The Fascinating Story Behind the Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo created this masterpiece as a sculptor
The Sistine chapel decorated overwhelmingly with the frescos of Michelangelo is where the papal conclave gathers to elect the next bishop of Rome, the pope. Once the cardinals elected the pope, a white smoke (fumata) is emerging from a temporary chimney of the Chapel. If the gathering was unsuccessful, they send black smoke.
Michelangelo was 33 years old when the pope commissioned him to paint the chapel. He already had some masterpieces attached to his name, but not a single painting among them.
How the artistic rivalry led to Michelangelo’s assignment to paint the Sistine Chapel?
At the age of 15, he worked as an apprentice of the Medici court. At 19, he carved sculptures in Bologna, and in 1496, at the age of 21, he visited Rome for the first time to make the Pietà. The young talent made a bold promise in the contract that it would be the most beautiful marble statue Rome had ever seen. He was right. The audience was petrified at its unveiling.
He completed his next masterpiece, “David,” in 3 years, the epitome of extraordinary bodily strength.
