A Renaissance Diagnosis? Researchers think Michelangelo hid one of the earliest depictions of breast cancer in the Sistine Chapel

In the hallowed halls of the Sistine Chapel, a subtle and unexpected mystery might be hiding above millions of heads. Experts suggest that Michelangelo, famed for his detailed depictions of the human form, may have included something unexpected in his fresco The Flood: the portrayal of breast cancer. One of art history’s greatest masterpieces might also be one of the earliest visual records of this disease.

A study proposes that a young woman depicted in Michelangelo's fresco The Flood shows signs of breast cancer. According to these experts from fields like art history, medicine, genetics, and pathology, her right breast appears suspiciously abnormal.

Art meets anatomy

In this fresco, Michelangelo presents a chaos of swirling waters and desperate figures, with one woman standing out. Nearly naked except for a blue headscarf and cloak, she clutches a child close to her. Forensic analysis of this figure, specifically her chest, revealed some fascinating details: while her left breast shows typical sagging and smooth contours, her right breast seems significantly altered.
It was here that art historians applied “iconodiagnosis” — the method of diagnosing diseases based on clinical signs in artwork. The team discovered a retracted nipple, an indentation resembling a scar, and some subtle bulges near her armpit that might represent swollen lymph nodes. These signs fit eerily well with breast carcinoma, even when considering the Renaissance era's limited medical understanding.

To add weight to their findings, the team compared this image with other representations of female figures by Michelangelo. In The Last Judgment and sculptures like Dawn and Night, the breasts are portrayed symmetrically, free from pathology. Here, though, the abnormalities are hard to ignore. It's as if Michelangelo was making a specific point, intentionally depicting this woman with a condition he’d seen firsthand.

A life in art and anatomy

Michelangelo’s understanding of human anatomy is well-known. By age 17, he was assisting in autopsies, acquiring knowledge that would later fuel his anatomically precise art. As a result, researchers think that this specific imagery wasn’t mere symbolism or an attempt at stylisation, but a deliberate choice reflecting his observation of a real condition.
In the depiction, while the world faces God’s wrath and relentless waters, the woman seems to be enduring another kind of suffering that has nothing to do with the flood. The floodwaters might be rising, but her child, who stands behind her, seems more focused on her, as if witnessing her physical and emotional pain.

Michelangelo’s mother, Francesca Del Sera, passed away when he was only five or six — the same age as the child in the fresco appears to be. Considering that Francesca reportedly had a difficult life, even falling from a horse while pregnant with Michelangelo, the researchers believe that the woman could’ve been a tribute to her.

The team explains that while it is easy to dismiss these interpretations as speculative, when we consider Michelangelo’s meticulous approach and knowledge of anatomy, the idea becomes strangely compelling. Why include such specific details in a religious scene if they didn’t hold some personal or observational significance?

While breast cancer wouldn’t have been understood the way it is today, Renaissance physicians were certainly familiar with physical ailments. And Michelangelo’s anatomical studies would have given him a profound appreciation of the human body in all its complexity, perhaps allowing him to subtly document a disease he had observed. In an age when physical ailments were rarely discussed, much less depicted, he may have left behind not just an artistic masterpiece, but an ancient witness to one of humanity’s oldest diseases

The findings of this study have been published in The Breast and can be accessed here.