Saint John the Baptist at the Last Judgement, after Michelangelo

Michelangelo’s monumental fresco of the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel was unveiled in October 1541 to universal acclaim. The fresco was soon reproduced in engraving and copied by numerous artists. As noted by Paul Joannides, most of the copies from the fresco are after single figures or small groups as is the case in the present drawing (Michelangelo and His Influence. Drawings from Windsor Castle, exhib. cat., Washington, National Gallery of Art, Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum, Chicago, Art Institute, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, London, The Queen’s Gallery, 1997-1998, p. 168). Depicted here are the figures of Saint John the Baptist (shown prior to Daniele da Volterra's censorship of 1564) and of a young man flanking Christ on the left side of the fresco (fig. 1). The refined and elegant application of black chalk is reminiscent of Daniele da Volterra and his Roman pupils, Michele Alberti and Jacopo Rocchetti.

Fig. 1. Michelangelo Buonarroti, Detail of the Last Judgement. Sistine Chapel, Vatican City.