Sistine Chapel ceiling identity of the figures in the lunettes and spandrels, continue to defy interpretation. Modern scholars have sought, as yet unsuccessfully, to determine a written source of the theological program of the ceiling and have questioned whether or not it was entirely devised by the artist himself, who was both an avid reader of the Bible and a genius. Also of interest to some modern scholars is the question of how Michelangelo's own spiritual and psychological state is reflected in the iconography and the expression of the ceiling. One such speculation is that Michelangelo was tormented by conflict between homosexual desires
Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes watercolour, to integrate the pictorial material. These areas are distinctively textured with vertical brushstrokes, not visible from a distance but easily discernible as restoration work when viewed close up. Certain small areas were left unrestored, in order to maintain a physical record of the previous restorations that had taken place, for example, an area left with overpainting and candle wax, and another area demonstrating the attempt to counteract salination with oil. Once the many layers of candle wax, varnish, and animal glue were removed from the surface of the Sistine Chapel frescoes, they became subject to dangers that could not