One of history’s greatest sculptors performed one of the finest artistic projects of all time by putting his mallet and chisel down in favor of a paint brush. The artist was Michelangelo, the project was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
About the Sistine Chapel: Called the Cappella Maggiore, the first structure was known to exist as early as 1368 and became the meeting place for the papal household (papal court). It came into disrepair about the time of Pope Sixtus IV, who hired Baccio Pontelli to design its replacement. The present structure was built to the approximate proportions of the first building between 1473 and 1481 under the supervision of Giovani de Dolci. The first mass was celebrated on August 15, 1483, and the chapel was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In addition to tourism, it is still in use today for the papal conclave that handles voting for the election of a new Pope. The ceiling of the chapel has a curvature or barrel vault shape that rises above the window arches on the upper portion of the walls. It was first painted a brilliant blue color and dotted with gold stars. The interior walls were decorated with frescoes representing fourteen scenes taken from church history that were done by several of the best artists of the High Renaissance: Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Pietro Perugino. Many of the early frescoes still exist, but some were partially displaced later by Michelangelo’s fresco, The Last Judgement.
About Michelangelo: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born March 6, 1475, in the small town of Caprese, near Arezzo in Tuscany. His mother died when he was six years old, and he went to live in a small town near Florence with a nanny and her husband who was a stonecutter. It was following the stonecutter’s role model early in his life that he became engrossed with sculpture. He attended the Platonic Academy of Florence from 1490 to 1492, sponsored by Lorenzo de’ Medici, where his work was influenced by philosophers and thinkers of the times. Florence was considered to be at the heart of arts and learning in Italy during the High Renaissance of the fifteenth century. However, his fate took a turn upon the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici and he left the academy to return home. A few years later political upheaval forced the Medici out of Florence, and Michelangelo went to Bologna to carve stone statues for the shrine in the church of St. Dominic. After selling a statue abroad, he caught the attention of Cardinal Raffaele Riario, who summoned him to Rome. There the French ambassador to the Holy See commissioned him to carve a sculpture of the Virgin Mary grieving over the body of Christ. The political climate in Florence improved and he returned in 1504 to finish the huge statue of David, that was at that time his most famous work. This project was widely recognized as the work of a genius, as he took a large, partially worked marble block that had been considered spoiled by the previous artist, and turned it into a masterpiece.
The Sistine Chapel: In 1505 Michelangelo returned to Rome and was commissioned by Pope Julius II to build the Pope’s tomb. The project took him forty years to complete as he was often interrupted by the Pope for other projects that were of a higher priority than the tomb. One of those projects was to repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo resisted the assignment as he preferred to stick to the project of completing the Pope’s tomb. Further, he considered himself a sculptor above all and not necessarily a painter. He also suspected that the project with its enormous size was offered to him through the encouragement of some of his rivals who hoped that he would fail miserably to complete it. With his assistants he developed a system of wooden scaffolds that reached to the ceiling about sixty-eight feet up at its highest point. The work went on for four years from 1508 to 1512. The job was so unpleasant for him that he wrote a poem complaining about the physical contortions he had to put himself through to get the job finished. Though he was uncomfortable, none of the painting was done by him or any of his assistants while lying down. Since he was working on the project against his wishes, Pope Julius II granted him more leeway as to what subjects he could paint. The completed work featured more than 300 figures and included nine biblical stories from the Book of Genisis such as the Creation of Adam, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Great Flood. The work was done with bright colors that would be more easily visible from the floor below. When it was finally all finished it covered an area of over 5,500 square feet.
Later Works: After the Sistine Chapel project was completed, Michelangelo returned to the unfinished tomb of Pope Julius II. However, he was interrupted again in 1516, this time by Pope Leo X, the son of an old benefactor, Lorenzo de’ Medici, who succeeded Julius II when he died. Pope Leo X commissioned Michelangelo to reconstruct the façade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. He spent three years designing the façade and accompanying statues until the project was abruptly halted in 1520. A few years later he was commissioned to build the Laurentian Library at the Basilica, but political turmoil again interceded, and the plans were left for others to interpret and use. He returned to Rome, and in 1534 was commissioned by Pope Clement VII to paint a fresco of The Last Judgement on the wall above the altar in the Sistine Chapel. This work, that featured the second coming of Christ, took him seven years until 1541 to complete. Afterward he continued to receive other commissions, and was appointed as the architect in 1546 of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He inherited this project that was another failure of sorts as it had carried on for fifty years with only minimal progress achieved by several previous architects. The project moved forward under Michelangelo’s direction, and was completed in 1590 after his death in 1564 at the age of eighty-eight.
Conclusions: In 1984, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel underwent restoration as the bright colors used during its creation had worn down over the centuries. To perform this delicate operation the restoration team needed to research exactly how Michelangelo painted the ceiling to avoid damaging the paintings during the restoration process. Research told them that Michelangelo only painted on plaster that was freshly laid. Knowing this, chemists developed a solvent that would dissolve away all other materials that had accumulated onto the paintings over time or via earlier restorations. The only substance that remained was Michelangelo’s original paint that dried into the fresh plaster.
Sources: History.com, 7 Things You May Not Know About the Sistine Chapel, by Jennie Cohen, July 24, 2023.
Wikipedia, Sistine Chapel.
Wikipedia, Michelangelo.
Wow, what an incredible blog post on Michelangelo’s masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel! It beautifully captures the awe-inspiring magnificence of this iconic work of art. The meticulous detailing and the vivid colors used by Michelangelo are truly unparalleled. This blog not only highlights the stunning frescoes adorning the ceiling, but also brings to light the immense creativity, talent, and dedication that went into their creation. It’s fascinating to delve into the historical and artistic significance of this masterpiece. Thank you for sharing such an informative and captivating piece that enhances our understanding and appreciation of Michelangelo’s greatest achievement.
Thanks David. I have been involved with raising funds for a fresco in a chaplel of a college where I worked. Watching the process was fascinating.. I can only imagine the Sistine Chapel and the process the artist used then.