, but that didn't stop Michelangelo from modeling a 10-foot male nude after him.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

You asked your initial question in the context of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, not about the David sculpture. Did you see the second part of my response? It is germane to your additional statement/question (btw, the sculpture is 17 feet tall not 10). One last thing, while the Bible does not specifically state that David was nude, it does state that he took off the armor and weapons he had been given by Saul and met his enemy not with "sword and spear" but only with God.

[@marvinthemaniac7698]

@@smarthistory-art-history I see..

[@DreamfactoryZero]

From an artist's point of view: When we learn how to draw people and figures, we draw them naked. It's a way of learning the forms and proportions of the human figure. You need to be able to draw a figure the correct way before you start putting clothing or drapery on them. You'll see this a lot in fine art. A well done figure painting showing both drapery, dynamic posing and the human figure could be a way of showing off. I guess it can be a way of saying I'm the best because it is very difficult to do right, yet alone an entire ceiling for the pope. It is said that when it was unveiled even Leonardo da Vinci was humbled by the sight of it.

[@parshuramjatav9820]

Good

[@almirramos5493]

eu adorei essa obra de arte é uma obra-prima sem nenhuma sombra de dúvida é uma pintura linda esse pintor é genial esse pintor é um gênio que talento arrasou

[@cadenceblackburn9205]

❤❤❤

[@ConnorDuncan05]

1:40 “shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”

[@VirtuelleGalerie]

😍😍😍

[@onestopplus1]

I wish there was a way to use this vid in my senior term paper !

[@653mustafa]

turkish subtitle is wrong

[@MrBarakados]

This will be an important part of history.

[@suchandradas9964]

Wow, que bonito

[@ethanoliveria9014]

Michelangelo

[@jaggedsigns3O11]

could someone explain to me why God is depicted wearing pink?

[@earthakitt3661]

Pink historically in Christianity represents a persons relationship with God. Being a mixture of red and white, I think the red represents blood therefore the physical side of a person and the white represents purity therefore the spiritual side of a person. That's just my opinion, don't take it as fact.

[@imsmolandangery4274]

his clothing forms the shape of a brain in creation of Adam, maybe because dissection was controversial at the time. And this was long before pink be came a simbal of femininity, that happened around WWII

[@FunnyBuns1]

Isn't a sin to try and depict God or something?

[@maxnieves4641]

FunnyBuns1 maybe

[@tenchi586]

In Islam yes, but not in Christianity.

[@theboyisso6960]

This isnt islam.

[@mrJohnDesiderio]

Or something . 🤣

[@FranciscoSantos-ss3uq]

Riquesas de muitas belezas muito bem conpletas.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@ELIOSANFELIU]

PACERE AUDE¡¡

[@mangeloarkz6245]

what a moment in Rome. ..

[@abdulrahmanaljahany6248]

I THOUGHT THIS was MUSEUM NOT CHAPEL .. !

[@muzzielisabetta]

.... By MAICHELANGELO.....