I'm reading Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. Most of my students know I'm a bit obsessed with Michelangelo and the Medici family's support of the Renaissance, Galileo, etc. Well, I'm learning a lot from this book.
I did NOT know that Bramante, the architect of St. Peter's Cathedral, wanted to be the Pope's favorite artist, and being the suave dude that he was, talked Pope Julius II into commissioning Michelangelo into frescoing (is that a verb?) the Sistine Chapel Ceiling...because he knew Michelangelo didn't want to paint it and certainly wouldn't want to fresco that whole ceiling on scaffolding, so Bramante figured Michelangelo would most likely fail. When and if he failed, Bramante would be considered the best artist in Rome. Well, HA, take that, Bramante!
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