Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the early sixteenth century.
Julius II became pope in 1503 and pursued an ambitious program of building, military expansion, and artistic patronage in Rome. He initially asked Michelangelo to create a monumental tomb, but the project was interrupted as papal priorities changed. The ceiling commission followed in 1508.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512. The immense fresco program includes scenes from Genesis, prophets, sibyls, and ancestors of Christ. Its central panels culminate in The Creation of Adam, one of the most recognizable images in Western art.
The Sistine Chapel itself had been built for Pope Sixtus IV in the late fifteenth century, which explains its name. Julius II commissioned the ceiling decoration, while later artists worked on other parts of the chapel.