The End of the World

work by Signorelli

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June 26, 2026

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Luca Signorelli's "The End of the World" is a masterpiece fresco cycle located in the chapel of S. Brizio in Orvieto Cathedral, painted between 1499 and 1502. This work, which significantly influenced Michelangelo, is renowned for its powerful depiction of nudes in various dynamic and muscular poses. Signorelli's style, characterized by dramatic action and anatomical detail, is evident in the strained figures and decaying bodies that contribute to the scene's horror. While Signorelli had a limited sense of color, his use of greens and purples enhances the unsettling atmosphere of the frescoes.1

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Luca Signorelli
…masterpiece, the frescoes of “The End of the World” and the “Last Judgment” (1499–1502), is in the chapel of S. Brizio in Orvieto cathedral. Those frescoes, which greatly influenced Michelangelo, are crowded with powerful nudes painted in many postures that accentuate their musculature. Signorelli had little sense of colour,…
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…masterpiece, the frescoes of “The End of the World” and the “Last Judgment” (1499–1502), is in the chapel of S. Brizio in Orvieto cathedral. Those frescoes, which greatly influenced Michelangelo, are crowded with powerful nudes painted in many postures that accentuate their musculature. Signorelli had little sense of colour,…
Read More