The Commission Nobody Wanted

The pope's original scheme was a modest one: twelve apostles set in painted frames, with the rest of the vault filled by ordinary decorative patterns. Michelangelo judged that it would turn out "a poor thing," and Julius gave him leave "to do what I liked." With that free hand, the artist developed a far bolder program covering the entire vault: scenes from Genesis, prophets, sibyls, and athletic nude figures woven into a painted architecture.

It was a staggering gamble. A failure on this scale, in the pope's own chapel, would have ended his reputation — which may be exactly what his rivals were counting on.