And how did he do it in just four years?

Recently, a restoration team spent nine years repairing and cleaning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

It took Michelangelo less time to paint it in the first place: just four years.

How did Michelangelo create such an amazing (and amazingly large) masterpiece in such a short period of time?

The secret is revealed in Museum Secrets: Inside the Vatican Museums.

How Michelangelo Did It

There is not a single answer and in fact... Michelangelo had two additional challenges: First: When the pope gave Michelangelo the commission the artist was more experienced as a sculptor than a painter. Second: The ceiling is not flat like a canvas, but a complex set of curves created by the structural elements of the roof.

Even with these extra challenges, Michelangelo painted figures that look "right" when seen from below – so right that visitors often ask Vatican curators if the paintings are three dimensional reliefs. They are not. The ceiling is one enormous "fresco" – a painting created by applying pigments to fresh plaster.

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