This image of the oft-depicted St. Bartholomew holding his flayed skin contains one extraordinary element: a self-portrait of the artist, who put his own face on the hanging flesh. Which leading Renaissance artist painted the enormous fresco of The Last Judgment (c. 1541) that contains this remarkable vignette?

Located on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's massive, tumultuous fresco depicting the terror and doom of the Last Judgment is a startling contrast from the airy and triumphant scene on the artist's celebrated ceiling. Part of the difference is due to Michelangelo's age: just 30 when he began the ceiling, he was nearly 60 years old when commissioned to paint the altar wall, which he worked on for seven straight years. Some believe his youthful optimism had gradually faded, replaced by inner torment about his own impending judgment day.

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