Which fresco cycle did Michelangelo paint on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?

Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco cycle, one of the defining achievements of High Renaissance art.

Pope Julius II commissioned the project, which Michelangelo worked on from 1508 to 1512. Although he considered himself primarily a sculptor, he transformed the chapel’s vaulted ceiling into a vast theological and artistic program.

The central panels show nine scenes from Genesis, including The Creation of Adam, The Creation of Eve, the Fall and Expulsion, and episodes from Noah’s story. The ceiling also includes prophets, sibyls, ancestors of Christ, and numerous decorative figures.

A common mix-up is confusing the ceiling with The Last Judgment. Michelangelo painted that later fresco on the wall behind the altar, completing it between 1536 and 1541. The Creation of Adam is one famous scene within the ceiling cycle, not the name of the entire cycle.