Michelangelo ‘hated painting the Sistine Chapel'
Michelangelo never wanted to paint the Sistine Chapel, a historian claimed.
The Italian artist – who lived a 'long and miserable' life – actually 'loathed' painting and wanted to sculpt instead.
But he was forced to paint the ceiling of the chapel in Vatican City, Rome, by 'stalker' Pope Julius II who wanted to 'punish' him for trying to flee the Italian capital, according to Ada Palmer, an American historian.
Ms Palmer told the BBC's History Extra podcast that Michelangelo 'hated painting and never wanted to paint the stupid Sistine Chapel.'
She added: 'That was a punishment because he ran away from the stalker pope. And the stalker pope was like: 'I'm going to punish this man, I know he just wants to sculpt, so I'm going to make him paint for two years.'
'He [Michelangelo] always hated painting. If he had a bumper sticker, it would be, 'I'd rather be sculpting,' right? This man spoke the language of rocks.'
Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512.
The building was built between 1473 and 1481 and is the most famous chapel inside the Vatican, as it is the site of the papal ceremonies.
Ms Palmer, who teaches in the history department at the University of Chicago, told the podcast: 'Pope Julius II was obsessed with Michelangelo and wanted Michelangelo to build him this incredibly giant tomb, which would have been like the largest tomb ever made with something like 30 life-size monumental statues of prisoners chained to the base of it with the triumphant warrior pope on top.
'And Michelangelo kept getting more and more frustrated with Julius and just wanted to go home to Florence and sculpt.
'And he'd come to Rome hoping to gain fame as a young man in his very early 20s. And he'd done some good work there, the famous Pietà.
'But Michelangelo was commissioned to do this impossible tomb and then things went wrong – the marble wasn't there. The Pope kept being a jerk, he got more and more frustrated.'
The author said Michelangelo did not want to live in Rome as he 'hated' it there, and so tried to run away to Florence.
She added: 'The Pope sent guards to chase him down and seize him by force and drag him out of the inn.
'There was a confrontation between them and the Florentine militia people. They ended up protecting him. He went to Florence.
'The Pope was like, 'I'm going to besiege Florence, I'm going to send my armies there right now, send me Michelangelo'.'
The historian said Michelangelo was then returned to Rome, adding: 'The Pope makes him paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling because he knows he'll hate that.'
She said the artist, who died aged 88 in 1564, lived a 'very long and miserable life'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Michael Jordan's furious response to being named in twisted Diddy roleplay fantasy with Shaq
Puffing on a thick cigar and staring out across the Mediterranean, Michael Jordan didn't have a care in the world as he settled into his Sardinia vacation with his family. But the NBA great, 62, was taken aback this week when he was interrupted on his Italian trip to be told his name had come up at the trial of disgraced rap mogul .
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
I've always loved Stacey Solomon. But the bikini pics have led me to a startling realisation… and deep unease
I LOVE Stacey Solomon, I really do. I've known her since she was on The X Factor as an ambitious 20-year-old and felt for her when her latest reality show 'Stacey and Joe' was slammed - why, then, did the pics of her glorious curves this week hit me like a ton of bricks? 6 6 6 As she posed in her orange bikini on holiday in Lake Como this week, she looked happy, healthy and carefree. Sadly the vile trolls unleashed a torrent of abuse on her with one cruelly saying "She's let herself go" while another added " Ozempic needed". And as I absorbed the comments, it hit me how long it had been since I had seen a celebrity body that looked like my own. Recently it feels like on social media I am constantly bombarded with tiny toned bodies, perfect pert bums and impossibly flat stomachs. Even when I put down my phone it's on our TV screens as the new season of Love Island kicked off with girls in barely-there bikinis and not one belly roll in sight. It's quite a worrying trend and it's left me feeling uneasy that being thin is so back en vogue. I grew up in the era where pals lived by Kate Moss 's mantra 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'. Having struggled with my weight since my teens and having tried (and failed) to do every fad diet going, I've always felt inadequate. I was grateful for the rise of the body confident movement, and I totally embraced it. Finally I could feel comfortable in my own skin because celebrities like Adele, Rebel Wilson and Lizzo - who looked like me - were saying they felt sexy, too. But over the last 12 months I've seen curvier (and actually not-so-curvy) celebs slim down at an accelerated rate with the rise of fat jabs. Everyone has the right to do what they want with their bodies and lose weight however they choose and there are certainly health benefits to slimming down. Stacey Solomon looks incredible as she strips off to black bikini and jumps off a bridge in Italy But this new quick fix means our celebrities are smaller than ever and I think it's making people forget what real women look like. The cult of thin is back in such a big way and it's depressing for those who aren't getting on board and sacrificing themselves to weight loss injections in a bid to be a skinny minny. Stacey, who is a busy mum to Zachary, 17, Leighton, 12, Rex, five, Rose, three and two-year-old Belle, has never shied away from celebrating her 'mum bod'. And it is refreshing to see a typical healthy woman in the public eye. It makes me feel that it would be OK for me to get my body out this summer on holiday. Two years ago, the 35-year-old, who is married to Joe Swash, revealed to her followers she's a size 10-12. The average woman in the UK is a size 16 so while she is still smaller than most women, she is still being judged. The Loose Women star is also maintaining a healthy lifestyle, often working out in her newly built home gym where she aims to be strong not skinny. Standing in front of a mirror she said: 'I thought it was really important to come on here and say when I take the gym clothes off I look like this…' before pulling down her leggings down past her hips to show off unfiltered and non-photoshopped body. She added, '...Which is also really pretty and a really lovely body and I just feel like it's important to show that.' Stacey is one of our most successful Brit celebrities with over 6.1m followers. Strong not skinny She's got a host of TV shows and successful brand deals and is even rumoured to be taking part in this year's Strictly Come Dancing. In a sea of size zero Ozempic loving stars, maintaining her realistic normal body is perhaps why she's still winning over audiences. Stacey's success is not determined by the size on her label. I'm grateful, like many other women, that she prefers to give us an injection of her relatable and funny personality rather than injecting a weight loss drug into her body! 6 6 6
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
From Joey Barton's French accent to Steve McClaren's dismal Dutch effort: When English football expats get foreign languages WRONG after Trent Alexander-Arnold dazzled with his perfect Spanish at Real Madrid unveiling
British players have a track record of struggling outside of the United Kingdom. Watching an export of ours speaking in an exotic tongue can seem like a new episode of An Idiot Abroad. Ian Rush was said to have quipped that 'he couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country.' It was an astute observation. A generation of players with a reputation for appalling language skills has been the norm. That is why when Trent Alexander-Arnold stunned Real Madrid by introducing himself in flawless Spanish, it was like watching Arthur pull out Excalibur from the stone. Few had thought it possible. This wasn't just a PR gig, it was months of practice in another tongue. It's a sign of a player that cares about his new club, home, and culture, and a sign of respect to the fans that will worship him. It's also a symbol of a new type of English footballer, one that isn't afraid to step out of the cultural comfort zone and move on to new things. Alexander-Arnold is not alone. Fikayo Tomori dedicated himself to learning fluent Italian and regularly delivers post-match broadcast interviews in the language at AC Milan. Jude Bellingham has seemingly had a good start to his Spanish lessons, with a certain affinity to the word 'vamos'. Unfortunately, we are not free from the memory of their forerunners who butchered the languages of their hosts. Here are the most memorable. Joey Barton at Marseille (2012) - The Mocking French Accent Joey Barton invoked his best impression of Officer Crabtree from the BBC Sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! while on loan at Marseille. After his Ligue 1 debut against Lille, he ditched the scouse, for a self-proclaimed 'Bartonese', a new dialect of English, in which the speaker adopts a hyper-stereotypical French persona. He said 'Maybe the one criticism of the French Ligue is it's a leetle bit boring'. He then tweeted, 'Steve McClaren… eat your heart out'. Gareth Bale at Real Madrid (2013 - 2021) - 'I don't have a clue what you've said' 'Golf. Wales. Madrid.' Famously in that order. What wasn't written, but was definitely included as a subheading of that Madrid part, was 'Spanish'. Bale did not want to learn Spanish. It's lucky he was a supremely talented footballer playing for an incredibly gifted team. The tactics were easy. Give the ball to Cristiano or Benzema, or have a pop yourself. Simple. A hilarious video was released in which Bale took part in a chat with Spanish publication Marca, during which a small group of Madrid players exchanged information about themselves in order for fans to get to know them a little better. Standing together in the Real Madrid team plane, Bale joined Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Casemiro for a chat. He was asked gently by former teammate Modric, 'what are the three things you carry in your luggage?' Bale looked perplexed. 'I don't have a clue what you've just said,' replied the Welshman with a deadpan expression. Joe Hart at Torino (2016) - Tried his best In his Torino introduction, Joe Hart read fluent Italian directly from a script for his, before asking everyone to only ask him questions in English. He let out an enormous sigh of relief once he'd finished reading out his, *checks watch*, 39 seconds of Italian. There wasn't much more Italian after that. But Hart did insist that he was going to put in every effort to become more adept in the Romance language. 'I'm doing [language] lessons at every opportunity. I think it was most important for me to learn how speak and communicate with the players on the football field before I could have a conversation in a coffee shop,' he said. 'Now I'll be looking to take major strides forward top really improve my Italian in order to interact on a daily basis.' Steve McClaren at FC Twente (2008) - SCHTEEVE When 22 Jump Street was released in 2014, one of the opening scenes had the world in stitches. When Channing Tatum's character 'Jenko' is pressed for his identity by members of the cartel, he panics and responds with a laughably cringeworthy Spanish-infused response of 'my name is Jeff'. Comedic genius. Steve McClaren was ahead of the curve. When interviewed by Dutch media, he put on a super-thick Dutch accent, announcing himself as 'Schteeve' and maintaining it throughout his two year spell as manager. And maybe it wasn't the worst idea. Something rubbed off on the players, as they won the Eredivisie title in 2009-10. Jadon Sancho at Dortmund (2021) - Germglish Hybrid Jadon Sancho was electric at Dortmund. Simply one of the best English youngsters there had ever been. After scoring two goals, one of which was a screamer, in the final of the DFB-Pokal, Sancho delivered his post-match interview with a curious accent. He spoke like Karl, the German exchange student trying to make friends in freshers' week, rather than Jadon, the 20-year-old winger who grew up in South London his whole life. It didn't look forced, either. That's just the sign of a man who immersed himself into Westphalian culture, even at the expense of his own. Jadon Sancho was a storming success at Borussia Dortmund but never quick cracked the lingo David Moyes combined English and Spanish in one of his early interviews at Real Sociedad - but quickly regretted it David Moyes at Real Sociedad (2014) - Oh no, David While managing Real Sociedad, David Moyes attempted Spanish during an interview but faltered when he forgot the word for 'times'. 'I know about the B-team,' he began. 'I know about some of the players. They have been training with me, dos, tres, quatro... times, and, er, but I've not seen them play.' His visible regret mid-sentence was noted as a relatable but awkward moment. Unlike Barton, at least Moyes was trying to speak the actual language rather than a bizarre form of accented English. It didn't his case. He only lasted 42 games with the Spanish side before returning to English football with Sunderland.
