Prophets
by MICHELANGELO

On the side walls of the chapel, five prophets alternate with the same number of sibyls, so that each prophet is paired with a sibyl on the opposite wall: the Delphic Sibyl and Joel, Isaiah, and the Erythraean Sibyl, the Cumaean Sibyl and Ezekiel, Daniel and the Persian Sibyl, the Libyan Sibyl, and Jeremiah. This studied parallelism alludes both to the theme of the universality of the message of Redemption and the idea of the perfect concordance of the Revelation in the Judaic world and in the pagan one.

The other two prophets - Zechariah and Jonah - are represented on the major axis of the Sistine Chapel. This arrangement has a particular significance, too, since Zechariah, depicted above the chapel door that the pope solemnly passed through on Palm Sunday - recalling the regal entry of Christ into Jerusalem and beginning the ceremonies of Holy Week - was considered to be the main prophet of the Passion of Christ, while Jonah, placed above the altar, was usually thought to be the precursor of the risen Christ.

View a slide show of the 7 prophets and 5 sibyls.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Zechariah
1509
Fresco, 360 x 390 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

926*970
True Color
147 Kb



Zechariah (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

823*1050
True Color
130 Kb



Zechariah (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

919*920
True Color
109 Kb



Zechariah (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

804*991
True Color
126 Kb



Joel
1509
Fresco, 355 x 380 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

961*930
True Color
156 Kb



Joel (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

832*1070
True Color
181 Kb



Joel (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

911*935
True Color
147 Kb



Putti
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

1164*740
True Color
149 Kb



Isaiah
1509
Fresco, 365 x 380 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

943*960
True Color
177 Kb



Isaiah (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

772*1170
True Color
151 Kb



Isaiah (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

868*1000
True Color
169 Kb



Ezekiel
1510
Fresco, 355 x 380 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

911*1000
True Color
159 Kb



Ezekiel (detail)
1510
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

808*1110
True Color
158 Kb



Ezekiel (detail)
1510
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

792*1120
True Color
150 Kb



Daniel
1511
Fresco, 395 x 380 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

951*950
True Color
152 Kb



Daniel (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

801*1110
True Color
143 Kb



Daniel (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

626*1330
True Color
137 Kb



Jeremiah
1511
Fresco, 390 x 380 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

927*970
True Color
142 Kb



Jeremiah (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

1064*840
True Color
147 Kb



Jeremiah (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

909*920
True Color
175 Kb



Jeremiah (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

375*766
True Color
52 Kb



Jonah
1511
Fresco, 400 x 380 cm
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

938*933
True Color
170 Kb



Jonah (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

749*1170
True Color
135 Kb



Jonah (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

786*1100
True Color
146 Kb



Jonah (detail)
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

776*1140
True Color
152 Kb




Summary of works by Michelangelo
All genres
Sculptures | Paintings | Sistine Chapel | Drawings | Architecture
Sculptures
-1501 | 1502- | David | Julius II's Tomb | Medici Tomb | Pietŕs
Paintings
Easel paintings | Frescoes in Pauline Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Division of the ceiling | Genesis | Prophets | Sibyls | Ignudi
Spandrels | Lunettes | Triangles | Medallions
Last Judgment
Architecture
until 1530 | after 1530