ART IN FOCUS.

The article focuses on Michelangelo's fresco "The Last Judgment" (1536–1541) in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, which depicts the biblical scene of the final judgment from the Book of Revelation and Dante Alighieri's *Divina Commedia*. Central to the composition is the risen Christ, surrounded by saints and martyrs, with the damned being consigned to hell by Charon, the classical boatman. The painting's dramatic and complex imagery has historically influenced the cardinals who gather beneath it during papal conclaves, potentially shaping their decisions. Art historian Kenneth Clark described the work as an overwhelming display of bodies in violent movement, highlighting its emotional and spiritual intensity.