04/13/2020
Michelangelo probably began working on the plans and for the Sistine Chapel ceiling in April 1508. The prep work was completed by late July the same year . It was recorded that Michelangelo had "decorated the upper, arched part with very beautiful pictures and gold" . There are several theories about his process.
One theory is that the ceiling's main frescoes were applied and painted in phases, with the scaffolding each time dismantled and moved to another part of the room, beginning at the Chapel's west end.
Another theory is that the scaffolding must have spanned the entire Chapel for years at a time.To remove the existing decoration stars and a night sky on the ceiling, the entire area had to be accessible for workmen to chisel away the starry sky fresco before any new work was done.
Michelangelo designed his own scaffold, a flat wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall near the top of the windows, rather than being built up from the floor.
The entire ceiling is a fresco, which is an ancient method for painting murals that relies upon a chemical reaction between damp lime plaster and water-based pigments to permanently fuse the work into the wall. Michelangelo had been an apprentice in the workshop of a prolific of Florentine fresco painter.
Michelangelo painted onto the damp plaster using a wash technique to apply broad areas of color, then as the surface became drier, he revisited these areas with a more linear approach, adding shade and detail with a variety of brushes. For some textured surfaces, such as facial hair and wood-grain, he used a broad brush with bristles as sparse as a comb. He employed all the finest workshop methods and best innovations, combining them with a diversity of brushwork and breadth of skill far exceeding that which was needed.
The bright colors and broad, cleanly defined outlines make each subject easily visible from the floor. Despite the height of the ceiling, the proportions of the Creation of Adam are such that when standing beneath it, "it appears as if the viewer could simply raise a finger and meet those of God and Adam".
It is recorded that Michelangelo painted in a standing position, not lying on his back, that "The work was carried out in extremely uncomfortable conditions, from his having to work with his head tilted upwards". Michelangelo may have described his physical discomfort in a poem, accompanied by a sketch in the margin.
Below is a flattened rendition of the ceiling and the three dimensional rendition of the ceiling. Please go to Google>image and do a search on a close up of any Sistine Chapel figure (person) and then please describe in a paragraph why his style of painting might be an indicator of his true artistic love--Sculpture. In other words, how does his painting style of the human figure prove him to be interested in three-dimensional form, with lots of deep shadows and strong highlights?
Next, comment on his use of color. He is describing Old Testament stories about the Christian religion, do you think that the bright use of color is appropriate? why or why not?
Finally, comment on the organizational aspect of the ceiling itself. Is it symmetrically balanced and organized into sections? what is the effect that this has on the viewer? Is it appropriate to the subject of the painting?
