Hvilket år afsluttede michelangelo med at male loftet i det sistinske kapel?
1512
Sistine Chapel ceiling
Paven foreslog, at tolv store figurer af apostlene skulle fylde pendentiverne. Michelangelo forhandlede imidlertid om et større og langt mere komplekst projekt og fik endelig lov til, med hans egne ord, "at gøre, som jeg ville". Hans plan for loftet omfattede i sidste ende omkring tre hundrede figurer og tog fire år at udføre, og efter en indledende fremvisning og en pavelig messe den 14. august 1511 blev det færdigt og vist for offentligheden på Allehelgensdag i 1512. Det er ukendt og er genstand for mange spekulationer blandt kunsthistorikere, om Michelangelo virkelig kunne "gøre, som han ville". Det er blevet foreslået, at augustinerbror og kardinal Giles af Viterbo var konsulent for værkets teologiske aspekt. Mange forfattere mener, at Michelangelo havde intellekt, bibelviden og opfindsomhed nok til selv at have udtænkt planen. Dette understøttes af Ascanio Condivis udtalelse om, at Michelangelo læste og genlæste Det Gamle Testamente, mens han malede loftet, og at han hentede sin inspiration fra skriftens ord snarere end fra de etablerede traditioner inden for den sakrale kunst. Der blev i alt malet 343 figurer på loftet.
1512
Sistine Chapel ceiling
The scheme proposed by the pope was for twelve large figures of the Apostles to occupy the pendentives. However, Michelangelo negotiated for a grander, much more complex scheme and was finally permitted, in his own words, "to do as I liked". His scheme for the ceiling eventually comprised some three hundred figures and took four years to execute, being completed and shown to the public on All Saints Day in 1512 after a preliminary showing and papal Mass on August 14, 1511. It is unknown and is the subject of much speculation among art historians whether Michelangelo was really able to "do as he liked". It has been suggested that the Augustinian friar and cardinal, Giles of Viterbo, was a consultant for the theological aspect of the work. Many writers consider that Michelangelo had the intellect, the Biblical knowledge, and the powers of invention to have devised the scheme himself. This is supported by Ascanio Condivi's statement that Michelangelo read and reread the Old Testament while he was painting the ceiling, drawing his inspiration from the words of the scripture, rather than from the established traditions of sacral art. A total of 343 figures were painted on the ceiling.
Sistine Chapel ceiling