Research project: "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" by Ross King

            In 1508, Pope Julius II returned to Rome after defeating the French in a battle that had broken out earlier, and had originally distracted him from his mission of having Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Upon his return, there was a contract dated for Michelangelo’s commission of the Sistine chapel ceiling on May 10^th, 1508.  Cardinal Alidosi wrote this contract.  According to the contract that was supposedly lost at one point, Michaelangelo was supposed to be paid 3,000 ducats.  This is about 30 times the normal amount that an artist of that time would get paid in one year.

            Before beginning this project, the pope made it clear that he wanted the image of the Sistine chapel ceiling to be a scene of twelve large figures of the Apostles.  Michelangelo wanted a much more breathtaking scene.  He negotiated with Pope Julius II, and eventually he agreed to let Michelangelo have more of a say on what would be the content.  The final product of the ceiling was about three hundred figures.  The original 12 apostles requested by Pope Julius II became sibyls and prophets. 

            Michelangelo was not traditionally a painter himself.  During the time of this commission however, he took inspiration from Jacopo della Quercia.  It is evident that Quercia’s images were on Michelangelo’s mind while he was painting the Sistine chapel.  As for the ceiling itself, the design was influenced by Hadrian’s Villa, Santa Maria del Popolo, and Pinturicchio, which was a choir vault by Bramante. 

Research project: "Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling"

            There was an untrue story that according to Ross King stated that, “Bramante had persuaded the pope to abandon the project by warning him that it was bad luck to have one’s tomb carved during one’s lifetime, and had then proposed an altogether different commission.” (page 11).  However it was later realized that this was not the truth.  The reality was that the Bramante told the pope “I believe he does not have enough courage and spirit for it, because he has done too many figures and, above all, the figures are high an in foreshortening, and this is another thing from painting ground level”.  It seemed at though Bramante did not want Michelangelo to succeed at all. 

            One reason why Bramante was not on Michelangelo’s side was because he believed that Michelangelo did not know how to use the technique of di sotto in su, which is basically foreshortening in that the figures appear to be standing above so that the perspective is right on.  However, when Bramante saw that Michelangelo was actually good at painting, and received praise for his work, he attempted to have the commission taken from him and given to Rafael of Urbino instead.  It seems to me as though Bramante was extremely jealous as well as threatened by Michelangelo’s talent and success.  He tried to diminish it in many different circumstances. 

            There was a thriving competition between Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci.  They were competing for work on frescos in the Palazzo della Signoria.  Michelangelo did a cartoon for the Battle of Cascina, and Leonardo did a scene of the Battle of Anghiari.  This scene that Leonardo painted was of a battle that took place in 1440 when the Florentine Republic initiated a war with the Milanese army.  It wasn’t that large of a battle, but Florence ended up winning the battle.  Although it was small, it was an important moment in history because the end result made it so that central Italy would be run by the Florentines.

In 1505 Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II to work on the tomb.  Both of the incomplete paintings by Michelangelo and Leonardo were hung in the Council Hall until 1512. 

Response to Sir Anthony Blunt’s “Artistic Theory of Italy"

            When comparing Michelangelo and Leonardo based on their artistic styles and approaches, it is evident that they went about their craft in two different ways.  Leonardo was not just an artists, but a student of science as well.  They were intertwined in his career, and used scientific observation to further understand his own artistic style.  Although Michelangelo was brought up in artistic teachings that were similar to Michelangelo, he took away different beliefs from it.  He knew that nature played an important role in art and understanding it, but overall he was more interested in beauty, and portraying that most importantly in his art.