When Michelangelo Concealed Cancer in the Sistine Chapel: A Medical Perspective on Art

The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, a masterpiece by Michelangelo painted between 1508 and 1512, attract millions of visitors each year to admire their details and monumental biblical scenes. However, a recent study carried out by experts from the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich and the University of Paris-Saclay, published in the journal The Breast, reveals an unexpected aspect of this iconic work.

Observing the Flood scene, pathologists and art historians have identified characteristic signs of advanced breast cancer in the depiction of a woman fleeing the rising waters. These precise anatomical details, long unnoticed, suggest not only Michelangelo's in-depth knowledge of anatomy, but also a potential symbolism linked to mortality and the human condition, placing art in a medical and spiritual reflection unprecedented for the 'era.

The Flood: a scene where death takes shape

The Sistine Chapel, in the heart of the Vatican, remains one of the most emblematic works of the Italian Renaissance. Built between 1477 and 1483 under the pontificate of Sixtus IV, it owes its name to this pope who ordered its construction. Initially designed as a place of worship and meetings for the College of Cardinals, it became famous for its ceiling, entirely painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512 on the commission of Pope Julius II. This majestic ceiling illustrates biblical scenes, including the Creation of Adam. Later, between 1536 and 1541, Michelangelo added the monumental Last Judgment on the altar wall.

The Flood constitutes the first monumental scene that Michelangelo undertook. It illustrates the divine punishment inflicted on sinful humanity by the inexorable rise of the waters. In this pictorial chaos where each character fights for their survival, Michelangelo chooses to represent fear and anguish. But he also depicts human fragility in the face of destiny. A young woman, almost naked and wearing a blue veil – a color associated with her marital status – is distinguished by her posture and her gaze fixed towards the earth. This character is located on the left side of the stage. It is the subject of careful analysis by iconodiagnostic specialists. This discipline identifies possible signs of illness in artistic works. We do this based on visible clinical clues.

According to Andreas G. Nerlich, a pathologist at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, the anatomical details of this woman reveal alarming signs of breast cancer in her right breast. These anomalies are visible in contrast with the left breast free of any deformation, as well as with those of many other figures in the table.

Medical diagnosis in art: an interdisciplinary analysis

The interdisciplinary analysis carried out on The Flood therefore combines the authors' expertise in pathology, art history and medicine to interpret the anomalies visible in the female character's chest. Among these abnormalities, the retracted nipple, the presence of subcutaneous nodules near the armpit, and the indentation of the skin suggest symptoms of advanced breast cancer, signs well known to modern pathologists.

In order to reach this conclusion, the team carried out a diagnosis of exclusion. In other words, she considered and then rejected other pathologies such as tuberculous mastitis and postpartum mastitis. These conditions are known to cause breast deformities. However, the presentation of the abnormalities observed did not correspond to these diseases and rather seemed to indicate a malignant tumor.

Close-up of breast cancer features (1C) on a woman's breast (1B) in depiction of Flood by Michelangelo (1A) © Nerlich et al., 2024

It should be noted that over the centuries, the ceiling was restored several times. Photographic comparisons reveal that the original shape and shading of the breasts remained largely unchanged.

A textbook case or a desire to reflect on human nature

Note that Michelangelo got involved in anatomical dissections from the age of 17. This fact allowed researchers to propose a hypothesis according to which the artist possessed an acute knowledge of the human body and its pathologies. This familiarity with anatomy would have allowed Michelangelo to reproduce pathological details with rare precision. Andreas G. Nerlich and his colleagues suggest that these anomalies could have been deliberately introduced by Michelangelo. It allows an interpretation where art and medicine meet to question the fragility of existence.

Additionally, researchers refute suggestions that the artist authentically copied a model's pathology. Or even a transformed male model with an unsuitable anatomy. “ Michelangelo did not use a living model (or living models, male or female) to represent the story of Genesis », note the authors. “ There are no realistic portraits in this scene. Rather, it is a composition of ideas based on the story of the Bible with idealized faces and bodies “.

Symbolism and theology: cancer as a metaphor for sin and death

In the symbolic interpretation put forward by the researchers, the representation of this woman suffering from breast cancer could reflect religious and moral beliefs of the time. The context of the Flood in the Sistine Chapel represents not only divine wrath, but also human fragility in the face of superior forces. According to this analysis, illness here becomes a materialization of sin, notably that of lust.

And during the Renaissance, it was often associated with forms of bodily suffering. By integrating this pathology into the fresco, Michelangelo would have wanted to express the ephemeral nature of human life and the way in which carnal desires or behaviors perceived as immoral could lead to physical decline, then seen as a divine punishment.

The Night. © Wikimedia commons

This fresco is also part of an artistic and theological tradition. We use the human body, in its vulnerability, to illustrate the spiritual and moral consequences of the human condition. Indeed, in Nighta sculpture created by Michelangelo for the tomb of Giuliano de Medici, anatomical details have intrigued for years. The chest of this female figure presents an anomaly. She presents with a deformed and sagging breast. Researchers see possible signs of disease, particularly breast cancer, similar to those observed in The Flood. By using the body to translate ideas of judgment and redemption, Michelangelo thus links art, morality and faith in a single artistic gesture.

Source: Andreas G. Nerlich et al., “Did Michelangelo paint a young adult woman with breast cancer in “The Flood” (Sistine Chapel, Rome)?”, The Breast, Volume 78, December 2024, 103823