Ancestors of Christ: figures
by MICHELANGELO Buonarroti, Fresco, 245 x 340 cm
The figures are in the triangular spandrel in the second bay between Isaiah and the Delphic Sibyl, over the Josiah-Jechoniah-Shealtiel lunette.
The figures probably represent Jechoniah’s family with their son Shealtiel. The poses of the figures, together with the nocturnal atmosphere, bring to mind the definition that St Paul gave of the ancestors of Christ as “pilgrims” and strangers on earth”, on their way toward the promised land.