Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes of the work. Based on this decision, according to Arguimbau's critical reading of the restoration data that has been provided, the chemists of the restoration team decided upon a solvent that would effectively strip the ceiling down to its paint-impregnated plaster. After treatment, only that which was painted "buon fresco" would remain. According to critics, the inherent problem with this approach is that it relied heavily upon an assumption that Michelangelo only painted "buon fresco", that he was always satisfied with the result at the end of the day, and that in four and a half years spent on the
Sistine Chapel Choir Michael's Cathedral Basilica. Sistine Chapel Choir The Sistine Chapel Choir, as it is generally called in English, or properly the "Coro della Cappella Musicale Pontificia" in Italian, is one of the oldest choirs in the world, having been formally active since 1471. Based in Vatican City, it normally comprises twenty men (tenors and basses) and thirty boys (sopranos and altos), the latter receiving free tuition. As early as in the pontificate of Sylvester I (314–35), a regularly constituted company of singers, under the name of "schola cantorum", lived together in a building devoted to their exclusive use. The word ""schola""