What message about papal authority did the Sistine Chapel frescoes communicate?

The frescoes commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for the Sistine Chapel in the late 15th century were designed to reinforce the authority and legitimacy of the papacy. By organizing the walls into two parallel cycles—the life of Moses on the south wall and the life of Christ on the north wall—the decorative program established a visual typology that linked the Old Testament law of the prophets to the New Testament authority of the Church.1

This arrangement served to validate the divine origin of papal power. Specifically, scenes such as Perugino’s Handing Over of the Keys—which depicts Christ bestowing the keys of heaven upon St. Peter—directly emphasize the apostolic succession and the foundational authority of the pope as Peter’s successor. Through these narrative cycles, the chapel functioned as a powerful statement of the Church’s spiritual and historical continuity, positioning the reigning pontiff within a sacred lineage that extended back to biblical times.12