7. Michelangelo’s Autism Might Have Helped him Paint Something as Epic as the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
A paper published in the Journal of Medical Biography in 2004, revealed that Michelangelo’s incredible talent and unique painting style could have been the result of autism. According to the descriptions provided by his contemporaries, the painter was depicted as someone living in his own reality, while most of his family members are noted as having exhibited similar symptoms. Michelangelo was also described as being antisocial, who had difficulty holding up his end of a conversation, often walking away in the middle of an exchange.
He had a short temper, a sarcastic wit, was paranoid at times, and narcissistic at all times. When he needed help on a project he always preferred to work independently and refused to nurture the talents of his assistants. He usually hired those that did not threaten his supremacy. It was his perfectionism and obsession with work, however, which allowed him to deliver some of the most epic artistic masterpieces in history, such as the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.