A newly opened exhibition in Cambridge offers visitors the chance to get an up‑close look at Michelangelo’s famed Sistine Chapel frescoes and discover fresh perspectives on them — without the expense of traveling to Rome.
Called “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition,” the touring show opened its doors to the Boston area on Valentine’s Day weekend and was first announced in late January.
Inside, guests will find 34 life-size reproductions of the ceiling panels, such as the instantly recognizable “The Creation of Adam.” The recreations are printed on specially stretched fabric using high-resolution photography from officially licensed images.
The sole fresco not to scale is Michelangelo’s equally iconic altarpiece “The Last Judgment.”
Normally 40 feet by 40 feet in size, the fresco was scaled down to about a third of its original size for display purposes, according to Dakota Laurin, vice president of entertainment for SBX Group, which is representing the exhibition.
What sets this exhibition apart from the actual Sistine Chapel is that it allows guests to get “up close and personal” with the art, without the many restrictions found at the Vatican, Laurin said.
“If you’ve ever been to the Sistine Chapel, it’s 60 feet up in the air,” Laurin said. “You’re getting rushed through, no photos, no talking.”
“Whereas this, we bring it down to eye level,” he added. “It is the paintings in their life size, true to form style, right up in front of you. You can take your time. We encourage pictures.”
The exhibition offers, with admission, a complimentary app-based audio guide available for download from the App Store and Google Play.
By scanning a QR code at the side of each fresco, guests can listen to a two-to-three-minute synopsis to better understand the art they’re seeing, the history behind it and Michelangelo’s artistic intentions, Laurin said.
He recommended that all guests download the “Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel” app before arrival and bring a pair of headphones if they have them.
Additionally, placards next to each fresco give each artwork’s title, written descriptions of the work and diagrams highlighting where on the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes can be found in relation to one another.
The layout of the exhibition largely groups the frescoes, with the middle section depicting the stories of Genesis, the side frescoes depicting various prophets and sibyls and the four corner pieces depicting scenes such as “David and Goliath.”
At the end of the exhibition is “The Last Judgment,” which features more than 400 individual characters and spans from the skies of heaven to the depths of hell, with Christ in the center.
Upon closer inspection, Laurin said, observers will notice small details Michelangelo worked into the piece, such as visual critiques of Catholic officials who forced him to create the artwork over the span of years.
Happening simultaneously with the exhibition’s 3-month stay in Boston, “The Last Judgment” in Vatican City is undergoing its first major restoration in three decades. The work started earlier this month.
During the restoration, the artwork will be partially obscured by scaffolding, the Vatican Museums said in a statement to The Associated Press.
“Whether you have a connection to the Catholic religion, you’re an art lover, you’re a history lover, you have a connection to Italian heritage, and those kinds of things, there is something for everyone here,” Laurin said.
The exhibition will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, with last entry at 6:30 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, with last entry at 4:30 p.m.
Guests can find the exhibition on the second floor of CambridgeSide above the shopping center’s food hall.
The mall is located at 100 CambridgeSide Place, northeast of Kendall Square and adjacent to the Charles River, the Museum of Science and the Lechmere MBTA Green Line station in East Cambridge.
Tickets for the exhibition start at $28 for general admission, with discounts for seniors, students, children and military members. Special VIP tickets give guests priority access and a souvenir guidebook.
“Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition” has toured more than 40 cities over the past five years, but this spring marks its first time in Boston. It will stay open until Sunday, May 10.
For more information, visit the exhibition’s website.
