Description
The Prophet Zechariah is a fresco Michelangelo painted around 1508–1509 on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, and the first prophet he painted there: a bald old man with a long white beard leafs through a thick book held up before his face, while two children look over his shoulder. On the ceiling the field measures about 390 cm wide and 360 cm high, far larger than any size we paint. We paint it by hand and to order, in oils on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 70 to 111 x 188 cm or made to measure, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Prophet Zechariah |
| Other titles: | Il profeta Zaccaria · Der Prophet Sacharja |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) |
| Year painted: | c. 1508–1509 |
| Original size: | about 360 cm x 390 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 Zechariah – Michelangelo
What can you see in The Prophet Zechariah?
The prophet sits in profile, facing right. His head is almost bald, with a few white hairs above the ear, and his beard falls over his chest in long, wavy strands. His eyes are lowered to the page and his brow is furrowed.
He holds the book high in both hands, almost at the level of his face. The cover is dark, a brownish violet, and the pages fan open as if he had just let them run under his thumb.
An orange-ochre robe with wide sleeves covers his upper body, with a narrow blue collar at the neck. A green cloak falls across his knees to the ground in heavy, soft folds, and a band of red-brown cloth winds behind his back. Below the cloak a bare foot rests on a block of stone.
Behind him, along the left edge, two children with thick reddish-gold curls look towards the book; one, wrapped in white cloth, has an arm around the other’s shoulder. Our model is a closer view of the fresco, without the decorated throne or the name tablet.
Who was Zechariah, and why does his place in the chapel matter?
Zechariah is one of the twelve so-called minor prophets of the Old Testament; Joel and Jonah are the other two from that group on the ceiling. With the four major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, they make seven, joined by five sibyls, prophetic women of the classical world.
In Christian tradition all twelve foretold a Messiah, and Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah would arrive on a donkey. The Jesuit theologian John W. O’Malley notes that this is why he sits directly above the doorway opposite the altar, through which the pope is carried in procession on Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem.
Why does this prophet stand out?
Zechariah was the first prophet Michelangelo painted on the ceiling. He began at the end of the chapel with the main door, with the Drunkenness of Noah and with Zechariah, and then worked backwards through the story as far as the Creation of Eve.
On the most widely held view, this first stage, with the story of Noah, was finished in September 1509; only when the scaffolding came down could the scenes be seen from the floor. Later figures are larger, which is put down to Michelangelo judging them from below for the first time.
The restoration of the ceiling, completed on 31 December 1989, removed candle soot and old varnish, revealing colours closer to those of the finished work. The English Wikipedia article on the Sistine Chapel ceiling covers the whole vault, prophets and sibyls included, not Zechariah alone.
Where can you see the original?
The original is on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, about 20 metres above the floor, directly over the main door.
Pope Julius II commissioned the ceiling, and Michelangelo painted more than 300 figures on it between 1508 and 1512. It is a fresco: the colours were laid into fresh plaster and bound with it as it dried.
The twelve prophets and sibyls are the ceiling’s largest figures, each named on a painted marble tablet held by a putto; Zechariah’s reads ZACHERIAS. The scenes of Noah belong to the same first stage, among them The Deluge, where people retreat from the water onto the last patches of dry land.
Zechariah or another of Michelangelo’s prophets?
The Prophet Zechariah is a canvas painting for book lovers: warm orange and cool green sit well with wood and leather in a library, an office or beside a reading chair.
Its natural partner is The Prophet Jonah: in the chapel the two face each other, Zechariah above the door, Jonah above the altar. The young Jonah leans far back and looks upwards, with the great fish beside him; together they mark the beginning and the end of the ceiling.
The Prophet Joel shows another minor prophet: a strong grey-haired man reading a scroll held open in both hands, his face said to be a portrait of the architect Bramante. Book lovers should also see The Prophet Isaiah, singled out by Vasari for praise. All the famous Michelangelo paintings we offer are on our Michelangelo page.
How does a fresco become a painting on canvas?
Let us be plain: the original is a fresco painted into the plaster of a curved vault, while our Zechariah is an oil painting reproduction, painted by hand on canvas.
Work starts only once you have ordered. The painter first sets down the outlines of the profile, the book, the children and the foot on the stone, then builds the colour layer by layer, from the dark folds to the bright edges.
The green cloak, filling almost half the surface, takes the most work: every fold needs its own passage from shadow to light. The white beard is built up with fine, pale strokes so that it stays soft.
Which size works for your room?
In short: 40 x 70 or 45 x 80 cm for a narrow wall beside a door or above a shelf, 50 x 90 or 60 x 100 cm for a hallway, bedroom or study, 69 x 115 or 84 x 152 cm above a sofa or sideboard, and 99 x 165 or 111 x 188 cm for a tall wall, a stairwell or an entrance hall.
The Prophet Zechariah comes in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 70, 45 x 80, 50 x 90, 60 x 100, 69 x 115, 84 x 152, 99 x 165 and 111 x 188 cm. The fresco itself measures about 390 cm wide and 360 cm high on the ceiling; our largest size, 111 x 188 cm, is much smaller.
As a painting for the living room it works best at 69 x 115 or 84 x 152 cm. Zechariah watches over a door in the chapel, so yours could hang above a door too, in a lower size such as 50 x 90 cm.
Is another size possible, and which frame suits it?
Yes. For a different proportion we adapt the composition, keeping the head and beard, the book, both children and the bare foot whole; this Michelangelo reproduction stays recognisable in any format. Send us the width and height you need for a price and a lead time.
We send the painting rolled, on a stretcher bar or ready framed. Our own workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames each Zechariah before it leaves. Choose his frame in our 3D app; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will the painting arrive?
The painter starts after you confirm, and the finished painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. We send you a photograph before dispatch and make any change you ask for before packing. There are no customs within Slovenia or the EU, and our returns policy covers every order.
Zechariah makes a fine gift for someone named Zechariah, for a keen reader, a religious education teacher or a priest. Unsure of the size? A wall art voucher lets the recipient pick both the painting and the format.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the fresco today?
On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, above the main door, about 20 metres up.
Who are the children behind the prophet?
Two curly-haired children who follow his reading over his shoulder.
Is this a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy, made by our painter with brush and oil paint on canvas.
How large is the fresco?
About 390 cm wide and 360 cm high; our largest size is 111 x 188 cm.
What does Zechariah above the door mean?
He foretold a Messiah riding a donkey, and the pope is carried through that door in procession on Palm Sunday.
Does it suit a living room or an office?
Yes, it is calm and warm; it also suits a library, hallway or bedroom.
Can you paint it in a different size?
Of course. Tell us the width and height, and we will send a price and the time it takes.
How long is the wait?
15 to 45 working days; before dispatch you see the finished painting in a photograph.
- Subject: a bald prophet with a long white beard, in an orange robe and green cloak, leafs through a book; two children behind him.
- Original: c. 1508–1509, fresco, about 360 x 390 cm (height x width), Sistine Chapel ceiling above the main door, Vatican City.
- Ours: painted by hand to order in oils on canvas, 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 70 to 111 x 188 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: Zechariah was the first prophet Michelangelo painted on the ceiling.
