Date of Award

12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Art History and Visual Culture

Department

Art

First Advisor

Erin Sutherland

Second Advisor

Caroline Paganussi

Third Advisor

Esperança Camara

Abstract

This thesis examines how the materiality of production and the patronage of Pope Julius II influenced the visual and conceptual outcome of Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. It argues the physical demands of the fresco medium, the architectural constraints of the chapel, and the material infrastructure, such as the pigments, scaffolding, and spatial dynamics related to the political, theological, and ideological imperatives of papal authority. The materials served as a symbolic extension of Pope Julius II’s ambitions, embedding his message directly into the frescoes. By foregrounding the complex web of labor and materials that supported the project, this study presents the Sistine ceiling not as the result of an isolated genius, but as a collective achievement shaped by the expertise of mentors, artisans, assistants, and suppliers who indirectly contributed to its creation.

By emphasizing Michelangelo’s technical ingenuity, such as his mastery of fresco, understanding of human anatomy, and his ability to adapt the curved ceiling to monumental narrative scenes, this research emphasizes the interaction between the social and material forces that defined the project. The Sistine Chapel ceiling emerges as both an artistic and engineering triumph, revealing how artistic innovation and papal ambition coexisted within a network of collaboration, material constraint, and power. It challenges the myth of Michelangelo as a solitary, divinely inspired artist by presenting the ceiling as a product of negotiation and struggle. Ultimately, it demonstrates how papal authority and Renaissance systems of production shaped the ceiling as both a physical artifact and defines the expression of High Renaissance art.

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