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Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

Ross King

3.77 · Rating details · 32,365 ratings · 681 reviews

In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel. With little experience as a painter (though famed for his sculpture David), Michelangelo was reluctant to begin the massive project.

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling recounts the four extraordinary years Michela ...more

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Paperback, 373 pages

Published 2003 by Penguin

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Dec 23, 2016 Sean Gibson rated it really liked it

There are some works of art that are so transcendent, so seemingly divinely inspired, that you almost don’t want to look too closely at the individual(s) responsible for creating such magnificent beauty lest they turn out to be total douche bags. It’s a little bit like seeing how the sausage is made. “Man, this sausage is delicious…I can’t wait to see how you guys do—wait…oh…oh, no…hold on…is that pig anus you’re putting in there?! Seriously? Like, the anus of a pig? I’m eating a pig’s ass? Why ...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Jean Tessier rated it it was amazing

Shelves: leisure

What a treat. This book felt like the best read I've had in a long time. This may seem unfair to some of the great books I've read recently, but this one was at the same time instructive and of very easy access. It covered everything from the technical aspects of painting frescos to the artistic concerns that went into the vault of the Sistine Chapel, to the geo-political landscape of Italy at the beginning of the 16th Century.

The books starts with Michelangelo's early career and how he landed t ...more

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Jan 09, 2008 Tung rated it it was ok

Shelves: non-fiction

Russ King’s bestseller describes the painting of the Sistine Chapel under the reign of Pope Julius II, a notorious tyrant of a pope. The book details the technical challenges of the painting of the Sistine Chapel (ranging from paint issues to scaffolding issues to design issues), the life of Michelangelo leading up to the commission, the historical events during the reign of Julius and how they intersect with the chapel painting, and other such details. Overall, I had a hard time getting through ...more

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Apr 07, 2017 Susanna - Censored by GoodReads rated it really liked it

Another fine volume of art history from Ross King. This covers most closely Michelangelo's early years in Rome, from 1505 when he got the commission for Pope Julius II's tomb, through 1512, when he finally finished the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The notoriously grumpy genius was immortalized twice (at least) by artists working at the Vatican in those years - by himself as the prophet Jeremiah, and by Raphael as the notoriously grumpy genius Heraclitus in his "The Academy of Athens."

By the en ...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Linda Harkins rated it it was amazing

Having immensely enjoyed reading Brunelleschi's Dome by the same author, I knew this bestseller about Michelangelo would not disappoint. Through thorough research, Ross King exposes truths that rectify many prevailing myths, particularly those promulgated by cinema. Indeed, Michelangelo did not lie flat on his back to paint painstakingly the frescoed scenes on the curved Sistine Chapel ceiling. The artist, in fact, wrote to his father describing how he had to stand on raised scaffolding in an un ...more

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Aug 01, 2017 Netta rated it really liked it

Shelves: art-history, read-2017, painters-and-paintings

I remember myself standing in Sistine Chapel. I was standing there speechless, throwing my head back, absolutely dazzled by what I was experiencing. Later I thought, though, what other people had felt standing there. Did they know the story behind Pope's ceiling in question? Did they understand the narrative of each scene they saw? Did they try to imagine what creating such a masterpiece required? Or were they simply standing there thinking why on Earth THIS is considered to be one of the greate I remember myself standing in Sistine Chapel. I was standing there speechless, throwing my head back, absolutely dazzled by what I was experiencing. Later I thought, though, what other people had felt standing there. Did they know the story behind Pope's ceiling in question? Did they understand the narrative of each scene they saw? Did they try to imagine what creating such a masterpiece required? Or were they simply standing there thinking why on Earth THIS is considered to be one of the greatest things humanity has ever created? Did they read something on the subject? Did anyone tell them?

There’re plenty of scholars who regularly publish their researches full of complicated terms and relatively new ideas which they usually don’t offer to a broader audience. There’re plenty of guides who tell one and the same story every day in Sistine Chapel, or in the Louvre (insert the museum that you like most) and don’t even try to make it fun to listen. There’re plenty of tourists who whould never understand why they have paid their money to see Mona Lisa or Pietà and what all the fuss is about. Don’t get me wrong, I love scholars and respect what they do, I certainly know that being a guide day by day is exhausting, and I don’t think that every individual is obliged to be in awe standing in front of the work of art. But I do believe that art, history and, hence, art history as well could (and should for that matter) be both informative and entertaining. Moreover, I believe art history may be appealing for a huge audience once the person who tells the story makes it relatable.

Ross King certainly knows how this things works. I wouldn’t dare to compare Ross King with any serious scholar though, but I love his approach both to Leonardo (I’ve been in team Leonardo since I remember myself being interested in art in general) and to Michelangelo. He may simplify facts or omit something overcomplicated, but he always invites his readers to learn more. Both in Leonardo and the Last Supper and in Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling he gives impressive, broad context for the period of creation of the masterpiece in question, trying to describe what surrounded the artist and his work. Sometimes King gets carried away, but mostly it does no damage to the book. It may even hook a reader and make him or her search for additional information.

This book does not make art seem boring or a privilege of the elite. It tells the fascinating story of a man who sometimes was unsure and afraid, made his mistakes, lost his temper, and, above all, created the grandiose chef-d'œuvre. It tells the story of the time when ugly deeds were adjoined with grand gestures and visions. And I hope that this book works the way it should. ...more

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Jun 11, 2009 Karyl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book is a fascinating trip through early 16th century Italy, focusing mainly on the frescoing of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I read several reviews here on Goodreads in which the reviewers felt that the author should have stuck solely to Michelangelo and his art, and that all the other information given is completely extraneous. I have to say I completely disagree with that. A work of art is not created in a vacuum. There were many events, political and religious, swirling around Mic ...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Amy rated it did not like it

why is this book soooo boring?! I'm only on page 100-ish and it's taken me forever to get that far because it's so boring. not sure how much longer i can hang on

Can't hang on any longer! made it to like 70 pages left, figure i will pick it back up again when i get a bad case of insomnia as it is sure to cure it! ...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Laurie rated it it was ok

It was a huge chore to slug my way through this tome. Perhaps if a trip to Italy were in the near future I'd have enjoyed it more. As it is, I realized that the descriptions of more than one painting or fresco were ones I'd blithely walked past with barely a glance when I was in Florence a few years ago. I did learn a lot about the Sistine Chapel and if I ever see it I'll know more than most, but that's what tour guides are for, so why did I force myself to finish it? No reason but stubbornness ...more

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Jul 03, 2019 Czarny Pies rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Those in need of entertainment. It's a hoot.

Shelves: european-history

Although balderdash from cover to cover, Ross King's "Pope's Ceiling" is wildly entertaining. I heartily recommend it to anyone planning to visit Rome in the next twelve months. However, muddled the facts may be, the text is clear and easy to follow making the book ideal for reading on a long trans-Atlantic flight.

The thing that set my teeth on edge (Jeremiah 31:29) was King's decision on page 203 in a discussion of five medallions of the Sistine Chapel fresco modelled on a recent printing of t Although balderdash from cover to cover, Ross King's "Pope's Ceiling" is wildly entertaining. I heartily recommend it to anyone planning to visit Rome in the next twelve months. However, muddled the facts may be, the text is clear and easy to follow making the book ideal for reading on a long trans-Atlantic flight.

The thing that set my teeth on edge (Jeremiah 31:29) was King's decision on page 203 in a discussion of five medallions of the Sistine Chapel fresco modelled on a recent printing of the Book of Maccabees was to say that the Book of Maccabees were Apocryphal and hence of doubtful provenance. Despite the dominant role of the Roman Catholic Church in the commissioning of works, Ross King like most experts on the art of Renaissance Italy appears to know remarkably little of the Christian faith. The 14 books of the Apocrypha have been included in the Bibles of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Coptic churches since the second century and remain there to this day. It was not until the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century that that their validity was challenged. Michelangelo being a good Catholic drew heavily from the Apocrypha. In addition to the medallions mentioned by King, Michelangelo's fresco includes panels based on passages from the books of Esther and Judith that are also considered to be Apocryphal. King, however, does not mention that these two panels are linked to the Apocrypha either because he was unaware of the fact or did not wish to acknowledge how important the Apocryphal books were top Michelangelo.

King's sin however is one of ignorance. He is anything but anti-Catholic. King is clearly an admirer of Julius II the pope who commissioned the Sistine Chapel frescos. King in fact makes it clear that Pope Julius not Michelangelo was the driving force behind the whole project. In addition he lavishes praises on Pope Julius as a military commander, filling his books with stirring passages describing Julius rallying from his death bed to lead his army in battle against the enemies of Italy and the frescos. As a Catholic, I found these passages quite inspirational. Nonetheless, I have to think that Ross too readily accepted at face value the contemporary accounts of Julius' many near scrapes with death.

Take everything with a grain of salt but read this book nonetheless. It is wildly entertaining. ...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Kathy Doll rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: _fiction, history, art, italy, cultural

Far from the usual dry commentary that is found most art history books, Michelangelo is portrayed as a real person living in his world with all of the problems and challenges that are familiar to us today. Family issues, living conditions, a demanding boss, technical challenges and financial problems plague him as he works on this unwanted commission from Pope Julius II.

I was surprised to learn of the simmering rivalries with his contemporaries, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci.

I especially enjoyed ...more

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Jun 17, 2018 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: italy

The story of Michelangelo’s struggle to obey a pope and paint a fresco on a ceiling though he always considered himself a sculptor makes for a dramatic book. The author shares the story sequentially, as Michelangelo slowly makes his way across the ceiling, over a four year period, and intertwines this story with the story of the pope and his desire to keep France out of his realm.

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Apr 17, 2019 Shatterlings rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction-nineteen

This isn’t my usual read but it was fascinating, it appears I like a warmongering bullying pope and a miserable complaining artist. It sounds like it would be a dull bit of history but it really wasn’t, it’s full of characters and events, there’s even a cameo for Henry VIII.

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Sep 26, 2017 Deborah Ideiosepius rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: europe, 2017-reading-challenge

This very interesting book tells the story of how a notable sculptor such as Michelangelo Buonarroti came to spend four years or more of his life painting the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel for pope Julius II.

Ross King does a masterful, well researched job of describing the circumstances leading to pope Julius insisting Michelangelo abandon the craft forms he knew and delve into painting, (which he had some training and a little experience with) and more importantly fresco, with which he had vi This very interesting book tells the story of how a notable sculptor such as Michelangelo Buonarroti came to spend four years or more of his life painting the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel for pope Julius II.

Ross King does a masterful, well researched job of describing the circumstances leading to pope Julius insisting Michelangelo abandon the craft forms he knew and delve into painting, (which he had some training and a little experience with) and more importantly fresco, with which he had virtually no experience at all. The politics, significant persons, significant events both military and other surrounding the years the ceiling got re-done are amazing and confusing. I know very little of Italian history and have no interest in catholicism but despite these disadvantages, with wit and excellent writing skills Ross King led me to a much better understanding of the country, events and era that help shape Michelangelo and Julius, leading to the amazing ceiling that it one of the wonders of the world.

I was absolutely delighted with the details of how fresco is rended, the layers and materials that go into preparing it. Also the details of how the pigments were sourced and prepared applied and reacted with the render were fascinating, this level of detail may not be everyone's favourite part but I found it fascinating.

The political machinations of that pope.... well, I did not know that recently popes were initiating military campaigns, were that possessive over land and property (no wonder the catholic church is so rich!) or indulged in so many of the joys of the flesh that the church preaches about. If you are catholic and have a residual respect for the institution you may find these aspects of the book confronting. King goes into quiet some detail to explain the stops and starts of work on the ceiling and, well, that organisation and it's leaders in the 1500's strikes me as anything but holy. Both Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus came to the same conclusions incidentally, when they visited Rome during the work on the ceiling and they are among the extensive suite of secondary historical figures mentioned in the book.

The friction between Raphael and Michelangelo is also brought into it, there always seems to be an artistic feud with any of the renaissance artists doesn't there? Although honestly, I am still unconvinced as to how much real rivalry was there.

There was a great deal of information in this book and despite the nicely chosen colour plates and numerous black and white ones, I spent a lot of time googling images through the reading because I could not even begin to visualise all the images being described or the colours used. At the end of reading it, the Sistine chapel and Rome and Florence of the 1500's have come alive for me in a whole new way. Michelangelo himself seems so much more a real figure than ever before, perhaps not someone you would want to sit down to dinner with (though I would not turn down an invitation from Raphael), but a fascinating introverted gloomy man with a level of dedication to his craft that was stupendous and an ability to see beyond mere fashion in art to the raw emotions it can command.

Why wasn't it five stars? The research, writing and information available certainly warranted five stars, the scholarship and comprehension of the author is undoubted and it even feels a little insulting of me not to give it five stars - I am a bit ashamed of myself. But readability has to come in to it as well for me and at times, personally, the flow of the writing didn't really work to the best advantage. Though I never really wanted to put it down I found I often had to be in the right frame of mind to pick it up. This is because there is a lot of back history and fairly minor Italian personages who were involved in the project in one way or another and they are included in the book. Now, while I was interested in these obscure people and am glad to know some of the politics that swirled around at the time there was a fair bit of it. I get the sense that King was really trying to limit the list of people as much as he could, so maybe a historian or art history person would know them all. I didn't know hardly any of them, I often couldn't pronounce their names and consequently I didn't always remember who they were.

Despite that small issue that made a star drop off, this was a book, I felt, that really impressed on the reader the intellectual spectacle as well as the visual that the Sistine chapel ceiling is. ...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Judy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: judy-s-group-reading-challenge-2014, non-fiction

I suppose I should give this book five stars because it has lead me on to a more extensive study of Michelangelo. It was somewhat slow going as I read the book because I kept switching to my iPad to look up pictures of various works of art mentioned in the book. Years ago I read Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy," then saw the movie and was captivated by it. However, I learned through Ross King's book that there is much mythology in Stone's book. King has done a vast amount of research, ...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Sara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

King does a fine job of pulling together information about Michelangelo himself, his struggles with "il papa terribile" Julius II as well as with his family members and his rivals. There is much detailed information here about the painting of the Sistine Chapel and some can get a bit tedious. But King uses short chapters to good effect in presenting the complex history of Julius II's wars with Louis XII of France and the Duke of Ferrara. Usually I nod off at the mention of a battle. But the inte ...more

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Feb 19, 2015 Karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: travel-the-world

This year my goal is to read a book set in each country of the world. I find myself reading books that have been languishing in my physical library (as well as my ebook library) for a long time, which is a good thing. To my delight, I am loving this journey of finding new authors. For me a book is a good one when it points me to other books and more in-depth research. Michaelangelo and Pope's Ceiling is one of them. I had seen the Sistine Chapel, as well as the Pieta years ago during a trip to R ...more

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Oct 10, 2013 Loraine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am torn between 3 and 4 stars for this book. I loved the history of the period and of the art enough for 5 stars but I just did not find the writing compelling. There is nothing wrong with it, it is all very well written, it just leaves a bit to be desired in the enjoyment category in that, for me, it was not a page-turner.
Especially interesting are the characters of Michelangelo and the Pope. There are wonderful scenes of Michelangelo showing why he was possibly the only man in Rome who could ...more

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Apr 03, 2014 Tim Muldoon rated it it was amazing

What a great read! I'm fascinated by Michelangelo's work on the Sistine ceiling, and learning more about its production was a walk through a fascinating chapter of European and Church history.

Like many, my image is taken from "The Agony and the Ecstasy"-- Charlton Heston's Michelangelo as a solitary figure, lying on his back painting. King's book explodes that myth. He shows him rather as the head of a team of skilled laborers, with the artist still emerging as a remarkable talent revered by hi ...more

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Dec 09, 2009 Heidi rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club, non-fiction, history, art

Although I enjoyed this book overall, and King does a good job dispelling some of the myths that have arisen around Michelangelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, it read too much like an art major's master thesis. It felt like the author wasn't really engaged with his subject, or wasn't able to convey his enthusiasm if he was.

I was also disappointed that the picture section 1. did not show the ceiling in its entirety, and 2. did not have close-up views of the panels beyond one ...more

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Feb 27, 2018 John rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Another excellent popular account of the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I found the discussion of Italian history during this period, especially the wars of Pope Julius II to be informative. I read this on the Kindle; one problem with a book about art is that you want to see what the author is talking about, and the Kindle version only provided microscopic (IMO) views of what he was talking about.

The book also covers Raphael's murals in the Papal Apartments. This was also interesting, b ...more

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Feb 04, 2018 Mary rated it it was amazing

comprehensive and fascinating discourse about Michaelangelo and Pope Julius II as well as Raphael, contemporaneous politics, religion, culture, etc. in another book, Vittoria Colonna was said to be an inspirer to Michaelangelo; this book seemed to indicate that he had no female intimates of any kind even though the time periods seemed to overlap.

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Jun 21, 2018 Liz (readwildly) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-reading-challenge, history, non-fiction

I enjoyed the details about Michelangelo's labors and his rivalry with another famous Renaissance painter, Raphael. Now that I know more about the lives of these two men, I have a deeper appreciation for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ...more

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Mar 08, 2018 Joe D'Alesio rated it liked it

Never explained why Michelangelo didn’t sign ‘Kowabunga Turtle Power’ but overall a solid read.

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Dec 11, 2020 Sathya Vijayakumar rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed taking a month to read this book. Like all of Ross King's books on Renaissance artists (I previously read one about Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and another on the construction of Il Duomo in Florence), it immersed me in the artist's life, the time period, and the intricate details of the art itself. I don't have any training in or experience with painting or sculpting, but King is a strong enough writer to explain technical points like the nuances of the Buon Fresco technique or th I really enjoyed taking a month to read this book. Like all of Ross King's books on Renaissance artists (I previously read one about Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and another on the construction of Il Duomo in Florence), it immersed me in the artist's life, the time period, and the intricate details of the art itself. I don't have any training in or experience with painting or sculpting, but King is a strong enough writer to explain technical points like the nuances of the Buon Fresco technique or the challenges of painting with perspective on concave surfaces to the uneducated reader in an engaging style. Perhaps the biggest takeaway I got out of it is that Michelangelo both struggled like a human (he had never painted in fresco at anywhere near this scale and did not even consider himself a painter at the beginning, favoring sculpture), and accomplished like the immortal genius he's been portrayed as. The Sistine Chapel upon its completion 5 years later incorporated innovations in perspective, scale, style, and biblical interpretation that exceeded all of his contemporaries at the time despite his lack of experience. It's the modern equivalent of Michael Jordan leading the NFL in touchdown passes 5 years after he started to practice at the height of his hoops powers- essentially an impossible feat if you didn't know someone had actually accomplished it. The other big takeaway that I'd want to remember for posterity is the utter tumult of Renaissance Italy with its immoral warmonger Popes (not a typo), frequent wars with France and Spain, and corruption-infused government wherein artists (even of the stature of Michelangelo) could be killed if they did not give in to some of their powerful patrons' demands.

Overall, it was a great book to get my mind off of the modern world and, uniquely, it provided a frame of reference to get perspective on the tumultuous times that we inhabit with all our current plagues and political intrigues. Some things have changed, and yet in some ways human nature and collective action seem to stubbornly reassert themselves like weeds impervious to human will. It's also inspiring to see what a person can achieve if they set their mind indomitably to it and work tirelessly with faith and dedication as the seasons change and the years pass by. Michelangelo once remarked when asked how he came up with his sculptures that he simply "saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set her free." This book, and his life, are testaments to chipping away towards a vision that may seem unrealistic to others with patience and equanimity in the face of seemingly impossible personal and professional obstacles. ...more

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Mar 08, 2019 Bobby Bermea rated it really liked it

Shelves: resident-madness

Michelangelo seems so easy. He's always fascinating. Trying to capture what he accomplished and put it into words with nothing but whatever facts you can get your hands on and by making whatever inferences seem plausible, seems like an impossible task and so it is. What makes it fun is trying to get at that mystery of creation anyway, to figure out at what exact point Michelangelo was touched by God and put that moment in some kind of terms the rest of us mere mortals can understand. It can't be ...more

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Jan 24, 2019 Sara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, non-fiction, biography, 2019, art-history, historical-nonfiction

This was a super interesting non-fiction book that looks at how Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The book also went into the political dealings going on in Rome while he was competing the chapel, as well as Michelangelo's family issues.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a really cool concept and I loved learning about the technical elements of the painting of the sistine chapel. It was also interesting to get a glimpse of relationships and rivalries between renaissance arti ...more

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Nov 03, 2019 Greta rated it really liked it

In addition to being informative about Michelangelo, Ross King provides an interesting history lesson about Pope Julius II, Rome, Florence and the challenges from France for Italian soil. Many other accomplished Italian artists, sculpture, fresc0-ists, religious figures and politicians are included in this history book.

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Sep 29, 2017 Melinda marked it as to-read

Shelves: church-history, history, political, worth-owning, adventure, philosophy, art-history, 2017

Need to re-shelve and read another time.

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Sep 08, 2018 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The characters seem a little overdramatic, but the art history is fun.

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About Ross King

Ross King

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Ross King (born July 16, 1962) is a Canadian novelist and non-fiction writer. He began his career by writing two works of historical fiction in the 1990s, later turning to non-fiction, and has since written several critically acclaimed and best-selling historical works.

King ...more