What is the Sistine Chapel’s altar-wall fresco by Michelangelo commonly called in English?

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel altar-wall fresco is commonly called The Last Judgment.

Michelangelo painted The Last Judgment between 1536 and 1541 on the wall behind the chapel’s altar. The enormous composition depicts the Second Coming of Christ and the final judgment of humanity. Christ appears near the center, surrounded by saints, angels, the saved, and the damned.

The fresco was commissioned by Pope Clement VII and completed under Pope Paul III. It was created more than two decades after Michelangelo finished the ceiling, so the two works belong to different phases of his career and reflect different artistic climates.

The fresco caused controversy because many figures were shown nude. Daniele da Volterra later painted draperies over some figures, earning him the nickname “Il Braghettone,” or breeches-maker. The work is distinct from The Creation of Adam, which is a ceiling panel.