Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling contains nine large central narrative panels.
These scenes come from the Book of Genesis and run along the ceiling’s main central field. They begin with God separating light from darkness and continue through the Creation of Adam, the Creation of Eve, the Temptation and Expulsion, Noah’s Sacrifice, the Flood, and Noah’s Drunkenness.
The panels are not arranged in straightforward biblical reading order from the viewer’s perspective. Michelangelo grouped them into three sets of three: Creation, Adam and Eve, and Noah. Their surrounding architectural illusion includes prophets, sibyls, ancestors of Christ, and supporting figures.
A common mix-up is counting every painted compartment as one of the Genesis scenes. The nine large panels are only the central narrative images; the ceiling also includes many additional painted figures and decorative elements.