Michelangelo on Sky Art

Michelangelo on Sky Art

A passion for historical accuracy and ingenious problem-solving for the big screen

Commissioned by: Sky Arte (International Film Production)

The Context: Rewinding the tape of Creation

Building on the success achieved with Raphael’s works, Sky Arte entrusted Bottega Tifernate with a challenge that was, if possible, even more titanic for the film Michelangelo Infinito. The production did not require a simple replication of completed masterpieces, but the illusion of witnessing their genesis. The commission involved recreating The Creation of Adam across three distinct stages of the fresco’s creation and the imposing preparatory cartoon for The Last Judgement. For the camera, a simple set trick might have sufficed, but the workshop’s ethos demanded a surgical and uncompromising approach.

The Scientific Challenge: The Restorer’s ‘Sacred Map’

To avoid the risk of creating a historical forgery, Stefano Lazzari needed to know the exact sequence in which Michelangelo had applied the plaster centuries earlier. Thanks to the mediation of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the workshop came into contact with Nazzareno Gabrielli, the master restorer who had worked directly on the scaffolding of the Sistine Chapel. From this extraordinary dialogue emerged a priceless treasure: the complete map of Michelangelo’s original fresco ‘days’. Following those scientific notes, the Bottega applied its own plaster, respecting the exact chronological and directional order laid out by Buonarroti.

The Role of Consultant: Teaching Renaissance Gestures

This obsession with accuracy transformed the workshop from a technical supplier into a genuine historical consultant on set. During filming, director Emanuele Imbucci paused the action to contact Lazzari: he needed to know the exact pressure of the hand and the precise movement required to tap the bag of charcoal onto the perforated paper (the ‘spolvero’ technique). On the other end of the line, taking on board the physical instructions of the Renaissance apprentices, was actor Enrico Lo Verso, ready to breathe life and historical authenticity into Michelangelo’s movements.

Behind the Scenes: The ‘stand-in’ for the Tondo Doni

Alongside academic rigour, cinema also demands brilliant logistical problem-solving. The script called for the staging of the famous historical anecdote linked to the Tondo Doni, in which Michelangelo, annoyed by the wealthy patron Agnolo Doni’s attempts to haggle over the price, had the apprentices shuttle back and forth, carrying the work through the streets of Florence. Since a 16th-century solid-wood tondo is extremely heavy, having the actors carry it on their shoulders for dozens of consecutive takes would have been impossible. La Bottega therefore devised an ingenious solution, creating two distinct works: a ‘Tondo Doni Stand-in’, built on an ultra-lightweight support to facilitate the actors’ physical movements, and a ‘Tondo Doni Protagonist’, heavy, textured and painted in all its three-dimensional historical depth, intended to dominate the scene in the director’s close-ups.