Testament and Death of Moses

Luca Signorelli's Testament and Death of Moses, painted in 1482 for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, is one of the earliest fresco decorations of the chapel that would later receive Michelangelo's ceiling. Signorelli was among the distinguished group of painters—including Perugino, Botticelli, and Ghirlandaio—summoned by Pope Sixtus IV to decorate the chapel walls. His powerful figural style is evident even within the collaborative decorative program.

Signorelli's fresco demonstrates his command of large-scale figure painting with dynamic poses and muscular anatomy, contributing to the Sistine Chapel's wall decoration with the monumental figure style that later impressed Michelangelo.