#thesistinechapel

The Sistine Chapel from one of my recently thrifted art books. Also, I gave in and had to buy more books today. The deal was too good to give up. (This is always my excuse) But now I’m just patiently waiting for them to come in the mail.

It's ArTuesday number 12 !! Wow I've been doing this for 12 weeks ! I've never committed to anything else like this before. Anyway it's time to bring forth the second ninja turtle (get it because..., well never mind). Today's pick is, 'The Sistine Chapel (ceiling)' 1508-1512 by Michelangelo. Honestly, I did not pick the Sistine chapel just because it's his most famous work but because there's a small story behind how Michelangelo came to paint this fresco. In 1508, Pope Julius II (reigned 1503-1513) hired Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the chapel, rather than leaving it appear as it had (I think it was a blue ceiling with gold stars). Before this time, Michelangelo had gained fame through his work as a sculptor, working on such great works as the Pieta and David. He was not, however, highly esteemed for his work with the brush. According to Vasari (another renaissance painter), the reason why Julius gave such a lofty task to Michelangelo was because of the instigation of two artistic rivals of his, the painter Raphael and the architect Bramante. Vasari says that the two hoped that Michelangelo would fall flat, since he was less accustomed to painting than he was to sculpting, or alternatively he would grow so aggravated with the Julius that he would want to depart from Rome altogether. Rather than falling on his face, however, Michelangelo rose to the task to create one of the masterpieces of Western art. The ceiling program, which was probably formulated with the help of a theologian from the Vatican, is centered around several scenes from the Old Testament beginning with the Creation of the World and ending at the story of Noah and the Flood. See it's an interesting story ! The paintings are oriented so that to view them right-side-up, the viewer must be facing the altar on the far side of the altar wall. The sequence begins with Creation, above the altar, and progresses toward the entrance-side of the chapel on the other side of the room. It has been said that when Michelangelo painted, he was essentially painting sculpture on his surfaces. #art #artuesday #michelangelo #italianrenaissance #thesistinechapel

#thesistinechapel circa 1969... #original #print

i love you baby. please, don't ever forget that. ♥

yes i know thats 9. i cant think of a tenth.....