Ignudo 1509

This “Ignudo,” or nude youth, was painted by Michelangelo as part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the early 16th century, using the fresco technique, where pigments are applied to wet plaster. Michelangelo built up the figures through layers of paint, with the final glazes lending depth and luminosity. He employed assistants, but the master’s hand is evident in the confident brushwork and anatomical precision. As Michelangelo worked, he was also developing the design for the whole ceiling at once, organizing an army of laborers to prepare the wet plaster for him to paint on. The Ignudi reflect Renaissance ideals of beauty and the male form, of course, but the painting also gives us a sense of the sheer physical effort involved. The process of fresco painting, and indeed, the sheer scale of the Sistine Chapel, reminds us of the immense labor that has always underpinned even the most transcendent artworks. Appreciating this gives us a fuller understanding of what we are seeing.