Explore the History of this artwork, The Last Judgement (Vasari and Zuccari).
As the dome of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence  approached completion there were number of suggestions as to how to decorate its ceiling. One was that it should be covered with a mosaic decoration to make the most of the available light coming through the circular windows of the drum and through the lantern. However, there was little existing experience with mosaic and it was considered extremely expensive. There was also concern at the time as to what impact their weight would have on the dome, which does not seem very important today, given the enormous weight of the dome.
The domes architect Filippo Brunelleschi had proposed that the ceiling be covered with gold, but his death in April 1446 put an end to this idea. In the end the ceiling was simply whitewashed.
The dome remained unadorned until Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, in response to the religious Council of Trent and the resulting Counter-Reformation, decided in 1568 to commission the decoration of  the ceiling as a means of not only advertising his role as a Christian ruler and promoter of religious art in Florence but also of displaying his support for the new religious order and the Pope.
Cosimo tasked his court painter Giorgio Vasari and his literary and theological adviser the learned Benedictine cleric Vincenzo Borghini to compose a suitable decoration. Most probably inspired by Michelangelo's work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Vasari suggested the theme of The Last Judgment. An extensive consultation took place between Vasari and Borghini and between Vasari and the eminent humanist Cosimo Bartoli on the project.Borghini's eventual iconographic design which took inspiration from the Book of Revelation along with Dante's Divine Comedy called for the walls of the vault to be painted in concentric circles, with the upper areas featuring Christ, the Madonna and the angels, which would symbolize the redemption of man's spirit as it strove toward heaven. The lowest circle would feature eternal torment to depict man's descent into the horrors of the underworld. In response Vasari with input from Borghini completed numerous drawings to visualize the design.Vasari began the work in 1572. Brunelleschi had anticipated that access would be needed to the interior surface of the dome by  installing iron rings from which scaffolding could be hung. There were also small windows in the inner shell through which a painter could crawl out onto suspended platforms.
Despite the assistance of the Bolognese painter Lorenzo Sabatini, Vasari had completed only the uppermost level representing The 24 Elders of the Apocalypse and three sections of the one immediately below it prior to his death in June 1574. Cosimo had presided him by two months. His successor Francesco I de’ Medici decided to continue with the project and he commissioned Federico Zuccari to complete the work, with instructions to adhere to the use of fresco as well as both Vasari's drawings for the upper four segments of the cupola and his sketches for the scenes of Hell as well as his painting style. 
Zuccari's formal agreement to undertake the project was signed with the l’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in November 1575, and he commenced work on 30 August 1576. Among the artists who assisted him were Bartolomeo Carducci, Domenico Passignano and Stefano Pieri (who had been a collaborator of Zuccari's in Rome).The work that had been completed to date reflected Vasari's "conservative" traditional Tuscan style which had a harmonic delicacy with subtle colour changes and impeccably depicted figures. Despite the restrictions imposed on him by the contract Zuccari (who was a stranger to Florentine culture and taste) attempted to impose his own stylistic language, by changing the physiques of the painted characters, the costumes and the colour range.
Since the detail that was characteristic of Vasari's method was difficult to pick out from the floor of the cathedral Zuccari's drew on his experience with producing theatrical backcloths and the methods of Roman painters to produce a  work which while it was of a poor executive quality produced a grandiose final effect. This did however allow him to complete the project in three years, especially for a commission of such size.Zuccari celebrated the completion of the project by commissioning a commemorative medallion (which is now preserved at the Bargello Museum).When the finished work was unveiled in August 1579 the Florentines were unhappy with the result and there were such scathing attacks that they deeply impacted on Zuccari's reputation and future commissions. The 16th-century author Antonio Francesco Grazzini humorously satirised the frescoes (in which "Giorgin" was a reference to Vasari):  “I speak the truth, not from a loathing of others nor to disparage, but really Giorgin d’Arezzo, Giorgin, Giorgin must be blamed for Giorgin sinned.”
Later the 20th century Italian art critic Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti proposed that the entire vault be whitewashed to better emphasize the pure forms of Brunelleschi's architecture.The debate raged until the decision was made in 1981 to restore the frescoes.
Giorgio Vasari Bartolomeo Carducci Federico Zuccari Florence Filippo Brunelleschi Vincenzo Borghini Cosimo I de' Medici Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore Council of Trent Cosimo Bartoli Antonio Francesco Grazzini Lorenzo Sabatini Domenico Passignano fresco Counter-Reformation