Why isn't the Sistine Madonna in the Sistine Chapel?

Answer 1

Before we start Sistine is a Latinised/Latinized version of Sixtus.

The Sistine Madonna is so called because it features St Sixtus who was Pope Sixtus I in 117/119 to 126/128 AD records are a bit sketchy as to when with any certainty.

The Sistine Chapel is named after Pope Sixtus IV, Pope from 1471 to 1484, who founded the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Madonna painted by Raphael in 1512/1514 was thought to be intended for the tomb of Julius II, Pope from 1503 to 1513, However it never made it there. The painting was given to the Convent of St Sixtus in Piacenza/Plancentia and later given by the monks to Fredrick Augustus III of Saxony, where it hung in Dresden until it was looted by the Russians during the Second World War. It was later returned to Dresden, where it now hangs in the Old Masters Museum.

It was never intended for the Sistine Chapel, and in my humble opinion, it would be lost among the glory of that building. I can see why you think that, because of the name Sistine, but I hope I have explained that well enough for you to see that even though they are both named Sistine, They are actually different.

And as footnote, and probably to confuse you further, St Sixtus is the Patron Saint of the della Rovere family, which is the family Sixtus IV and Julius II came from.

----