Pope Sixtus IV ordered the Sistine Chapel’s original decoration by Renaissance painters.
The chapel was built during Sixtus IV’s pontificate in the 1470s and consecrated in 1483. He invited leading artists from Florence and Umbria to decorate the side walls with scenes from the lives of Moses and Christ. Contributors included Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Cosimo Rosselli.
Michelangelo’s ceiling came later, under Pope Julius II, who commissioned it between 1508 and 1512. The Last Judgment was later commissioned by Clement VII and completed under Paul III. These separate papal commissions explain why the chapel’s decoration spans several generations.
Sixtus IV also gave the chapel its name. It is not named after Julius II, despite Julius’s close association with Michelangelo’s ceiling.