Michelangelo’s art practice was sculpture. He was a recognized master of stone at the age of 23 when he sculpted the “Pieta” in 1497. Originally, his “Pieta” was made on a private commission for a French cardinal in Rome. The pieta was a well established religious motif when Michelangelo offered his perspective on the poignant moment when a mother holds the body of her son in her arms for the last time. To intensify the pathos, Michelangelo sculpted the form of Jesus to be about ⅔ life size so his body would fit more naturally across his mother’s lap, more in the tradition of the mother and child pose. The “Pieta” is the only art work Michelangelo signed.
After being hailed a master, Michelangelo had no further use for Rome and returned home. He enjoyed the patronage of the Medici family. In 1501, he accepted the commission for the monumental statue of “David” to commemorate the city of Florence. So he was not enthusiastic when Pope Julius II wanted him to work in Rome.
Pope Julius II was a cultural visionary who had seen Michelangelo’s “Pieta” and wanted statues that good carved on his tomb, too. And by selecting a Florentine for the commission, he did not have to choose among the creatives in his chaotic papal court. A man of action, Pope Julius did not demonstrate much interest in the next life or office administration. Wealthy and powerful, he supported art workshops, artists and artisans who fulfilled his dreams for the artistic renewal of Rome. Let the protestants have their austerity.
Second design for wall tomb for Julius II, Michelangelo
In reaction to the expanding protestant reformation, the barocco pope embraced a full classical Roman aesthetic. Every wall was a marvelous place for a fresco painting. Every public space should have a fountain. He spent lavishly to attract more pilgrims to Rome to see dazzlingly decorated churches full of music and singing. The pope wanted pilgrims to experience a powerful Roman Catholic Church restored like Rome to her legendary glory. And his place in the eternal city would be in a mausoleum for which the master Michelangelo would carve 40 statues.
Too tempting, Michelangelo decided to answer the Pope’s call to Rome in 1508 and arrived with the initial presentation drawings (modelli) for Julius’ monument. The design programme was agreed on and the contract signed. But due to expenses of wars and other demands, Julius did not have the funds to continue the tomb project. Gossip and unfriendly rivalry intensified when the tomb project failed for the first time and the pope would not let Michelangelo go. He might never come back to Rome.
The pope and the artist constantly clashed often loudly but not often enough for Michelangelo to leave the creative opportunity. The pope did find a reserve account with available cash but the funds could not be used for his tomb. The funds were allocated to finish the transformation of the Sistine Chapel. He couldn’t afford a sculptor for his tomb but he could hire a painter to repair the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Reconstruction of the interior of Sistine Chapel, artist unknown
Repair of Sistine Chapel ceiling
Contractual Drawing of the Sistine Ceiling Before Michelangelo by Piermatteo D’Amelia
About 1480, the ceiling of the Sistine chapel featured a painting of the starry night by Piermatteo D’Amelia. The motif of a dark blue sky filled with golden stars had been used traditionally for painted ceilings in religious and spiritual places for 2500 years before being embraced by Christians. In 1504 a diagonal crack opened in the starry night ceiling. The damage was caused by construction on the new basilica nearby. While the architect Bramante stabilized the Sistine chapel ceiling vault, the starry sky painting was damaged beyond repair.
Considering the chapel ceiling is 65 Ft high, a painting of a starry night with gold stars would have been a good enough replacement. However, the ceiling project was the only one left to offer Michelangelo. The chapel walls had already been frescoed by master painters including Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino and Domenico Ghirlandaio. Being offered the ceiling project was technically an insult but Pope Julius insisted Michelangelo accept the commission.
Who looks up?
The pope was certainly aware the painting might not look good because Michelangelo had not received a traditional painting education, or much formal training in fresco techniques. Regardless, the pope promised Michelangelo within a few years, when the painting was finished, there would again be funds for the colossal sculpture project destined for St. Peter’s Basilica.
A starry night painting could be executive too quickly. The goal was to keep Michelangelo in Rome so the pope’s design committee produced a plan for an elaborate series of painting to keep maestro Michelangelo busy for four years at least. Michelangelo reportedly made hundreds of drawings for ceiling, some of which he adapted from sketches he had already made for his mausoleum project.
Michelangelo was a draughtsman and sculptor, not a painter. He obviously knew some good ones who agreed to join him in Rome. He was then able to approach the challenge of the Sistine Chapel job with a posse of expert illustrators, painters and artisans who were able to follow his chiseled lines across 5000 SF of ceiling space six stories off the ground.
Michelangelo, working with the architect Bramante, innovated a platform scaffolding system so painters could work together. Michelangelo’s innovative platform scaffolding increased safety for those working six stories above the ground.
Incising lines to follow
Michelangelo treated the damp plaster more like a sculpture media. He and his crew incised lines deeply into moist plaster to increase the physicality of certain visual elements. Frescoed areas were carved into and back filled with paint to further enhance the illusion of depth. If lines needed to be darkened or colors corrected, secco fresco painting techniques were added to paint colors on to lightly moistened or dry plaster surfaces.
The team used different art making practices over the course of painting the series across a vaulted ceiling 130 Ft. long and 40 Ft. wide. Michelangelo could have done much of the incising of the major figures but left the painting to his team. The use of a specialized cangiante color technique, which is intrinsic to the look of Sistine paintings, should have been attributed to the work of a master painter, who knew how to modulate color intensity, especially on the sybil paintings and the prophets, to depict moving figures.
Style change to larger figures
About 1510 when the scaffolding came down either to be re-located or to accommodate an ecclesiastical event in the chapel, the painters took their first look at the finished panels and they changed direction. The frescoed scenes were too intricate. From a distance of 65 ft. humans eyes do not see much detail so paintings of multiple figures in action scenes like “The Flood” were lost in a blur.
The Deluge, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
Michelangelo lead a year long re-design effort. When the scaffolding went back up in January 1511, Michelangelo and his team produced the most famous paintings including “Adam” and the “Temptation of Eve.”These were much more expressive paintings. The size of the figures was scaled up so they could be seen from the floor. Instead of using the slow elaborate buon fresco style, the team switched to classical Roman mezzo techniques.
Using mezzo fresco, Michelangelo and his team painted into a thicker plaster paste that dried slowly so they had extra time to adjust the pictures. Additional grits were mixed into the plaster to improve adhesion. The paints, made lime water and pigments, were fluid enough to cover much more wall space with each brush stroke.
The expulsion from paradise, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
Michelangelo’s career has been so well documented but there are still rumors. One is about Michelangelo hearing that the pope planned to take down the scaffolding again before the paintings were finished. After years of working in unfavorable conditions for an unruly tyrant, some suggested Michelangelo was ready to blow.
God creating the sun, moon and planets, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo
All that energy was thrown against the last few panels.
On the ceiling over the altar, God appeared to separate lightness and darkness. Such large areas of colors in swirling masses of fabrics made with few lines and few color changes reveal a strong desire to get the paintings done.
He completed his task to paint the Sistine Chapel but he would not finish the carvings for the tomb of Pope Julius II for decades.
Header image: The Creation of Eve, Sistine Chapel