It was Pope Julius II who asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the chapel. The Pope wanted to rebuilt Rome to its former glory and therefore, set about doing it in this manner. In addition, he wanted to highlight his name and outdo anything that the previous Pope, Alexander VI, had accomplished. Pope Alexander VI was a Borgia and a bitter rival.

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was 40 long and 13 meters wide. Michelangelo would go on to paint around 5,000 square feet of frescoes. The main frescoes right in the center of the ceiling depict the scenes from the Book of Genesis, and from the Creation to the Fall, just after Noah's Ark was set sail. Next to these scenes, on either side, are huge portraits of prophets and sibyls who had predicted the coming of the Messiah. On the edges are spandrels and lunettes should the ancestors of Jesus as well the tragedies that occurred in ancient Israel. Throughout the frescoes, one can see small figures, cherubs and nudes. In total there are around 300 painted figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Even the two-dimensional architectural moldings to separate different frescoes were painted by Michelangelo.

In reality Michelangelo was a sculptor who loved to work with marble. In fact, the only painting he had done was a student when he was an apprentice in Ghirlandaio's workshop. However, the Pope wanted only Michelangelo to paint the ceiling. In addition, the Pope had contracted him to sculpt 40 figures for his tomb and the Pope said that he would only pay after Michelangelo completed the ceiling.

It took him 4 years to complete the painting. He started in July 1508 and completed it by October 1512. This length of time can be attributed to the fact that Michelangelo had never painted frescoes before. He had to learn everything from scratch, including ensuring that the figures looked right on the curved ceiling when viewed from the ground.

However, the delay in completing the work was not just about mastering the art of painting frescoes. There were other problems like mold, damp weather and plaster that was not allowed to be cured. In addition, Julius was also out of Rome waging a war or he was so ill that last rites had to be performed.