Fotoreproductie van een deel van de fresco's op de muur van de Sixtijnse Kapel te Vaticaanstad door Michelangelo, voorstellende het Laatste Oordeel met Petrus en heiligen c. 1875 - 1900

This is a photographic reproduction of Michelangelo’s fresco, ‘The Last Judgement,’ made by an anonymous photographer. The original fresco, painted directly onto the plaster of the Sistine Chapel wall, demanded a laborious and complex process. Michelangelo would have applied layers of wet plaster, or ‘intonaco’, and then rapidly painted onto the surface before it dried. This required a mastery of both the artistic and the physical demands of the medium. The photograph, though a product of a different time, is still connected to the social and political aspects of the original artwork. This reproduction allows a wider audience to witness Michelangelo’s masterpiece. The photograph captures the dynamic composition and emotional intensity of the original, making it accessible in a new way. Looking closely at the making and circulation of this image reminds us that all art objects are the result of creative labor.