The Ancestors of Christ: Uzziah, Jotham and Ahaz

This lunette painting depicting the ancestors of Christ — Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz — is part of the genealogical series Michelangelo painted in the lunettes and spandrels of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. These figures represent the generations between Abraham and Christ as listed in the Gospel of Matthew, forming a continuous genealogy around the upper walls of the chapel. Painted between 1508 and 1512, the lunettes were the last sections completed and show Michelangelo working with remarkable speed and freedom. They are among the least studied but most inventive portions of the ceiling program.

The lunette format forced Michelangelo to compose within an arched field, which he resolved by placing figures in domestic poses on either side of the central name tablet. The palette is notably brighter and more varied than the central ceiling panels, with iridescent color combinations that anticipate Mannerism. The brushwork is extraordinarily free and rapid, reflecting the speed at which Michelangelo completed these final sections.