MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma)

Last Judgment (detail)

1537-41
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

The detail shows a group of the damned being sucked down into hell. They are reminiscent of the descriptions in Dante's Inferno, which Michelangelo knew by heart. The judgment passed on them is represented by the figure in the centre who seems to be suffering an inner torment, similar to that of the artist himself: despair, remorse, and the fear of physical and spiritual annihilation.