During the painting of Michelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel Ceiling, the artist constantly complained about how little he was being paid, but in fact he was receiving 30 times more than most artists of the time would have been paid. Michelangelo had to endure constant complaints from the impatient Pope Julius II, who frequently demanded changes in color and content. Michelangelo adamantly refused, and would only use pigments hand-made by a specific order of Florentine monks.

The artist was a dedicated and fervent student of human anatomy, often performing dissections of cadavers in secrecy. Today, Michelangelo's figures on the Sistine Chapel Ceiling contain muscles that modern anatomy has yet to name.