The Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo

The Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo
The Sistine Chapel took approximately four years to complete (1508–1512), the entire ceiling was painted while on his back.CeilingSome of the nudity within his artwork was not always apprecited by the religious hierarchy. Today it has been referred to as ‘homoerotic’ but we will never know the personal details of the man. He had close friends, both male and female, but he lived, dressed and ate simply. He may have been celibate.
Michelangelo wrote over three hundred poems, sonnets and madrigals.
‘Joy May Kill’ by: Michelangelo Buonarroti
Too much good luck no less than misery
May kill a man condemned to mortal pain
If, lost to hope and chilled in every vein,
A sudden pardon comes to set him free.
Thus thy unwonted kindness shown to me
Amid the gloom where only sad thoughts reign
With too much rapture bringing light again,
Threatens my life more than that agony.
Good news and bad may bear the self-same knife
And death may follow both upon their flight,
For hearts that shrink or swell, alike will break.
Let then thy beauty, to preserve my life
Temper the source of this supreme delight,
Lest joy so poignant slay a soul so weak.

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