Did Michelangelo paint himself onto the CEILING of the Sistine Chapel – portraying himself as GOD?

Michelangelo may have painted himself on the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, a new theory suggests.

The theory revolves around one of the most iconic paintings in the world: “The Creation of Adam,” the arm of a gentle, bearded God stretching out to give birth to Adam.

It is thought that the Renaissance painter boldly added a self-portrait to the fresco, depicting himself as the image of God.

The theory is gaining popularity among scholars after unearthing a possible clue to what the artist was thinking during the four years it took to paint the chapel’s ceiling.

Art historians have pointed to Michelangelo’s rather inflated ego or sassy humor in placing his own image at the center of one of the world’s most iconic works of art.

“Michelangelo saw himself as the Messiah of art, so it makes sense,” Adriano Marinazzo, the curator of special projects at Muscarelle Museum of Art, told The College of William and Mary. The Wall Street Journal.

Marinazzo, who published the theory last year, said he made the potential discovery after studying a sonnet Michelangelo wrote to his friend Giovanni da Pistoia in the early 16th century.

In the poem, the painter says he struggles with the physical toll that painting the chapel ceiling takes on him.

“My brush, all the time above me, drips the paint so that my face forms a fine floor for excrement,” Michelangelo wrote sometime between 1509 and 1511.

But within the margins of the sonnet is a small drawing of a man – presumably Michelangelo himself.

He stands with his legs crossed, reaching out to touch the painting – quite a similar image to that of God in ‘The Creation of Adam’.

The key finding has an eerily similar pose to the one in the painting, further supporting the argument that the depiction of himself may have been entirely intentional.

said Marinazzo The Wall Street Journal: ‘He’s hiding in the ceiling. The face is idealized because Michelangelo was unaware of his crushed nose, but this is the closest thing to presenting himself as divine.’

But the theory also has its critics. Renaissance art historian Paul Barolsky said he believes there is not enough evidence that the margin scribble inspired the final fresco.

He said the Renaissance artist would have sent hundreds of letters and complained countless times about his appearance.

“Everyone has theories, but you have to do better than that,” Mr. Barolsky said The Wall Street Journal.

But this hasn’t stopped the theory from gaining traction among scholars. Other historians have called the find a “smart connection.”

However, others have argued that it may have been a self-conscious depiction of himself as he may have related to the depiction.