On May 10, 1508, work begins.
And man, what a job
Michelangelo has in store.
Let me just shortlist
some of the crazy issues
he will have to face.
Man, that's really high.
One, he has to remove
all the old plaster
within the chapel, which
was going to be a huge mess.
Two, the chapel was not going
to close while Michelangelo
was painting, so
normal scaffolding
covering the chapel floor
wasn't going to work.
Three, it's Rome,
and it can easily
get to 90 degrees in the summer.
And that's just standing
outside on the ground.
Four, Michelangelo is painting
in Fresco style, which
he had very little
experience with, and is
one of the most difficult
forms of painting ever.
Five, the height within
the chapel was crazy.
The ceiling was over 60
feet above the ground.
That's over six stories tall.
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NARRATOR: First priority was
to build some sort of scaffold
or a platform.
Michelangelo hires the top
dog scaffold builder in Rome
and he decides to hang the
scaffold from massive ropes.
This did not fly with
Michelangelo, who immediately
tosses out the idea.
Michelangelo then
decides to drill holes
on either side of
the chapel walls.
Then he takes planks
and inserts them
into the wall, which then
allowed the scaffold builder
a base to start from.
Michelangelo's idea was
to create two arches
with steps that contoured
and curved with the ceiling.
This design was ingenious, and
left the floor of the chapel
clear for the pope.
However, they knew
debris and dust
would be an issue, so
they hung a massive fabric
under the platform.
This solved another issue, which
was blocking the dizzying, 60
foot drop from the scaffold.
Probably most important
to Michelangelo,
this prevented anyone
from seeing the work
until it was completed.
After removing the
old plaster, things
were about to get started.
But fresco painting needs two
layers of plaster on the wall.
The first is called the
arriccio, and the second
which is called the intonaco.
We will investigate further into
this within another episode,
simply because there is so much
sweet science happening here.
If you are about to throw down
150 different scenes using
one of the most difficult
painting techniques known
to man, you are going to
need a team of assistants.
After much
deliberation, he finally
decides on four assistants, and
man, he was going to need them.
Let's just quickly
run through what
an average day 60
feet above the ground
looked like for
team Michelangelo.
Man, that's really high.
First, the entire team
had to climb the 40 foot
ladder to the lowest planks.
That's over three times
the average swimming pool
depth of 12 feet, just in
case you were wondering.
Once up, they had to climb
steps to reach the additional 20
feet to the top.
Light came in through
small windows by day.
But it was torches
only at night,
and yes, they worked at night.
Next, they would apply
the intonaco layer.
Mixing this paste was
no easy task, and also
pretty dangerous.
Keep in mind one of the primary
ingredients was quicklime.
Know what else they
used quicklime for?
They would sprinkle
it on dead bodies
to quicken the decomposition and
lessen the stench in the church
courtyard where
the dead would wait
to be buried-- powerful stuff.
The next step would
be for the artist
to transfer the
cartoon to the wall.
This was basically
a drawing done
in graphite, which was
usually transferred
by poking hundreds of
holes around the sketch
and then using powdered
charcoal to transfer
the lines to the
wet plaster-- again,
crazy time consuming
and difficult process.
Of course, all these paints
had to be hand mixed as well.
Mixing these pigments was
an art in and of itself.
Finally, Michelangelo
is ready to begin.
The first scene he
decides to tackle
is the biblical
story of the flood.
Of course, in
perfect fashion, he
runs into all types of problems.
He had a lot of corrections,
which meant he had to erase.
Think erasing is
easy in plaster?
Nope, you're right.
Basically, you had two options--
one, scrape off the wet plaster
before it dries.
Two, if it is already dry, grab
the hammer and chisel, baby.
You have your work
cut out for you.
Another issue team
Michelangelo was
having is that mildew was
forming on the plaster.
His team was adding too
much water too quickly
to the plaster mixture.
And they were also adding
binding agents or glues
to help adhere the paint.
However, this wasn't
allowing the plaster
to dry quickly enough.
Mildew-- not good.
So what does Michelangelo do?
He fires almost his
entire team and decides
to paint buon fresco, which
means to paint directly
on wet plaster.
Michelangelo may have
lied down here and there.
But more often
than not, you would
have seen Michelangelo
painting standing up,
with his head turned up.
Seriously, can you
imagine how painful
this would get after days,
weeks, months, and even years
of doing this?
My neck just hurts
thinking about it.
Maybe this is why
he was known to be
pretty grumpy and antisocial.
In addition, he was also known
to be crazy dirty and smelly.
Apparently, his dad had told
him, never wash yourself.
So he would just sleep
in the same clothes
and just keep on going.
I mean, even people of his
day thought that was gross.
And these were people
who were at most bathing,
like, once a week.
As Michelangelo
continued to paint,
one issue that always seemed
to come up was Pope Julius.
He would often come
around and yell up
to Michelangelo, Mickey
Angelo, when are you
going to finish the chapel?
I loved Michelangelo's
response-- "when I can."
Of course, the pope wasn't about
to be one upped, and responded,
you don't want me to have you
thrown off the red scaffolding?
At one point, the pope, in
a moment of frustration,
smacks Michelangelo
with a stick.
Of course, he later tells
him, the stick hitting
was just sign of my affection.
Right.
At one point, Pope Julius
even disguises himself
to see the work in progress.
Michelangelo, not
buying any of this,
sees the pope
ascending the ladder.
He quickly grabs planks of wood
and hurls them at the pope.
It was on July 15th
of 1510 at 9:00 AM.
The first section of the
ceiling was unveiled.
As you can imagine, everyone was
completely speechless of what
Michelangelo had created.
Even the painter Raphael,
whom Michelangelo despised,
said he was completely amazed.
Nearly a year later, after
having the scaffolding
moved to the other
half of the chapel,
Michelangelo is ready
to start tackling scenes
from the book of Genesis.
He decides to start with what
is probably the most famous
of his paintings,
the creation of Adam.
Do you have any idea why this
particular painting or scene
is so popular?
First, the goal of any
respectable Renaissance artist
was to create figures
that looked very real.
And Michelangelo did
that while also creating
what many called the
perfect specimen of a human.
Adam doesn't look
like he's missed a day
at the gym, that's for sure.
Michelangelo also painted
God in full length, I mean,
complete with kneecaps
and toes exposed.
Rest assured, no
one was doing that.
Most early Christian
art simply represented
God as a giant hand
emerging from heaven.
As Michelangelo continued
to paint scenes,
his confidence and
speed continued
to increase his wealth.
In fact, when he finally gets
to the last Genesis scene,
he completes the entire
painting in one day.
What?
That's right, one day.
That was over 60 square
feet of wet plaster.
Even though he was
moving crazy fast
and creating beautiful
images, he was definitely
getting burned out.
He even wrote home, saying,
I lead a miserable existence.
I have not been happy
for almost 15 years.
Mamma mia.
OK, so he's being
a bit dramatic.
But come on, nearly four
years of doing this,
I think most of us
would go a little crazy.
Hey, watch what you're
saying, fratello.
Michelangelo, now
seeing the finish line,
tackles the
Crucifixion of Haman,
which he painted in 24 days.
This figure was the most
beautiful he had created,
but was also the most difficult.
He even went so far as
to create very detailed
sketches for this one.
Numerous nail holes
can even be seen today
where he attached the cartoon.
Moral of the story--
finish strong.
By the end of October
in 1512, he finally
sends a passionate, in-depth
letter to Florence stating,
I have finished the chapel
I have been painting.
Seriously, four years, all
that work, all that paint,
all that neck pain,
and that's all he says?
This guy just cracks me up.
Anyway, on October 31, 1512,
on the Eve of All Saints,
the pope hosts this
banquet in the Vatican.
His goal was to end the evening
with his 17 cardinals seeing
the finished chapel.
But of course, the pope
drags this evening out
with a long dinner, a
couple of different comedies
in the theater, and even a nap.
Finally at sunset,
he and his buddies
head to the Sistine Chapel.
I imagine the group making their
way through the dark corridors
and hallways, lit
only by torches
as they follow the smell
of fresh plaster and paint.
Once inside the massive,
60 foot high chapel,
they look up with
the room fully lit
with torches and the
remainder of a setting sun.
And they look all
around the room
and see the most colorful,
beautifully depicted images
from the Bible ever created.
Add to that all the
architectural elements
Michelangelo created, which
added so much grander and awe.
The group, including the
pope, was speechless.
I tell you this much.
What inspires me is
Michelangelo's willingness
to try something he had little
experience with and was known
to be incredibly difficult.
He not only did the work,
but pushed himself
nonetheless, which is probably
why he was often
referred to as a saint,
simply because of what he
accomplished in the Sistine
Chapel.
Never underestimate the
potential of what you create.
If you missed part
one, Michelangelo
and the Wonder Years, you
can check it out here.
Stay connected by
subscribing so you
get our next episode,
Michelangelo and the Science
of Fresco first.
Though you could say
fashion dates back
to early civilizations like
the Egyptians and Romans,
the modern fashion house
started in the 19th century.
Charles Frederick Worth is known
as the father of haute couture,
and the first designer to
sew a label with his name
into his designs.
His House of Worth in Paris
was also the first boutique
to use live models
to demonstrate
the look of his designs.
Couture items were custom made
for the person wearing it.
