Florentine painting
In 1508 Pope Julius II succeeded in getting the sculptor Michelangelo 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, who had yielded to the Pope's demands with little grace, 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.
Cappella Paolina
Michelangelo’s two frescoes in the Cappella Paolina, "The Conversion of Saul" and "The Crucifixion of St Peter" were painted from 1542 to 1549, the height of his fame, but were widely viewed as disappointments and even failures by their contemporary audience. They did not conform to the compositional conventions of the time and the subject-matter is depicted in an unorthodox manner. Despite the importance of the chapel and the significance of their subjects, the frescoes were generally neglected and overlooked in favor of Michelangelo’s nearby masterpieces in the Sistine Chapel.More recently an Italian scholar has recognised Michelangelo's face both in Saint Paul and saint Pete by facial superimposition (Sandro Giometti'Michelangelo, Displaying the Invisible" TAU pub.er Todi 2018).In his last period the Artist felt himself called by Christ as an apostle of his and jexpresses this bestowing his old man's face to the young Saul on his way to Damascus.On the opposite wall he paints his self- portrait in the face of Saint Peter, who stares in a reproaching way to the cardinals and to the new elected pope for their non evangelical lifestyle.