1. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling “No one who has not seen the Sistine ceiling can have a clear idea of what a human being can achieve.” (Goethe)

2. The Sistine Chapel La Capella Sistina EXTERIOR Chapel decoration was started by Pope Sixtus in 1473 Ceiling had been frescoed earlier with a star- spangled sky In 1508 Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II della Rovere to repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

4. Facts and Figures Can you match these stats to these numbers? 3001990 1512 520 Number of days it took to paint the Sistine ceiling? Approximate number of figures on the ceiling? Area of the ceiling in sq meters? Decade that the ceiling restoration was completed?

5. Answers It took 4 years and 5 months (1512 days) to paint the ceiling. Although he had some assistants mixing paint etc, Michelangelo was such a perfectionist he did most of the work himself. There are over 300 figures on the ceiling The ceiling is 40m x 14 m long (520m 2) (~ 2 ½ tennis courts) and the height of a 3 story building. Restoration of the ceiling started in the 80s and finished in the 1990s. Restorers used pure water and chemicals to clean away centuries of smoke and grime and reveal the true colors used by Michelangelo.

6. The restoration process revealed surprising bright colors to Art Historians

7. A dangerous job Michelangelo painted the ceiling using traditional fresco technique Extremely difficult and dangerous given the size of the ceiling and its height. Scaffolding was 16m above floor. Michelangelo had to bend over backwards and paint above his head He invented a stool that he leaned on/rested his head on. Paint splattered his face all day long and by evening his body was so cramped he could only read letters from his family by holding them above his head.