Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition debuted this week in Oakbrook, Illinois. Held at the Oakbrook Center and running through Aug. 15, this traveling exhibit presents photographic reproductions of Michelangelo’s renowned ceiling frescoes from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel displayed in original size.

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As visitors walk through the exhibit, they get up close to each of the 34 masterful reproductions, including The Creation of Adam and The Last Judgment. Because of the special photographic technique used that reproduces the look and feel of the originals, details, brushstrokes and colors are seen in all their brilliance. The mere size of these reproductions is impressive.

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Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition debuted in the United States at the State Fair of Texas in 2016, where it was voted in the top three attractions at the iconic yearly event. Since then, it made stops in Montréal, Canada, and Vienna, Austria.

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After being appointed by Pope Julius II, Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling 1508–1512. Michelangelo’s Renaissance-era work in the Sistine Chapel continues to draw tourists from all over the world. The exhibition is the next-best thing to actually being in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

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The touchless exhibit is available in English, Spanish, Italian and French. The all-ages show takes about 60 minutes to tour.

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My maternal Italian grandmother would have loved this. I felt she was with me in spirit, though, as I heard stories from her on the majesty of the real Sistine Chapel.

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— John Wroblewski, online writer