> "declared himself unfit as a painter" ?
Wasn't it more like "declared painting as unfit for him"? Michelangelo had a strong disdain for paintings and painters especially Leonardo Da Vinci and his friends.
My only source is [this biography](1). Not sure how accurate that is.
[1]: http://www.amazon.com/The-Agony-Ecstasy-Biographical-Michela...
I did not write that he declared himself unfit as a painter, I wrote that he did not consider himself to be a painter. Michelangelo's first love was marble, not paint.
You may be referring to Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King. Fantastic read for the interested.
http://www.amazon.com/Michelangelo-Popes-Ceiling-Ross-King/d...
The Agony and the Ecstasy, by Irving Stone, perhaps? Its the first thing that came to mind when I saw this. Irving Stone's Lust for Life, about Vincent Van Gogh, is pretty good as well.
Given the timing that is most likely the one but I wouldn't know for sure without reading a few pages. Thanks for the hint. I've long ago lost pretty much all my books so it's hard for me to be sure about what I read where and when. Much appreciated.
Michelangelo was at continuous odds with his employers during his lifetime, he dissected corpses illegally at first, later with tacit approval of some of the church bigwigs in order to improve his skills as an artist. It was a continuous give-and-take to see who got the most out of the arrangement.
In the end I think we, the future dwellers able to see his work no matter what caused them to come into being are the real winners.
Not bad for a man who declared himself unfit to execute the work because he was a sculptor, not a painter...
There is a very good book about him that I forgot the title of (I read it ages ago).