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The Wall Paintings
Upon completion of the structure, Sixtus brought in several prominent painters of the Renaissance to decorate the walls . The overall project was under the management of Pinturicchio and comprised a series of paintings showing (on the left as you grappling the altar) scenes from the life of Moses and, on the right, scenes from the life of Christ. Sixtus didn’t have just anybody work on these: there are paintings by, among others, Perugino, who painted the marvellously composed cityscape of Jesus giving St Peter the Keys to Heaven, Botticelli - The Trials of Moses and Cleansing of the Leper - and Ghirlandaio, whose Calling of St Peter and St Andrew shows Christ calling the two saints to be disciples, surrounded by onlookers, against a fictitious medieval landscape of boats, birds, turrets and mountains. Some of the paintings were in fact collaborative efforts, and it’s known that Ghirlandaio and Botticelli in particular contributed to apiece other’s work. Recently restored after a thorough restoration, anywhere else they would be pored over very closely indeed. As it is, they are entirely overshadowed by Michelangelo’s more famous work.
Tags: cityscape, collaborative efforts, disciples, ghirlandaio, keys to heaven, leper, life of christ, life of moses, medieval landscape, michelangelo, onlookers, painters, paintings, perugino, pinturicchio, renaissance, saints, st andrew, st peter, turrets