Here's what the Sistine Chapel looks like with LED lighting


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The Sistine Chapel was decked out with LED lights on Wednesday, and the results are stunning.
The chapel now has 7,000 LED lights, which add quite a new dimension to Michelangelo's 15th-century frescoes. Osram, a German light company that's one of the partners behind the project, said the LED lights will "protect the artworks while enabling much stronger lighting."
The LEDs are far stronger than the chapel's previous low lights, and they also use up to 90 percent less electricity, Osram noted. The $2.3 billion light project is part of LED4Art, an E.U.-funded project that encourages energy efficiency as well as light quality.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The electricians weren't messing around, either — Osram analyzed the frescoes' pigmentation to find the "color temperature" that would be "tailor-made for Michelangelo's colors." Color temperature controls the LED color, and for the Sistine Chapel, the sweet spot was between 3,000 and 4,000 Kelvin. Check out the stunning new lights, which bring out the frescoes' contrast to a dazzling degree, below. --Meghan DeMaria
Iframe Code
Iframe Code
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Why the Roman Empire is suddenly everywhere online
The Explainer It fell more than 1,500 years ago — so why is it dominating social media?
By Justin Klawans Published
-
How climate change is going to change the insurance industry
The Explainer Some regions will soon be 'uninsurable'
By Devika Rao Published
-
TV to watch in October, from 'Loki' to 'The Fall of the House of Usher'
The Explainer Celebrate spooky season with some eerie streaming shows
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published