Amazing work for just 4 years. He did have assistants though. Here is some more information:
How long did it take Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel?
By Shelley Esaak
Updated on July 29, 2024
Michelangelo's paintings (frescos) on the Vatican's Sistine Chapel ceiling are some of the most influential artworks of all time and foundational works of Renaissance Art. Painted directly on the ceiling, the masterpieces depict key scenes from the Book of Genesis. The complex narratives and skillfully painted human figures stunned viewers when the frescos were first unveiled to the public in 1512 and continue to impress thousands of pilgrims and tourists from around the world who visit the chapel every day.
Below are seven essential facts about Michelangelo's paintings on the Sistine Chapel ceiling including how long it took him to paint them.
The Paintings Were Commissioned by Pope Julius II
In 1508, Pope Julius II (also known as Giulio II and "Il papa terribile"), asked Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. Julius was determined that Rome should be rebuilt to its former glory and had embarked on a vigorous campaign to achieve the ambitious task. He felt that such artistic splendor as Michelangelo's work would not only add luster to his papacy and name, but also serve to supersede anything that Pope Alexander VI (a Borgia, and Julius' rival) had accomplished.
Michelangelo Painted More Than 5,000 Square Feet of Frescoes
The Sistine Chapel ceiling measures about 131 feet (40 meters) long by 43 ft (13 m) wide. Although these numbers are rounded, they demonstrate the enormous scale of this nontraditional canvas. Michelangelo painted significantly more than 5,000 square feet of frescoes.
The Panels Depict More Than Scenes From the Book of Genesis
The ceiling's well-known central panels depict scenes from the Book of Genesis, from Creation and the Fall to shortly after Noah's deluge. Adjacent to each of these scenes on either side, however, are immense portraits of prophets and sibyls who foretold the coming of the Messiah. Along the bottoms of these run spandrels and lunettes containing the ancestors of Jesus and stories of tragedy in ancient Israel. Scattered throughout are smaller figures, cherubs, and ignudi (nudes). All told, there are more than 300 painted figures on the ceiling.
Michelangelo Was a Sculptor, Not a Painter
Michelangelo thought of himself as a sculptor and preferred working with marble to almost any other material. Before the ceiling frescoes, the only painting he had done was during his brief stint as a student in Ghirlandaio's workshop.
Julius, however, was adamant that Michelangelo—and no other—should paint the Chapel's ceiling. To convince Michelangelo, Julius offered as a reward the wildly lucrative commission of sculpting 40 massive figures—for Julius' tomb—a project that appealed much more to Michelangelo given his artistic style.
The Paintings Took Four Years to Finish
It took Michelangelo a little more than four years, from July of 1508 to October of 1512, to finish the paintings. Michelangelo had never painted frescoes and was learning the craft as he worked. What is more, he chose to work in buon fresco, the most difficult method and one normally reserved for true masters. He also had to learn some wickedly hard techniques in perspective, namely painting figures on curved surfaces that appear "correct" when viewed from nearly 60 feet below.
Michelangelo's work suffered numerous setbacks, including mold and miserable, damp weather that disallowed plaster curing. When Julius left to wage war, and again when he fell ill, the project met with further stalling. Any hopes that Michelangelo had of finishing the paintings and being paid were frequently in jeopardy while Julius was absent or near death.
Michelangelo Didn't Really Paint Lying Down
Although the classic film "The Agony and the Ecstasy," depicts Michelangelo (played by Charlton Heston) painting the frescoes on his back, the real Michelangelo didn't work in this position. Instead, he conceived and had constructed a unique scaffolding system sturdy enough to hold workers and materials and high enough that mass could still be celebrated below.
The scaffolding curved at its top, mimicking the curvature of the ceiling's vault. Michelangelo often had to bend backward and paint over his head—an awkward position that caused permanent damage to his vision.
Michelangelo Had Assistants
Michelangelo gets, and deserves, credit for the entire Sistine Chapel project. The complete design was his, the sketches and cartoons for the frescoes were all of his hand, and he executed the vast bulk of the actual painting by himself.
However, the vision of Michelangelo toiling away, a solitary figure in a vacant chapel, isn't entirely accurate. He needed many assistants, if only to mix his paints, scramble up and down ladders, and prepare the day's plaster (a nasty business). Occasionally, a talented assistant might be entrusted with a patch of sky, a bit of landscape, or a figure so small and minor it is barely discernible from below. All of these were worked from his cartoons, however, and the temperamental Michelangelo hired and fired these assistants on such a regular basis that none of them could claim credit for any part of the ceiling.