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Michelangelo Buonarroti: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling

He was modest about doing the painting and protested he was a sculptor and not a painter but soon he realized that instead of just representing single figures in the painting he could introduce dramatic scenes which were so successful that it set a standard for the future (Biography). .
             The Sistine Chapel was built between 1475 and 1483 in the time of Pope Sixtus IV. Rectangular in shape and measures of 40.93 meters long by 13.41 meters wide was the exact same dimensions of the Temple of Soloman in Jerusalem. It is 20.70 meters high and is roofed by a flattened barrel vault with little side vaults over the centered windows. The intricate process of the painting was arranged in a framing system that was one of Michelangelo's first architectonic designs. The ceiling was approached as a surface on which he attached planes built up in different degrees of projections, just like a sculpture only its units were blocks instead of impressionable forms (Michelangelo). Despite its murkiness, the chapel ceiling is clearly a work of Renaissance Humanism. It is a combination of classical and Christian ideas, recognizing in humanity the tension between a divine spirit and sinful flesh .When looking at the panels of the ceiling from the Creation to the story of Noah, they tell how divine beauty and order of creation were corrupted by human weakness (Bishop 219). The main elements of the painting are twelve male and female prophets and the nice stories of Genesis. He began painting from the end of the story and worked to the beginning (Michelangelo). .
             According to the article, "Painting by Numbers" by Ross King, as many as a dozen men took part in the Sistine chapel ceiling painting, but the contributions to the enormous fresco, an intimidating difficult and laborious technique, were eclipsed by the towering reputation of Michelangelo. Fresco-painting was a technique that called for man hours of preparations in the studio and on the scaffold before the paintbrush even touched the ceiling.


Essays Related to Michelangelo Buonarroti: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling

1. Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti is one of the best examples of such greatness. ... The most important one was for the frescoes of the Sistine chapel ceiling. ... Before the assignment of the Sistine ceiling in 1505, Michelangelo had been commissioned by Julius II to create his tomb. ... Due to a money shortage the pope ordered him to put aside the tomb project in favor of painting the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. ... In Rome in 1536, Michelangelo was working on the Last Judgment for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, which he finished in 1541. ...

  • Word Count: 868
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2. Michelangelo

His works range from the famous statue of David to the intricate painting on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. ... The breathtaking paintings on the ceiling of the Sisteen chapel took 4 labor-intensive years to create; in fact the task was almost turned down in vain by Michelangelo Buonarroti. From 1508 to 1512 he had painted over 300 figures on the Sisteen chapel ceiling. ... He was asked to paint an altar wall of the chapel he had already painted the ceiling for, the Sistine chapel, but he refused to; he claimed to still be under contract for completing the tomb of Julius II. ... Michelan...

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3. Michelangelo

Such works as the Sistine Chapel, the Pieta, and the David are a testament to his mastery. ... Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 just outside of Florence. ... The Sistine Chapel, one of Michelangelo's most famous works, was almost never done. Michelangelo opposed the commission to do the ceiling, his argument being that he was a sculptor, not a painter. It took him from 1508 to 1512, to accomplish most of the ceiling, after bouts of firing assistants and starting over several times. ...

  • Word Count: 328
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  • Grade Level: High School

4. ART in the 18th Century

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo Buonarroti, born in the sixteenth century, was perhaps one of the greatest artisans of all time. ... A short time after starting the tomb, Pope Julius II selected Michelangelo to fresco the Sistine Chapel ceiling. ... Michelangelo even wrote a sonnet in which he described the pain he felt while painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. ... All in all, Michelangelo had painted three hundred and thirty-six assorted figures on the Sistine ceiling. ... The ceiling was completed just a little after the Pope had died but has given the Sistine Chapel treme...

  • Word Count: 1403
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5. Michelangelo - Italian Renaissance Man

His resulting work, most notably his Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings, has been carefully tended and preserved, ensuring that generations to come would be able to view and appreciate Michelangelo's genius. According to one source, Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, is born in the small village of Caprese on March 6, 1475 (Michelangelo Born). ... This painting was to depict the 12 disciples on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. According to one source, The Sistine Chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV Della Rovere (pontiff from 1471 to 1484) who h...

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6. Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti was called to Rome in 1505 by Pope Julius II to create for him a monumental tomb. ... he Sistine Chapel to complete the work done in the previous century under Sixtus IV. ... The Sistine Chapel is the best fresco ever done. ... In Rome, in 1536, Michelangelo was at work on the Last Judgment for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, which he finished in 1541. ... Last Judgment Michelangelo's Last Judgment, the large fresco on the altar wall One of Michelangelo's best known creations is the of the Sistine Chapel, dates from 1536-1541 "about 20 years ...

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7. Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born the second of five brothers on March, 6,1475 in a small village called Caprese, in Tuscany. ... Although Michelangelo regarded himself as being a sculptor rather than a painter, Pope Julius the Second commissioned him to paint frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling,. ... Starting in the fall of 1508, by 1512 Michelangelo had painted over 300 figures on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. ... In Rome, where Michelangelo went, he was able to count on the esteem, protection, and affection of Pope Clement VII who, shortly before his death, commissioned him to paint the ...

  • Word Count: 1176
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  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti was called to Rome in 1505 by Pope Julius II to create for him a monumental tomb. ... Michelangelo had hardly begun work on the pope's tomb when Julius commanded him to fresco the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to complete the work done in the previous century under Sixtus IV. ... The Sistine Chapel is the best fresco ever done. ... In Rome, in 1536, Michelangelo was at work on the Last Judgment for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, which he finished in 1541. ... Last Judgment Michelangelo's Last Judgment, the large fresco ...

  • Word Count: 1781
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Michael Angelo

His full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and he was a magnificent sculptor, painter, architect and poet. ... Michelangelo was born March the 6th, 1475 in Caprice, Italy. ... Later the pope asked him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican in Rome. ... After finishing the ceiling he began carving again, creating several great statues, one of which was Moses who looked so fierce and powerful and full of life it was thought he could almost speak. Michelangelo then returned to Florence to paint the Medici chapel depicting heaven and hell. ...

  • Word Count: 561
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  • Grade Level: High School

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