The Vatican Museum has begun cleaning Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” fresco in the Sistine Chapel. Art historian Elizabeth Lev describes the fresco as “a clarion call to the cardinals of what it means to be Catholic.” Painted by Michelangelo at the height of the Protestant Reformation, “The Last Judgement” it serves as the backdrop for a conclave to elect the pope. “It represents the end of the world,” Lev says, “the awaking of the dead, the second coming of Christ, and the final pronouncement by God of the fate of every soul, salvation or damnation.” Tens of millions of visitors have walked through the chapel since its last cleaning in 1994, and their presence has taken a toll. The cleaning will remove a light patina of microparticle buildup invisible to the naked eye, restoring Michelangelo’s colors to their original brilliance.
