Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel: Frescoes in the triangular spandrels (Ancestors of Christ)

Occupying the triangular fields between the thrones of the prophets and sibyls, above the lunettes, the eight spandrels of the side walls contain family groups with figures seated or reclining on the bare ground, in poses that seem to draw on the theme of the flight into Egypt. Together with the groups or single figures in the lunettes on either side of the tablets, they represent the generations of Christ's ancestors. Due to the lack of typological elements or precise attributions and, in most cases, of iconographic precedents, it is difficult; if not impossible, to identify the figures represented.