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Was Michelangelo Forced to Paint the Sistine Chapel?
Published by Marjorie McAtee, Writer
Country: Italy 
The Experience
The Sistine Chapel is one of the Vatican's most visited and well-known attractions, and also serves as a venue for important Papal Masses.
Papal conclaves—in which the College of Cardinals elects a new Pope—have been held at the Sistine Chapel since 1455, and the first Mass inside the Sistine Chapel was held on 15 August 1483 to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption.
Originally, the Sistine Chapel was known as the Cappella Maggiore, or Greater Chapel. The Chapel was used then, as it is now, for smaller masses not attended by the public. Pope Sixtus IV undertook to restore the Sistine Chapel between 1477 and 1480. Today, the Sistine Chapel continues to bear Sixtus IV's name.
It wasn't until the next century, and the papacy of Julius II, that sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti began the work that we think of when we think of the Sistine Chapel. Pope Julius II, who was pontiff from 1503 to 1513, commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling and lunettes in 1508. This was not completed until 1512. Later, in 1533, Pope Clement VII, who was pontiff from 1523 to 1534, commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar. Sadly, this meant covering the older frescoes painted by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino and Rosselli, which Sixtus IV had commissioned during his papacy.
Michelangelo complained bitterly about having to work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a job he was basically forced to accept. He didn't want the job because he was a sculptor, not a painter. In fact, until Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, he hadn't done any painting at all since his student days. The Sistine Chapel painting required Michelangelo to learn and use techniques reserved for master fresco artists. He painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling using a technique known as buon fresco (true fresco), which happens to be the most difficult fresco-painting technique there is. Because he was a sculptor, Michelangelo had to teach himself this complicated technique before he could even begin the job. That's part of the reason why it took Michelangelo four years to paint the more than 5,000 square feet of frescoes that cover the Sistine Chapel ceiling today.
Another part of the reason why it took so long was that things just kept coming up. Bad weather frequently stopped work on the frescoes; and dampness caused the plaster to mold and prevented painting. Michelangelo couldn't work on the ceiling during Pope Julius II's many long absences at war; and, at one point, the Pope was so ill that he received Last Rites. Of course, if Pope Julius II had died, Michelangelo wouldn't have been paid.
Papal conclaves—in which the College of Cardinals elects a new Pope—have been held at the Sistine Chapel since 1455, and the first Mass inside the Sistine Chapel was held on 15 August 1483 to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption.
Originally, the Sistine Chapel was known as the Cappella Maggiore, or Greater Chapel. The Chapel was used then, as it is now, for smaller masses not attended by the public. Pope Sixtus IV undertook to restore the Sistine Chapel between 1477 and 1480. Today, the Sistine Chapel continues to bear Sixtus IV's name.
It wasn't until the next century, and the papacy of Julius II, that sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti began the work that we think of when we think of the Sistine Chapel. Pope Julius II, who was pontiff from 1503 to 1513, commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling and lunettes in 1508. This was not completed until 1512. Later, in 1533, Pope Clement VII, who was pontiff from 1523 to 1534, commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar. Sadly, this meant covering the older frescoes painted by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino and Rosselli, which Sixtus IV had commissioned during his papacy.
Michelangelo complained bitterly about having to work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a job he was basically forced to accept. He didn't want the job because he was a sculptor, not a painter. In fact, until Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, he hadn't done any painting at all since his student days. The Sistine Chapel painting required Michelangelo to learn and use techniques reserved for master fresco artists. He painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling using a technique known as buon fresco (true fresco), which happens to be the most difficult fresco-painting technique there is. Because he was a sculptor, Michelangelo had to teach himself this complicated technique before he could even begin the job. That's part of the reason why it took Michelangelo four years to paint the more than 5,000 square feet of frescoes that cover the Sistine Chapel ceiling today.
Another part of the reason why it took so long was that things just kept coming up. Bad weather frequently stopped work on the frescoes; and dampness caused the plaster to mold and prevented painting. Michelangelo couldn't work on the ceiling during Pope Julius II's many long absences at war; and, at one point, the Pope was so ill that he received Last Rites. Of course, if Pope Julius II had died, Michelangelo wouldn't have been paid.
When to Go to Sistine Chapel
As part of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel hours of operation for the public are: Monday to Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Ticket Office closes at 4:00 p.m.
The Vatican Museum is also open on the last Sunday of the month, unless that Sunday happens to be Easter Sunday, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (29 June), Christmas Day, or 26 December. Entrance on this day is free; and the Ticket Office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with the Museum closing at 2:00 p.m.
In celebration of world tourism, the Vatican Museum also offers free entrance to visitors on 27 September, but it’s closed on all major Catholic holidays. Full price tickets cost 15 euros. Reduced price tickets cost eight euros, and are available to: children aged 6 to 18 years; students under 26 on presentation of a student ID; clergy members and members of a religious order; and to those who are on a religious pilgrimage and can present a letter of request from their home parish or diocese.
The Vatican Museum is also open on the last Sunday of the month, unless that Sunday happens to be Easter Sunday, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (29 June), Christmas Day, or 26 December. Entrance on this day is free; and the Ticket Office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with the Museum closing at 2:00 p.m.
In celebration of world tourism, the Vatican Museum also offers free entrance to visitors on 27 September, but it’s closed on all major Catholic holidays. Full price tickets cost 15 euros. Reduced price tickets cost eight euros, and are available to: children aged 6 to 18 years; students under 26 on presentation of a student ID; clergy members and members of a religious order; and to those who are on a religious pilgrimage and can present a letter of request from their home parish or diocese.
Odds n' Ends
Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo didn't paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling while lying on his back. Michelangelo painted standing, though he did sometimes have to lean back awkwardly in order to do his job. He constructed a special system of scaffolding that allowed him full access to the ceiling, which was bolted into the wall since attaching it to the ceiling would have left big, gaping holes in the completed frescoes. Nor did he work single-handedly. While Michelangelo did conceive of and paint the frescoes himself, he needed a team of assistants to mix his paints, prepare his plaster, and fetch things back and forth from floor to scaffold. Sometimes, Michelangelo allowed a particularly skilled assistant to work on the less important aspects of the frescoes: the sky, the landscape, and the minor figures who could not be seen clearly from the floor.
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- Sistine Chapel restored - BBC.com (television)
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