Most New Zealanders will never get the chance to see Michelangelo’s breath-taking Sistine Chapel frescoes in person, so this summer under licence from the Vatican Museums, they’re coming exclusively to Wellington!

Michelangelo – A Different View will be presented at Tākina, Wellington’s premier convention and exhibition centre, and brought to you by The Stetson Group — the team behind the record-breaking The Art of Banksy exhibitions in Auckland (2018) and Wellington (2025).

This once-in-a-lifetime event runs from 22 December through to 8 February, featuring over 50 stunning pieces, including a life-sized reproduction of The Genesis, famously painted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. But instead of craning your neck to look up, A Different View invites you to experience Michelangelo’s genius from an entirely new perspective – from above and up close.

This immersive experience, complete with audio guide, allows visitors to admire every intricate detail of Michelangelo’s work, many from just two metres away – offering a far more intimate and comfortable viewing experience than in the Vatican itself, where some 20,000 people queue daily for a glimpse.

Enhancing the exhibition further, VIP guided tours will be led by Dr Christopher Longhurst, a theologian and aesthete who served for 17 years as an operatore didattico at the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica, and the Vatican Museums' Papal Art Galleries.

Dr Longhurst says Michelangelo – A Different View offers an up-close and personal view of one of art history’s most extraordinary, complex, and timeless visual masterpieces.

“Born out of an idea from The Stetson Group to give New Zealanders a different view of Michelangelo’s ceiling and altar wall, this exhibition offers unique significance for Aotearoa,” he explains.

“The 16th century Florentine’s frescoes absorb within themselves not only the great heritage of the classical world and cutting-edge science, in which our civilisation here in New Zealand has its roots, but also local indigenous knowledge. The images speak to us as they touch the points of intersection between art and science, faith and reason, antiquity and modernity, Māori mythology and the Bible.”

During the VIP visits Dr Longhurst will take you behind the scenes to unravel some of the major historical and artistic moments around the frescoes, welcoming questions and discussion along the way.

Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to encounter one of history’s greatest artistic achievements – right here at home.

Every ticket purchased is eligible to go into a draw to win an unforgettable trip to Rome for two, including entry to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, thanks to our friends at House of Travel. T&Cs apply.

WellingtonNZ chief executive Mark Oldershaw says: “Wellingtonians and visitors to our city will be able to take a step back in time at this awe-inspiring exhibition. As the nation’s creative heart, we’re proud to be supporting such a unique exhibit at Tākina, which combines centuries-old fresco masterpieces with modern day technology to deliver the closest experience to the Sistine Chapel outside of Vatican City.” 

Michelangelo – A Different View presents a very different picture of Michelangelo’s works: the exhibition shows photo-mechanically reproduced copies almost in original size and in a way that invites visitors to look at them up close and in their own time.

Michelangelo – A Different View is a transformative experience that allows attendees to look down on ‘The Genesis’ that is enshrined on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel rather than up…. hence the exhibition’s name A Different View. This offers a much closer perspective of what its Florentine creator did. The rest of the frescoes are in frames and can be viewed from within 2 metres.

With no time constraints, visitors can allow these masterpieces to truly soak in.

Some 50 pieces, including an almost original size, 4.9m x 22m reproduction of ‘The Genesis’ (which includes The Creation of Man) and a 5.4m x 5.4m version of ‘The Last Judgment’ are just 1-2 metres away from the viewer, while audio guides, accessible via personal devices (please bring your own phone, head set/earbuds), mean visitors can experience the Florentine master’s interpretation of the Bible’s creation story in a way they never imagined.

As an addition to – and to complete – Michelangelo — A Different View, reproductions of 14 of these impressive frescoes await visitors inside the exhibition. Scenes from the lives of Jesus and Moses, painted by Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli, provide additional historical background and allow for a deeper insight into this epoch.

Promoters Stewart and Tricia Macpherson of the Stetson Group say they are honoured to be able to present such a significant exhibition in Wellington this summer.

“Most people will only have dreamed of seeing these paintings in the Sistine Chapel,” says Stewart.

“This is the closest we’ll get to the real thing anytime soon. And the fact they’ll be just metres away, is extraordinary.”

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