Italian Renaissance painting
In 1508 Pope Julius II succeeded in getting the Florentine sculptor Michelangelo (1475-1564) to agree to continue the decorative scheme of the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel ceiling was constructed in such a way that there were twelve sloping pendentives supporting the vault that formed ideal surfaces on which to paint the Twelve Apostles. Michelangelo soon devised an entirely different scheme, far more complex both in design and in iconography. The scale of the work, which he executed single handed except for manual assistance, was titanic and took nearly five years to complete.
The Entombment (Michelangelo)
According to documents discovered in 1981, Michelangelo had been commissioned to paint a panel for the church of Sant'Agostino in Rome, but in the end gave back the sum received. It is probable that this work was the "Entombment", which remained unfinished upon Michelangelo's return to Florence.