Occupying the triangular fields between the thrones of the prophets and sibyls, above the lunettes, the eight spandrels of the side walls contain family groups with figures seated or reclining on the bare ground, in poses that seem to draw on the theme of the flight into Egypt. Together with the groups or single figures in the lunettes on either side of the tablets, they represent the generations of Christ's ancestors. Due to the lack of typological elements or precise attributions and, in most cases, of iconographic precedents, it is difficult; if not impossible, to identify the figures represented.
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 |