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Botticelli and the earlier Sistine walls

Botticelli worked with a team on the chapel’s walls before Michelangelo’s ceiling.

Botticelli and the earlier Sistine walls

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The Sistine Chapel already had painted stories along its walls when Michelangelo began overhead. Sandro Botticelli was one of the artists who worked on that earlier programme in 1481–1482, alongside Perugino, Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli with their assistants.

A shared wall programme

The painters paired Moses on the south wall with Christ on the north wall. Papal portraits appeared above the scenes, and painted draperies below. Botticelli's place in the chapel belongs to this coordinated project, with several artists contributing to subjects arranged across the building.

Keep the dates apart

The wall programme preceded Michelangelo's 1508–1512 ceiling by roughly a generation. His Last Judgement came later again, in 1536–1541, replacing earlier altar-wall paintings. The chapel brings those commissions together while also preserving changes to its original arrangement.

Remember the side walls

Prepare the comparison before entering. Once inside, look silently at the stories along both sides as well as the ceiling and altar wall. Keep your phone away. Botticelli's contribution belongs to the earlier team whose work established the paired narrative around the room.

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