Did You Know?

Michelangelo, the painter of the Sistine Chapel, was one of the lucky artists who became famous during his lifetime. However, despite his wealth, Michelangelo was pretty lackluster in the hygiene department. He apparently never bathed and rarely changed his clothes. In fact, on his deathbed, it is believed that his clothing had to be peeled off of him. It might have been 500 years ago, but this would still have been considered very disgusting.

Quote of the Day

“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.” - Michelangelo

Did You Know?

Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo painted the fresco ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—including the most famous panel called “The Creation of Adam,” which depicts God giving life to the first man—entirely standing up. The artist invented a series of scaffolds specifically designed to attach to the chapel walls, with brackets so he and his assistants could be close enough to the ceiling to reach above their heads to work and paint.

Did You Know?

The marble slab that was eventually turned into the sculpture of “David” (1504) by Michelangelo was cut 43 years earlier, for an artist named Agostino di Duccio, who planned to turn it into a statue of Hercules. Di Duccio abandoned his sculpture, which was originally to be installed in a Florentine cathedral, because of the flaws in the stone. The marble was unused for 10 years until another sculptor, Antonio Rossellino, decided to work with it. Rossellino also abandoned his work because he found marble too difficult to sculpt. Michelangelo began work on his sculpture in 1501. Had he hit it just once in the wrong place—the entire piece would have shattered.

Did You Know?

Both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were accused of performing dissections on living people in the pursuit of their anatomical studies. For this reason Pope Leo denied permission to de Vinci to study anatomy in the hospital in Rome. As it happens...the accusations were well-founded. But, both Leonardo and Michelangelo advanced medical science with their dissections.