Commentary: Coming face to face with The Last Judgment

I stood huddled in a small group of friends and a flamboyant tour guide in the middle of a hot and humid Sistine chapel while hundreds of other tourists shuffled by us. In hushed whispers, Jerry, the guide, pointed out the prominent motifs in the frescoed ceiling and The Last Judgment, an epic depiction of Christ’s second coming which adorns the front wall of the chapel.As Italian guards urged us to be quiet and move along, Jerry quickly gestured toward the middle right of the painting. Th