Let There Be Light Emitting Diodes: How to Illuminate the Sistine Chapel

When Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, he did so, for the most part, using the light of the sun that streamed through the windows of the building. And for the past 500 years since then, viewers have admired the results of that work, for the most part, with the help of that same light source. It wasn’t until the 1980s that, concerned about solar radiation damaging the frescos' paint, Vatican officials blocked off the chapel's windows. In their place they installed a system of halogen light bulbs that emitted pigment-preserving, low-energy light.