Do You Know why the Sistine Chapel was Artrageous Art History Lesson

On May 10th, 1508, work begins. And man, what a job Michelangelo has in store. Let me just shortlist some of the crazy issues he will have to face. Man, that's really high. One, he has to remove all the old plaster within the chapel, which was going to be a huge mess. Two, the chapel was not going to close while Michelangelo was painting. So normal scaffolding covering the chapel floor wasn't going to work. Three, it's Rome, and it can easily get to 90 degrees in the summer. And that's just standing outside on the ground. Four, Michelangelo was painting in fresco style, which he had very little experience with and is one of the most difficult forms of painting ever. Five, the height within the chapel was crazy. The ceiling was over 60 feet above the ground. That's over six stories tall. Support provided by the Glick Fund, a CICF fund focused on inspiring philanthropy. Additional support provided by the Crystal DeHaan Family Foundation in honor of the children and families of Crystal House. First priority was to build some sort of scaffold or a platform. Michelangelo hires the top dog scaffold builder in Rome, and he decides to hang the scaffold from massive ropes. This did not fly with Michelangelo, who immediately tosses out the idea. Michelangelo then decides to drill holes on either side of the chapel walls. Then he takes planks and inserts them into the wall, which then allowed the scaffold builder a base to start from. Michelangelo's idea was to create two arches with steps that contoured and curved with the ceiling. This design was ingenious and left the floor of the chapel clear for the pope. However, they knew debris and dust would be an issue, so they hung a massive fabric under the platform. This solved another issue, which was blocking the dizzying 60-foot drop from the scaffold. Probably most important to Michelangelo, this prevented anyone from seeing the work until it was completed. After removing the old plaster, things were about to get started. But fresco painting needs two layers of plaster on the wall. The first is called the aricio, and the second, which is called the intonaco. We will investigate further into this within another episode, simply because there is so much sweet science happening here. If you are about to throw down 150 different scenes using one of the most difficult painting techniques known to man, you are going to need a team of assistants. After much deliberation, he finally decides on four assistants. And man, he was going to need them. Let's just quickly run through what an average day 60 feet above the ground looked like for Team Michelangelo. Man, that's really high. First, the entire team had to climb the 40-foot ladder to the lowest planks. That's over three times the average swimming pool depth of 12 feet, just in case you were wondering. Once up, they had to climb steps to reach the additional 20 feet to the top. Light came in through small windows by day, but it was torches only at night. And yes, they worked at night. Next, they would apply the intonaco layer. Mixing this paste was no easy task, and also pretty dangerous. Keep in mind, one of the primary ingredients was quicklime. Know what else they use quicklime for? They would sprinkle it on dead bodies to quicken the decomposition and lessen the stench in the church courtyard, where the dead would wait to be buried. Powerful stuff. The next step would be for the artist to transfer the cartoon to the wall. This was basically a drawing done in graphite, which was usually transferred by poking hundreds of holes around the sketch and then using powdered charcoal to transfer the lines to the wet plaster. Again, crazy time-consuming and difficult process. Of course, all his paints had to be hand-mixed as well. Mixing these pigments was an art in and of itself. Finally, Michelangelo is ready to begin. The first scene he decides to tackle is the biblical story of the flood. Of course, in perfect fashion, he runs into all types of problems. He had a lot of corrections, which meant he had to erase. Think erasing is easy on plaster? Nope, you're right. Basically, you had two options. One, scrape off the wet plaster before it dries. Two, if it is already dry, grab the hammer and chisel, baby. You have your work cut out for you. Another issue Team Michelangelo was having is that mildew was forming on the plaster. His team was adding too much water too quickly to the plaster mixture. And they were also adding binding agents or glues to help adhere the paint. However, this wasn't allowing the plaster to dry quickly enough. Mildew, not good. So what does Michelangelo do? He fires almost his entire team and decides to paint buon fresco, which means to paint directly on wet plaster. Michelangelo may have lied down here and there, but more often than not, you would have seen Michelangelo painting standing up with his head turned up. Seriously, can you imagine how painful this would get after days, weeks, months, and even years of doing this? My neck just hurts thinking about it. Maybe this is why he was known to be pretty grumpy and antisocial. In addition, he was also known to be crazy dirty and smelly. Apparently, his dad had told him, never wash yourself. So he would just sleep in the same clothes and just keep on going. I mean, even people of his day thought that was gross. And these were people who were at most bathing like once a week. As Michelangelo continued to paint, one issue that always seemed to come up was Pope Julius. He would often come around and yell up to Michelangelo. Michelangelo, when are you going to finish the chapel? And I love Michelangelo's response. When I can. Of course, the pope wasn't about to be one-upped and responded with, you don't want me to have you thrown off the red scaffolding? At one point, the pope, in a moment of frustration, smacks Michelangelo with a stick. Of course, he later tells him, the stick hitting was just a sign of my affection. Right. At one point, Pope Julius even disguises himself to see the work in progress. Michelangelo, not buying any of this, sees the pope ascending the ladder. He quickly grabs planks of wood and hurls them at the pope. It was on July 15 of 1510 at 9 AM. The first section of the ceiling was unveiled. As you can imagine, everyone was completely speechless at what Michelangelo had created. Even the painter Raphael, whom Michelangelo despised, said he was completely amazed. Nearly a year later, after having the scaffolding moved to the other half of the chapel, Michelangelo is ready to start tackling scenes from the Book of Genesis. He decides to start with what is probably the most famous of his paintings, the creation of Adam. Do you have any idea why this particular painting or scene is so popular? First, the goal of any respectable Renaissance artist was to create figures that looked very real, and Michelangelo did that while also creating what many called the perfect specimen of a human. Adam doesn't look like he spent a day at the gym, that's for sure. Michelangelo also painted God in full length, I mean, complete with kneecaps and toes exposed. Rest assured, no one was doing that. Most early Christian art simply represented God as a giant hand emerging from heaven. As Michelangelo continued to paint scenes, his confidence and speed continued to increase as well. In fact, when he finally gets to the last Genesis scene, he completes the entire painting in one day. What? That's right, one day. That was over 60 square feet of wet plaster. Even though he was moving crazy fast and creating beautiful images, he was definitely getting burned out. He even wrote home saying, I lead a miserable existence. Okay, so he's being a bit dramatic, but come on, nearly four years of doing this, I think most of us would go a little crazy. Michelangelo now seeing the finish line tackles the crucifixion of Haman, which he painted in 24 days. This figure was the most beautiful he had created, but was also the most difficult. He even went so far as to create very detailed sketches for this one. Numerous nail holes can even be seen today where he attached the cartoon. Moral of the story, finish strong. By the end of October in 1512, he finally sends a passionate end up letter to Florence stating, I have finished the chapel, I have been painting. Seriously, four years, all that work, all that paint, all that neck pain, and that's all he says? This guy just cracks me up. Anyway, on October 31st, 1512, on the Eve of All Saints, the Pope hosts this banquet in the Vatican. His goal is to end the evening with his 17 cardinals seeing the finished chapel. But of course, the Pope drags this evening out with a long dinner, a couple of different comedies in the theater, and even a nap. Finally, at sunset, he and his buddies head to the Sistine Chapel. I imagine the group making their way through the dark corridors and hallways lit only by torches as they follow the smell of fresh plaster and paint. Once inside the massive 60 foot high chapel, they look up with the room fully lit with torches and the remainder of a setting sun, and they look all around the room and see the most colorful, beautifully depicted images from the Bible ever created. Add to that all the architectural elements Michelangelo created, which added so much grandeur and awe. The group, including the Pope, was speechless. I'll tell you this much. What inspires me is Michelangelo's willingness to try something he had little experience with and was known to be incredibly difficult. He not only did the work, but pushed himself nonetheless, which is probably why he was often referred to as a saint, simply because of what he accomplished in the Sistine Chapel. Never underestimate the potential of what you create. If you missed part one, Michelangelo and the Wonder Years, you can check it out here. Stay connected by subscribing so you get our next episode, Michelangelo and the Science of Fresco first. Though you could say fashion dates back to early civilizations like the Egyptians and Romans, the modern fashion house started in the 19th century. Charles Frederick Worth is known as the father of haute couture and the first designer to sew a label with his name into his designs. His House of Worth in Paris was also the first boutique to use live models to demonstrate the look of his designs. Couture items were custom made for the person wearing it.