My mother loaned me a book about Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. It's interesting to read about the fresco techniques and his genius. But there also was an a-ha moment for me. Michelangelo refused to use female nudes for his sketches. He would use a nude male as a model for his female forms. No wonder they were so....masculine. See
here and
here.
The most feminine is the
Pieta.
I had always figured that he used fishmongers and washerwomen as his models. Nope. Guys!
PS Fresco painting sounds amazingly difficult and he did much of it freehand, which is even more amazing. I just saw some amazing frescos from ancient Pompeii and have become fascinating by the painting technique.
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