By now, Ross King’s blockbuster book, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling,
is well known to many lovers of art and Rome-antics. But,
just in case you’ve missed it, we want to remind you that it’s out
there and that it’s well worth your time. It provides an
excellent and enjoyable overview of the immense task undertaken by
Michelangelo when he was commissioned to paint the Sistine Chapel
ceiling by Pope Julius II.
It wasn’t
Michelangelo’s first encounter with the formidable pontiff.
Julius II had already asked Michelangelo to create a colossal tomb for
him, then cancelled the project, an act that angered Michelangelo and
made him swear never again to work for Julius. It was a promise
that couldn’t be kept, however, for in 1508 Julius summoned
Michelangelo to Rome and set him on the task of painting the Sistine
Ceiling.
As King
points out, Michelangelo was perhaps not the most logical choice for
this project. His experience as a painter was limited, yet he was
to produce a masterpiece that still attracts enormous
crowds almost 500 years after its completion. The process by
which the ceiling came into being is the subject of King’s book, but
it’s hardly a straight forward art history.
Rather, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling
should be considered to be a history of the Papal Court and its
artists, for King aims to give his reader a complete picture of
the social context in which Michelangelo worked. As a
result, we learn much about the relationship between Michelangelo and
the Pope; about the interactions between Michelangelo and the other
superstar artists, like Raphael, working for Julius II; about the
techniques and processes used by Michelangelo to paint the ceiling; and
about the complex relationship that Michelangelo maintained with his
family in Florence.