Imagine staring at The Creation of Adam for as long as you want, without craning your neck upwards — and maybe even sitting on a bench in front of it. As one of the most well-known frescoes, it’s been reproduced and mimicked countless times, but due to its location on a ceiling, few onlookers have truly studied it.

The same goes for the many other vignettes the artist Michelangelo painted in the chapel, from The Last Judgement to the five Sibyls — until the traveling Sistine Chapel exhibit. Now, that exhibit will open in Denver at the Stanley Marketplace on July 4 and remain on view through August 13 — and we have a sneak peek.