Description
The Prophet Ezekiel is one of Michelangelo’s frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, painted around 1510: an old man with a white beard and a blue turban swings round on his throne, one hand open as if asking a question, the other gripping a scroll. The fresco field measures about 355 x 380 cm and sits on the vault between the windows, some 20 m above the floor. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oils on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 47 to 150 x 175 cm or made to measure, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Prophet Ezekiel |
| Other titles: | Il profeta Ezechiele · Der Prophet Ezechiel |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) |
| Year painted: | c. 1510 |
| Original size: | about 355 cm x 380 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Fresco |
| Painting style: | High Renaissance |
| Located at: | Sistine Chapel, Vatican City |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Prophet Ezekiel – Michelangelo
What does The Prophet Ezekiel show?
Michelangelo seats the prophet on a stone throne framed by painted architecture: cornices, pilasters and plinths in marble grey. He twists his upper body towards the left side of the painting and turns his head further still, so that we see him almost in profile, brow furrowed, his gaze fixed on something beyond the field.
He wears an orange-red robe with a grey-violet mantle falling over it, and a pale blue cloth winds around his shoulders and ends in a long, streaming band. His right hand reaches out palm up, as if asking a question; his left holds a half-unrolled scroll that slips over his knee. His bare feet are planted firmly on the plinth.
Behind him, a nude youth with reddish curls, wrapped in a sheer pale blue veil, raises his hand upwards, while a dark-haired boy peers over the prophet’s shoulder and looks out at us with wide eyes. On either side of the throne stand pairs of nude child figures, putti painted as white marble, and along the left edge a small gilded baluster catches the light.
Who was Ezekiel, and what does the fresco mean?
Ezekiel is one of the prophets of Israel. On the Sistine ceiling he is one of seven prophets and, with Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel, one of the four so-called major prophets. In the chapel his name appears on a painted marble tablet held up by a putto.
Along the edge of the vault Michelangelo placed twelve large figures, seven prophets and five sibyls, alternating down the length of the chapel. Christian tradition saw them as voices that had foretold the coming of the Messiah.
What Ezekiel is going through at this moment, the fresco does not say. We see a man interrupted in his reading: the scroll is still in his hand, but his body has already turned towards something hidden from us.
Why is Ezekiel one of the liveliest figures on the ceiling?
The prophets and sibyls are the largest figures Michelangelo painted on the ceiling. Ezekiel belongs to the second phase of the work, together with the Cumaean Sibyl. By the majority theory Wikipedia reports, Michelangelo had by then seen the finished section from the floor and began painting larger figures.
Michelangelo was above all a sculptor, the maker of the David and the Pietà, and you can feel it in Ezekiel. The body under the heavy folds looks carved.
On the same vault sits The Prophet Isaiah, a figure Giorgio Vasari singled out for praise. How the whole ceiling came about is told in the English Wikipedia article on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which covers the entire scheme rather than Ezekiel alone.
Where is the original, and how was it made?
The original is part of the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Pope Sixtus IV had the chapel built between 1477 and 1480; Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling, which he did in fresco between 1508 and 1512.
Fresco means the paint goes into plaster that is still wet and binds with it for good as it dries. The Ezekiel field measures about 355 x 380 cm, far larger than any size we paint.
Candle smoke and varnish darkened its colours over the centuries; the latest restoration of the ceiling, from 1980 to 1989, brought them back.
The Prophet Ezekiel or another Michelangelo?
The Prophet Ezekiel is a canvas painting for anyone drawn to powerful figures and strong colour. It suits a study, a library or the wall above a desk.
As a companion piece, choose The Prophet Daniel: a young prophet with thick curls copying from a large open book. The female answer to both is The Delphic Sibyl, a young seer with wide-open eyes and a scroll in her hands.
For a full scene rather than one figure, see The Deluge, one of the stories in the central band of the ceiling. The famous Michelangelo paintings we offer are listed together on our Michelangelo page.
How does our painter paint Ezekiel?
To be clear: the original is a fresco painted into the plaster of the ceiling, while ours is a Michelangelo reproduction in oil paint on canvas, done by hand.
The painter starts only after you order. First he lays in the throne and the three figures. Then he builds the colour layer by layer, from the shadows in the orange robe to the bright blue band and the white beard.
Hands and face need the most care, because they carry the whole expression: the open palm has to read as a question, the gaze as sudden alertness. As an oil painting reproduction it has a real surface, with brushstrokes you will notice in raking light.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: the small sizes up to 56 x 64 cm for a study or a narrow wall by a door, 75 x 85 and 85 x 95 cm above a chest of drawers or in a hallway, 109 x 120 and 120 x 140 cm above a sofa, and 150 x 175 cm for a tall wall or a stairwell.
We paint The Prophet Ezekiel in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 43 x 47, 50 x 55, 56 x 64, 75 x 85, 85 x 95, 109 x 120, 120 x 140 and 150 x 175 cm. The fresco itself measures about 355 x 380 cm on the ceiling, so even our largest size, 150 x 175 cm, is much smaller.
Because the figure fills almost the whole field, Ezekiel holds its own even in the middle sizes. As a painting for the living room it is most convincing at 109 x 120 or 120 x 140 cm.
Can I have another size or a frame?
Yes. If your wall calls for different proportions, we adapt the composition so that the head, the open hand and the scroll stay whole. Let us know the size you have in mind and we will send a price and a lead time.
The painting ships rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Stretching and framing for Ezekiel happen in our workshop in Slovenia. The moulding is chosen in our 3D app, built for frame choice alone; a view of Ezekiel on your own wall is a separate service.
When will Ezekiel arrive, and how is it sent?
Once you confirm your order the painter starts, and Ezekiel is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before that we send you a photograph of the finished painting; if you want a change, we make it before packing. Within Slovenia and the rest of the EU there are no customs charges, and our returns policy covers every order.
Ezekiel makes a thoughtful gift for a Bible reader, a teacher or anyone who has stood under the Sistine ceiling. Not sure which size they would pick? Give them a wall art voucher for Ezekiel or any other painting.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original fresco?
On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where Michelangelo painted it around 1510.
What is the prophet holding?
A scroll in his left hand; his right reaches out with the palm open, as if asking something.
Is it a print or a photo on canvas?
No. It is a hand-painted copy, worked with brush and oil paint on canvas by our painter.
How big is the fresco?
Its field measures about 355 x 380 cm; our largest size is 150 x 175 cm.
Why are there nude child statues beside the throne?
They are painted statues of putti, part of the illusionistic architecture Michelangelo used to divide the ceiling.
Does it suit a living room or a study?
Yes. In the middle and large sizes it fills the wall above a sofa, a bookcase or a desk.
Can I order a size you do not list?
Yes. Tell us the width and height you need and we will quote a price and a finishing date.
How long does it take?
Our painter needs 15 to 45 working days, and a photo of your finished Prophet Ezekiel reaches you before dispatch.
- Subject: an old prophet with a white beard and a blue turban turns on his throne, palm open and scroll in hand; two youths behind him.
- Original: c. 1510, fresco, field about 355 x 380 cm, Sistine Chapel ceiling, Vatican City.
- Ours: painted by hand in oils on canvas once you order, 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 47 to 150 x 175 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: Ezekiel is one of the four major prophets Michelangelo painted on the ceiling.
