How many years did Michelangelo spend painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling? The answer is 4 years.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512 for Pope Julius II. He was primarily known as a sculptor and was initially reluctant to accept such a demanding fresco commission. The project grew far beyond the pope's original request for figures of the twelve Apostles.
Michelangelo developed an extensive theological programme containing nine central scenes from Genesis, including The Creation of Adam, surrounded by prophets, sibyls, ancestors of Christ and numerous other figures. He worked high above the chapel floor on specially designed scaffolding and completed the main ceiling scheme in late 1512.
The four-year figure refers to the ceiling, not every fresco Michelangelo painted in the chapel. He later returned to create The Last Judgment on the altar wall, working on that separate project from 1535 to 1541. The ceiling was also restored between 1980 and 1994, a process that renewed debate about the brightness of Michelangelo's original colours.