There was a documentary on the Sistene Chapel on History Channel. In it they said Michelangelo did not want the job and refused it several times.
But the Pope was insistent and personally pleaded with him to take the job, but Michelangelo said, “I am a sculptor, not a painter.”
Eventually Michelangelo gave in and took the job.
Michelangelo spent 4 years laying on his back atop scaffolding painting the intricate murals we see today.
At one point, the Pope arrived to complain that the work was taking too long, was over schedule and over budget.
Michelangelo, atop the scaffolding, then threw a paint pot at the Pope yelling that he didn’t want the job in the first place!
The Pope left and never came back until it was finished......................
The Agony and The Ecstasy, with Charles Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison as the Pope, details their whole conflict.