I have always believed and still do that painting, sculpting, writing and music, etc. are very persuasive conduits for our Spirituality. Michelangelo had to be experiencing his own Spirituality while painting the Sistine Chapel.
No matter what religion you follow, you have to be inspired by these incredible art scenes on the ceiling from the book of Genesis in the old testament.
The following was extracted from "About.com".
Michelangelo was a sculptor. He referred to himself as such, and vastly preferred working with marble to almost anything else that life offered. Prior to the ceiling frescoes, the only painting he'd done was during his brief stint as a student in Ghirlandaio's workshop.
Pope Julius, however, was adamant that Michelangelo - and no other - should paint the chapel ceiling. What Pope Julius wanted, he usually got. Besides that, he'd been stalling Michelangelo on a prior, wildly lucrative commission (sculpting 40 massive figures for his tomb), and kept dangling that juicy prize as a reward for completion of the ceiling job.
It took him a bit over four years, from July of 1508 to October of 1512. Michelangelo got off to a slow start, not having painted frescoes before. He intended to (and did) work in buon fresco, the most difficult method, and one which only true masters undertook. In addition to having to learn everything about the medium itself and making initial blunders in that area, he also had to learn some wickedly hard techniques in perspective.
Charlton Heston did lay on his back while painting in the movie, but the real Michelangelo didn't lay on his back to paint the ceiling. He conceived and had constructed a unique scaffolding system. It was sturdy enough to hold workers and materials, but began high up the walls of the chapel in order that Mass might still be celebrated below.
Please click on the following link to enjoy a virtual reality tour of the Chapel. Move your computer mouse around, phase in and out on the art you want to see or are familiar with. It is the second best experience to being there in person.
http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html
You may find your conduit of Spirituality. I have and that is writing. We all have our talent, whether speaking, singing, painting, etc. etc. Find that gift and exploit it.
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