Last Judgement, The

Fresco in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome, painted by Michelangelo (1536-41). Christ appears as judge surrounded by apostles and saints; below is a vision of hell inspired by the poet Dante. Michelangelo painted this fresco on the altar wall of the chapel nearly 30 years after he had painted its ceiling.

In the judge Minos, Michelangelo portrayed Biagio of Cesena, master of ceremonies to the pope, who had criticized the work because of the nudity of the figures. Some of the figures were covered with drapery by Daniele da Volterra under Pope Paul IV, and others by Fra Andrea Pozzo in the 18th century under Clement XII.

Last Judgement, The

English title of Ludwig Spohr's oratorio Die letzten Dinge, first produced in Kassel, Germany, on 25 March 1826.