Raphael did paint alongside Sodoma in the papal library as described, and Pope Julius II did fire the other more established painters to hand the project solely to Raphael after a short time. Which portion of the ceiling in the papal apartments Raphael painted first is unknown; I chose Justice because I believe it could’ve convinced Pope Julius of Raphael’s spectacular talents. A few fired painters joined Raphael’s workshop—which eventually became the greatest workshop in Renaissance Rome—but there is debate about who stayed. Sodoma likely left, but he’s such a wonderful character, I couldn’t bear to watch him go so quickly (plus, Raphael includes a portrait of him in The School of Athens, so his inclusion has basis). Although Pope Julius did move out of Pope Alexander’s apartments, leaving Pinturicchio’s frescoes behind, I have no reason to believe that Raphael ever lived in them (although his first payment from the Vatican treasury isn’t recorded until months after his arrival, so that’s where I got the idea that he might have faced financial struggles early on).

We have loads of historical information about Michelangelo’s work on the Sistine, so all of that is true: descriptions of figures, his inventive scaffolding design, finishing the Separation of Light from Darkness in a single day—to name only a few details. Look at the fresco of Zechariah and see if you can find that young man perhaps “flipping the fig” at what could be a portrait of Pope Julius. Michelangelo really did curse painting and resented having to interrupt his work on Julius’s marble tomb (which he never finished to his satisfaction; he called it the greatest tragedy of his life). A portion of Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine really did mold after three months of work—he had to start over—and yes, Michelangelo accused Raphael of trying to steal the Sistine from him on many occasions. While painting the Sistine, Michelangelo really did sign his letters “Michelangelo, sculptor in Rome” (which, of course, inspired the title of this novel).

Every named character that appears in these pages is based on a real person (except for Jester Dominic, who is named after my nephew, a request that I could not deny).