Did You Know?

Michelangelo painted over 300 figures on the Sistine Chapel ceiling each one of them unique.  Not even two of them are alike or featuring the same pose. Giorgo Vasari in his book "The Lives of the Artists" credits Michelangelo with having an incredible memory. Vasari claims that the master never painted or sculpted the same likeness or pose twice, because he remembered every single thing he'd ever done. Michelangelo was also fond of quoting from admired persons such as the literary giant, Dante, and the ancient philosopher, Heraclitus. Michelangelo is said to have quoted from Heraclitus, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” This may have been a response to someone who had asked Michelangelo to repeat a work he’d already completed.