What did the Sistine Chapel ceiling originally depict before Michelangelo?

Before Michelangelo, the Sistine Chapel ceiling depicted a starry sky.

The earlier decoration was painted by Pier Matteo d'Amelia, probably in the late 15th or early 16th century. It showed stars scattered across a blue background, creating a symbolic vault of heaven rather than the elaborate biblical narrative visible today. The design is often compared with Giotto's star-painted ceiling in the Arena Chapel at Padua.

Michelangelo replaced that scheme after Pope Julius II commissioned him to redecorate the vault. He worked on the frescoes from 1508 to 1512, transforming the ceiling into a vast theological program centered on Creation, the Fall of humanity, and the story of Noah. The original star field was therefore not merely retouched; it was almost entirely superseded.

A common mix-up is to confuse the original ceiling with Michelangelo's finished work. The blue field with stars belonged to the earlier decoration, while the familiar scenes—including The Creation of Adam—belong to Michelangelo's later Renaissance cycle.