Prophet Jonah (Michelangelo)

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The Prophet Jonah
ArtistMichelangelo
Yearcirca 1508–1512
TypeFresco
Dimensions390 cm × 380 cm (150 in × 150 in)
LocationSistine Chapel, Vatican Palace, Vatican City

The Prophet Jonah is one of the seven Old Testament prophets painted by the Italian High Renaissance master Michelangelo (c. 1542–1545) on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The Sistine Chapel is in Vatican Palace, in the Vatican City.

This particular fresco is painted above the High Altar, as the person of Jonah is of prophetic significance in Christianity. Behind the figure of Jonah, Michelangelo has painted a large fish, a reference to the fact that in the Book of Jonah, Jonah is swallowed by one.

A close-up of the face of the central figure