Pope Sixtus IV was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death, in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope included the construction of the Sistine Chapel and the creation of the Vatican Library. A patron of the arts, he brought together the group of artists who ushered the early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpieces of the city's new artistic age.
Portrait of Sixtus IV by van Gent and Berruguete, c. 1474 – 76 (oil on panel, 116 × 56.4 cm, Louvre)
Pope Sixtus IV appoints Platina as Prefect of the Library, by Melozzo da Forlì, accompanied by his relatives
Pope Sixtus IV by Titian and his studio, oil on panel, 109.5 × 87 cm, Uffizi
Ponte Sisto, the first bridge built at Rome since the Roman Empire
The Sistine Chapel is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the Cappella Magna, it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and 1481. Since that time, it has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. Today, it is the site of the papal conclave, the process by which a new pope is selected. The chapel's fame lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate its interior, most particularly the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgment, both by Michelangelo.
East side of the Chapel, from the altar end
The Sistine Chapel as it may have appeared in the 15th century (19th-century drawing)
Exterior of the Sistine Chapel
A reconstruction of the appearance of the west Wall chapel in the 1480s, prior to the painting of the ceiling
