Beyond the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Vatican Museums' most celebrated paintings include Raphael's School of Athens and Transfiguration, Caravaggio's Deposition, and Leonardo da Vinci's unfinished St. Jerome — spread across the Raphael Rooms and the Pinacoteca.
Of the four, the Deposition draws the steadiest crowd of dedicated viewers rather than passers-by — it sits in a smaller room than the Raphael Rooms, so it's worth timing a visit for a lull rather than expecting to walk straight up to it.
Is Caravaggio's Deposition in the same part of the Museums as the Sistine Chapel?
No — it's in the Pinacoteca, a separate picture gallery from the main route to the Sistine Chapel, so it's easy to miss without deliberately seeking it out.
Is Leonardo da Vinci's St. Jerome finished, or is that a myth?
It's genuinely unfinished — Leonardo abandoned it partway through, and the visible underdrawing and incomplete sections are part of what makes it art-historically interesting.
Which of these famous paintings is easiest to miss on a standard tour?
The Pinacoteca as a whole — most standard tours prioritize the Sistine Chapel route and treat the picture gallery as optional, so its paintings, including the Caravaggio and the Leonardo, get less footfall than the Raphael Rooms.
