The Restoration Of
The Sistine Chapel

Restoration of the Sistine Chapel From Michelangelo's The Last Judgement Scott 952 (1994) Built between 1473 and 1481, the Sistine Chapel, located within the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, is arguably one of the greatest repositories of art in the world. Commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV (from whom the Chapel gets its name), it is hard to overestimate the magnificence of the Chapel. Formerly known as the Cappella Magna ('Great Chapel'), the chapel serves as a place of both religious and functionary events for the pope. The most well-known activity associated with the Chapel is that it serves as the meeting place for the Conclave of Cardinals when a new pope is selected. In the mid-1960’s, an extensive renovation of the Chapel began and was completed in a series of phases which including the cleaning and restoration of the works of art produced by the greats of the Renaissance era, including Perugino, Botticelli, and Rosselli, among others. The greatest and most well-known masterpieces requiring restoration were the works of Michelangelo: the magnificent ceiling and lunettes, depicting scenes from the Bible, including the creation of man (painted from 1508 through 1512), and the fresco of the Last Judgement, located behind the main alter of the Chapel (completed from 1535 to 1541). The overall restoration of the Sistine Chapel was accomplished in phases, starting in 1964. Those phases included: The cleaning of the Story of Moses and Christ (1964-1974) Restoration of the roof (1975) Cleaning of the frescoes on the entrance wall (1979) Cleaning of the popes and lunettes (1980-1984) Cleaning of the ceiling (1985-1990) Cleaning and restoration of the Last Judgement (1990-1994) From 1991 through 2002, Vatican City issued five sets of stamps documenting the restoration of the Sistine Chapel. The first two sets, from 1991 (Scott 870 to 881) and 1994 (Scott 944 to 952) focused on the works of Michelangelo: the lunettes, ceiling, and The Last Judgement. The last three sets, issued in consecutive years 2000 (Scott 1156-1159), 2001 (Scott 1172-1175) and 2002 (Scott 1215-1218), each depict four stamps with similar designs looking at the other works located in the Sistine Chapel by some of the other greats of the Renaissance era. For each of the next five days, the Page 2 link will connect the reader to a review of one of the five Sistine Chapel restoration issues. The links will show the stamps of each issue, a brief description of the purpose of the issue, and some technical information on the stamps. We hope this review will provide a first visit to all the stamps and masterpieces from the Sistine Chapel, or a welcome return to this magnificent hall at the Vatican. REFERENCES: Wikipedia, Sistine Chapel Wikipedia, Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes Governatorato Vatican City, Philatelic Office, April 9, 1991, Restoration of the Sistine Chapel (Regular Issue of Stamps) Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search