On a fall day in 1509 the public first saw Michelangelo’s frescoes painted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. According to Writer’s Almanac, Michelangelo– a sculptor, not a painter– didn’t want to paint the Sistine ceiling. But Pope Julius II, insisted that the ceiling be painted. In fact, the Pope actually threatened to fling the artist from the scaffolding if he refused.

In the course of creating one of his most famous works, Michelangelo supposedly complained constantly. He was, after all, in his 70s when he began painting the Sistine Chapel. It was extremely uncomfortable to be up on scaffolding and bent backward, in order to paint over his head. More than once, he threatened to leave Rome without finishing the ceiling, but Julius threatened right back. So at a time when he was probably ready for a nice little retirement villa on the Italian coastline, he was creating one of his finest masterpieces. Genuis, it seems, does not take age into account.

Michelangelo even wrote a sonnet complaining about his work. It contains the lines: “A goiter it seems I got from this backward craning like the cats get there in Lombardy.” And, “From all this straining my guts and my hambones tangle.” And, “Feet are out of sight; they just scuffle around, erratic. Up front my hide’s tight elastic; in the rear it’s slack and droopy, except where crimps have callused. I’m bent like a bow.”

Modern viewers are often brought to tears when witnessing the Sistine ceiling. They seldom think of (or even know about!) the physical agonies Michelangelo endured to complete it. Instead, they remain focused on his genius, which is awesomely evident.

Being an artist/writer/sculptor can be agognizing work. We may not have popes threatening to throw us from a scaffold, but we have bills that have to be paid and precious little time to complete our creations. We all become whiners at one time or another. It’s only human. But somehow, some way, we must persevere and let our own internal Michelangelo create its masterpiece.

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