I read with interest Waldemar Januszczak’s article in the Sunday Times about the very quiet 500th anniversary of the painting of the Sistine Chapel. In it he says that Modern Art has been obsessed with Michelangelo’s homosexuality rather than really examining his work.
Quite so.
A few years ago on a visit to the Sistine Chapel, our guide, having given a very detailed and animated description of what we were about to see inside, asked if there were any further questions.
“Is it true that Michelangelo was gay?” asked one of our party.
Her response. “Michelangelo was filthy, he never washed, he thought it was unhealthy. He wore the same pair of shoes until they fell from his feet. He was as unkempt as his house, he threw nothing away. So he smelt and was bad tempered, vile company.
Now, I know of many women who would put up with that type of behaviour, but of no gay man.”
Amen.