Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel fresco has been cleaned for the first time in decades after human sweat damaged the painting.

Museum officials say human sweat from the 25,000 people who tour the Vatican Museums daily creates the coating.

A thin white film caused by decades of rising visitor numbers has dulled the dramatic contrasts of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel.

A woman walks behind a screen with a replica of ‘The Last Judgment,’ superimposed on it that covers the scaffolding used for its extraordinary maintenance during a presentation for press in the ...

When a 5-inch-by-4-inch red chalk drawing of a woman’s foot by Michelangelo sold at auction for U.S. $27.2 million on Feb. 5, 2026, it blew past the $1.5 million to $2 million it was expected to ...