The Delivery of the Keys - Pietro Perugino, 1481-82
The Temptations of Christ - Sandro Botticelli, 1480-82
The Vocation of the Apostles - Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1481-82
The Baptism of Christ - Perugino, c. 1482
Detail from The Creation of Sun, Moon and Planets - Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1508-12
The Creation of Adam - Michelangelo, 1508-12
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo, 1508-12
Detail from The Last Judgment (St. Bartholomew) - Michelangelo, 1537-41
The Last Judgment - Michelangelo, 1537-41
The Sistine Chapel - exterior
The Conclave - cardinals from around the world meet in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope
The white smoke (fumata bianca) from the Sistine Chapel's chimney indicates that a pope has been elected
On Aug. 15, 1483, Pope Sixtus IV consecrated the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to the Virgin Mary. He had the old Cappella Magna restored by a group of artists - Pietro Perugino, Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandaio among others - who brought the early Renaissance to Rome. The Sistine Chapel is named after Pope Sixtus IV - however, he didn’t live long enough to see its most famous masterpieces: the spectacular ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, with the famous creation scenes, and the Last Judgment, painted by Michelangelo.
Here's a look at some of the beauty that has withstood the passing of time.
