ROME – Michelangelo’s two last great frescoes are to be restored, the Vatican announced yesterday. The news brought a nervous response from the art world, which has previously accused the Holy See of “over-cleaning” works by the renaissance genius.

The two frescoes, each more than 20-feet square, adorn the chapel Cappella Paolina at the Vatican, traditionally used for private papal functions. The Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter were commissioned by Pope Paul III. The commission followed the completion of the artist’s work in the Sistine Chapel next door. Vatican officials privately confirmed the news after reports in the Italian press.

A source said that a committee of art experts convened by the Holy See had come out in favor of the restoration. However, he denied that the committee had been consulted in an effort to avoid a row similar to an earlier one that raged in the 1980s, when critics claimed that the Vatican was “ruining” Michelangelo’s frescoes on the Sistine ceiling by cleaning them too much.

The frescoes were completed in 1550 when Michelangelo was 75 and are considered the completion of the biblical cycle of illustrations by the artist begun in the adjoining Sistine Chapel.

According to some interpretations, they may also represent the artist’s perception of his own “spiritual journey” toward the end of his life, when he dedicated his work to the glory of God.

Restoration of the frescoes, which together extend over an area of 882 square feet, is expected to begin in the near future. Work is to last at least four years, and cost pounds $3.58 million.

Monsignor Gianni Danzi, secretary-general of the administrative body that runs Vatican City, said he viewed the undertaking as “both an exciting challenge and an enormous responsibility.”