Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling contains nine central Genesis scenes.
The nine panels form the main narrative sequence running along the center of the ceiling. They begin with scenes of Creation, continue through the stories of Adam and Eve, and end with episodes involving Noah. The cycle is not arranged as a simple chronological picture book in the way many modern viewers might expect, because the scenes are integrated into a complex decorative and theological design.
Among the panels are The Separation of Land and Water, The Creation of Adam, The Creation of Eve, The Temptation and Expulsion, The Sacrifice of Noah, and The Great Flood. Around them Michelangelo painted prophets, sibyls, ancestors of Christ, nude figures, and architectural illusion.
The number nine refers specifically to the large central Genesis panels. It should not be confused with the total number of individual figures or painted sections on the ceiling, which is much larger.