In a landmark cultural exchange, the Muscarelle Museum of Art, on the campus of William & Mary in Williamsburg, presents Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine, featuring nearly half of the master’s surviving Sistine Chapel sketches. The exhibition, through May 28, celebrates Michelangelo’s 550th birthday and offers rare insight into his creative process.
Visitors can explore 25 masterpiece drawings—seven making their American debut—including what’s believed to be Michelangelo’s first Sistine exploration and two apostle sketches reunited after centuries. The five galleries, bathed in red or blue, also showcase Giuliano Bugiardini’s portrait of Michelangelo, the artist’s self-portraits, and Francesco Granacci’s letter detailing the project’s challenges.
The exhibition stems from the Muscarelle’s relationships with Italian museums Gallerie degli Uffizi, Musei Reali, and Casa Buonarroti, Michelangelo’s family home in Florence. Curator and art historian Adriano Marinazzo published studies on Michelangelo while on the curatorial team at Casa Buonarroti and authored the exhibition catalogue, featuring Vatican-provided, original Sistine Chapel images.
The exhibition heralds the reopening of the Muscarelle at W&M’s Martha Wren Briggs Center for the Visual Arts after a massive renovation that tripled its capacity. Muscarelle.WM.edu
Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine at the Muscarelle Museum in Williamsburg. Photos courtesy of the Muscarelle Museum of Art
This article originally appeared in the June 2025 issue.
