Michelangelo finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling in October 1512, and Pope Julius II inaugurated the work on November 1. The Vatican Museums’ official history explains how the chapel’s original starry ceiling gave way to the monumental Genesis frescoes.
The useful way to explore the work is as an ambitious visual system: repeated architectural frames, figures, stories and sightlines arranged over a huge curved surface. It is a remarkable case study in how an artist can organize complex information without losing visual hierarchy.
Open the Vatican’s source page and look at the ceiling as a whole before zooming into the famous Creation of Adam panel.
Go to Source — Primary: https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-sistina/storia-cappella-sistina.html