Mapping the Sistine Chapel: A Study of Subject and Execution from the Vault to the Floor

December 2022

“Michelangelo” Advanced Drawing Research Course led by Rocco Ceo

The Sistine Chapel was completed over the span of almost 60 years by a number of Renaissance artists and architects, including Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, and Raphael, in addition to Michelangelo. There is plentiful written material on the chapel’s history, most notably by academics such as Giorgio Vasari, Charles DeTolnay, Howard Hibbard, and William Wallace, but for such a visually complex subject, the Sistine Chapel requires more than solely written text to understand completely. Many of these scholars attempt small drawings and diagrams of the chapel to supplement their writing. However, most are very simple and none include the chapel in totality. The ceiling and walls tend to be isolated from each other and Michelangelo’s frescos are usually studied alone. This is a mistake, as the chapel, like many of Michelangelo’s works, came with a set of pre-existing conditions onto which he added and changed through his contribution to the project. Michelangelo’s ceiling can only be wholly understood when viewed within the context of the entire space. The relationships between each artist’s contribution warrant a compelling subject for research and comparison. Therefore, the particular interest for this project was to illustrate the Sistine Chapel frescos in one complete line drawing. This 24” x 36” composition is intended to serve as an innovative addition to the existing vast body of research surrounding Michelangelo’s work.