The Sistine Chapel Ceiling – A Case Study

I am a big fan of Leonardo da Vinci and was very upset recently to learn about the rivalry between these two great men in their latter years. I suppose that I want to believe in the beauty of gentlemanly rivalry like maybe between Federer and Nadal or Nicklaus and Watson. However Leonardo da Vinci did come to Rome in 1513 and he heavily criticised the chapel ceiling as both a work of art and an understanding of nature.

Here in a much more modest way I critique Michalengo’s role as the project manager for one of the most famous ‘projects’ in the world. Though it still stands as a testament to his brilliance as a painter he had many issues or challenges as a manager – in this case the product remains adored but the process, as far as we can tell, was terribly flawed.

Mistake number 1 - Michelangelo was first and foremost a sculptor and when asked in 1508 by the non-Borgian Pope Julius II to cover the monstrous ceiling he probably should have put his foot down and declined.
Know your own limits
“You cannot shoot well when the gun's askew”


Mistake No 2 - He didn’t have a written contract with his sponsor to cover his own work and conditions and had to work rapidly at the end to compete the ceiling before the death of the Pope.
Get it in writing

Mistake No 3 - He dismissed the local assistants and chose new ones based on the word of a friend. These new ones were not up to the challenge although they were probably good painters. Tedesco lacked talent, Donnino lacked courage, Sangallo lacked wisdom and poor old Bugiardini struggled on curved surfaces. Michalengelo didn’t match their skills and characters to the work required and paid the heavy price of having to do most of the work himself.
Choose your bedfellows well.

Mistake No 4 - He agreed to an unrealistic time table to satisfy the wishes of an irrational sponsor. He should have developed a realistic plan and phased the work to give more accuracy to his estimates.
Rien ne sert de courir, il faut partir a point
(Running is worthless – you have to leave on time)

Mistake No 5 - He fell foul of many events that caused him to be delayed. These included bad workmanship, bad materials, poor lighting, bad health, other projects and even lack of support from the sponsor. He should have explicitly planned for the risks of doing the work and had a contingency for the ‘known unknowns’
Get you excuses in early and have a plan for them.

Mistake No 6 - He focused on the work at the exclusion of keeping the sponsor informed. This led to confusion, mistrust and frustration. He should have communicated more and in different formats (sketches, scale models, site visits) to keep his allies on his side.

Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Finally the saddest part for me - There was no closing of the project that we can verify. It appears that he did not attend the unveiling ceremony. This was never his ‘cathedral’ and while the others were celebrating his amazing achievements he was back in his studio with a chisel in hand - starting to sculpt his next ‘cathedral’.

If you are building castles in the sky for others let someone else manage the process.