The Atelier Studio Program of Fine Arts

In the 1980s, the Sistine Ceiling endured a restoration that stripped it of its history and age, a process art historian James Beck condemned as an "artistic Chernobyl." This lecture will examine the work done on Michelangelo's frescoes, discussing the historical ethics of the restoration and the repainting that followed. The sculptor's sanguine preparatory sketches will be shown alongside the frescoes, offering insight into his sculptural approach to drawing and anatomical mastery.