[SaxxonWoods]

And then there were the artists. I’ve always loved Michelangelo’s jab at the Church he included in his work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It’s a small self-portrait depicting him as a hanging empty skin.

[Campion]

??? That's St. Bartholomew, who was martyred by being flayed alive. It's traditional to depict martyrs with the instruments or effects of their martyrdom. (St. Lucy, who had her eyes put out, is traditionally depicted holding her eyes in front of her on a platter!)

Very doubtful that it was any kind of "jab at the Church" -- being simply the traditional way to depict a martyr -- although it's entirely possible that Michelangelo used himself as his model for St. Bartholomew.

[dangus]

It’s that the face of the skin of St. Bartholomew, who was skinned aline, looks like Michelangelo. It’s more a commentary of an artist being emptied out by the demands of his work, of which his Church patrons ARE his taskmaster. So you’re not wrong, but your wording makes it sound like this is evidence of his dissidence.