Michelangelo Climbs the Sistine Scaffolding

May 10, 1508

Reluctant and furious, Michelangelo signed the contract for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a commission he considered a trap set by jealous rivals. He dismissed his assistants, painted lying on his back, and dripped plaster into his eyes. Four years later he would come down a changed artist. Contrary to legend, he painted standing rather than lying down, craning upward for hours in a posture that damaged his eyesight.