Michelangelos Sistine Chapel Ceiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Michelangelos Sistine Chapel Ceiling - Essay Example The project was based on fresco, which was a contemporary complex form of painting. Frescos sometimes required carving and minor sculptures as well. Although the medium was thus a very challenging one, Michelangelo was a versatile genius. He was well acquainted with designing and crafting frescos and he was an expert in this field. However, the main complexities in this project involved altitude and complexity of the subject itself. In order to complement the twelve apostles to be painted across the ceiling, Michelangelo had to create over 300 figures. â€Å"The rectangular panels in the centre depict episodes from the book of Genesis. They are surrounded by prophets and other biblical figures†.What is more, the ceiling was at a height of approximately 68 feet from the floor. The surface of the ceiling was considerably curved. So Michelangelo might have wondered that how exactly his painting was going to be viewed and understood from below. Now on a curved surface, any proport ional two dimensional representations would probably look awkward. For example, if a human figure is made across a curved surface, then some of its portions would emerge nearer to the viewer creating disproportions. Michelangelo apprehended this enormous challenge of visual illusions even before he actually began the work. Consequently, Michelangelo started to create disproportional human figures. For example, if the middle portion of a human figure was to be created across the distal concave part of the ceiling, Michelangelo magnified it.