Art Inspirtation - Painting like Michelangelo painted the roof of the Sistine Chapel

I was quite excited about seeing how today's art session would go. Today the kids learnt about Michelangelo and how he painted the roof of the Sistine Chapel and then had a go at painting the same way.

We started by watching Artrageous with Nate again. This focused on how Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NadMZ-P93Ms

It was cool to learn that he painted it by standing up and bending his head back. I always thought that he lay down to paint but that's not the case. It was cool to hear the information about it after seeing the chapel 9 years ago in person. I would love to go back and actually pay more attention to the detail. Daniel was a little bit disappointed that it didn't really focus on his life, but I wanted the focus to be on the painting of the ceiling.

Next up we headed outside and the kids had a go of their own. We had to do it 1 at a time. For Eliza and Daniel I put their little kids table on top of the bins so they could stand under it and paint on the paper that I stuck under the table. For Alexander, I put the table on 2 chairs and he sat under the table and painted the paper that was stuck under the table. I was quite proud of myself for working out how to do it. Again, it was only through the video that I learnt that Michelangelo stood up to paint, not lay down.

First up was Eliza. Again she was right into it. The kids had freedom to paint whatever they wanted to, the only catch was that they had to paint it on the ceiling, not on the ground. 

The set up

She did well to fill the space

I asked Eliza if she liked painting like this or if it was hard. She said that she liked it but it hurt her neck looking up the whole time.

Next up was Alexander.

Painting a race track

Alexander had the bonus of being able to lean on the ground while painting but he also agreed that he didn't like painting this way.

Last up was Daniel. He asked if he could bring our toy Christopher outside to paint a portrait of. He set him up on the chair and got to work.

Spot Christopher

Daniel really liked painting like this but he also agreed that it hurt his neck. We spoke about how it must have felt for Michelangelo to paint for those years on the Chapel roof.

They mustn't have disliked it that much because Daniel, Alexander and Eliza wanted to have another go.

While one painted on the 'roof' the others had free painting on the grass.

I love how Eliza is supporting her arm to paint above her.

The results were fun but the meaning behind why we painted this way was cool! I really liked doing this. By the way, I always knew Michelangelo was amazing, but to see the kids have a go at painting this way and knowing the detail he included in his paintings, he is even more amazing!!