The Physical Ordeal

The work punished Michelangelo's body. He painted standing on scaffolding, craning his head back for hours to reach the vault above him. He later wrote a poem describing the strain: his stomach shoved against his chin, his beard jutting at the sky, and his brush dripping a "rich pavement" of color onto his face.

The strain was serious. His neck and back ached, and paint dripping onto his face caused eye trouble, though the eye problems faded once the ceiling was finished.