The most famous scene in the Sistine Chapel is The Creation of Adam. Part of Michelangelo's ceiling paintings, the fresco depicts God giving life to Adam.

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with art historian Kim Butler about the artwork that adorns the walls of the Sistine Chapel and its significance ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope.

* Named after Pope Sixtus IV and built from 1473-81, it is 40 metres (131 feet) long, 13 metres (43 feet) wide and 21 metres (69 feet) high, lit on either side by high windows.

The Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather for the conclave to elect the next pope after the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at age 88.

Black smoke was seen rising from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel at 9 p.m. local time Wednesday — signaling to 1.4 billion Catholics that the election of a new pope will continue. Cardinals ...

FILE – Tables and chairs line the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in preparation for the conclave, on April 16, 2005. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File) But the church is at the same time turning ...

Key is preparing the Sistine Chapel for the red-robed cardinals who will gather at the Vatican in the heart of Rome to choose the next pope in an ancient process fictionalized in the 2024 film ...

The Vatican has closed the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather for the conclave to elect the next pope after the death of Pope Francis on April 21 at age 88.