God and the Man — Michelangelo

Art

One moment you are standing in front of La Pietà (sorrow of Mary), and the next, before the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. Few realize that there's a vast world standing between these masterpieces, the Renaissance world—a realm of artistic brilliance, the one that has great works of not only Michelangelo but Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Bernini, and Caravaggio. They all fit in the smallest country in the world, Vatican City. The journey I talk about above takes you from St. Peter's Basilica to the Sistine Chapel ceiling painting, through the Vatican Museums.

I don't know if you can imagine the excitement of a naive young woman passionate about art, architecture, and history, dashing past statues like Moses and Augustus and masterpieces like the School of Athens, barely pausing to whisper "Thank you, next." Her singular goal? To stand beneath the awe-inspiring ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

I think he understood —

“I cannot tell you how much I wished you were here, for until you have seen the Sistine Chapel, you can have no adequate conception of what man is capable of accomplishing.”—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Writer, 18th century.

And I stood there, unfortunately, 68 ft below the most exciting painting of the Renaissance. The creation of Adam.

It was Pope Julius II’s decision in the 16th century to commission the renovation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Michelangelo. Even though he wasn't a painter but a sculptor, he would have to design his scaffolding to hover below the ceiling flat on his back nearly every day for 4 years to work on it. He had said to have developed eye disease because of it which went away when the work was done. 

“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all” —Michelangelo

The ceiling paintings were divided into 9 central panels with the creation of Man in the middle.

The white-bearded elderly yet muscular man with a flowing robe hovering in the air with angels is depicted as God and the young completely naked man sitting on the earth is Adam. God is stretching to extend his fatherly right hand to deliver a ‘Spark of Life’ towards Adam who mirrors his action thoughtlessly, barely able to raise his left hand. Their Index fingers are almost touching, separated by a small gap (1.9 cm), which refers to God creating a creature just like himself but not quite, he is keeping the divinity and perfection to himself.

What sets Michelangelo's painting apart is his profound knowledge of human anatomy. He spent significant time sketching models and dissecting cadavers. His figures with remarkable realism and dynamic movement, enhance the painting's impact and enduring legacy.

Many hypotheses have been formulated regarding the composition of the painting. One of which is the figures surrounding the image of God representing the parts of the brain– the cerebrum, the brain stem, and even the pituitary gland. Another one is that the red cloth around God is a uterus and the green scarf is the umbilical cord as the idealized representation of the physical birth of the man.

The most interesting one is that the left side of Adam’s torso conceals an extra rib which is associated with the creation of Eve, a woman.  In 2019 Deivis Campos suggested that this extra rib inclusion was a way for Michelangelo to represent Adam and Eve being created side by side, which differs from the Catholic tradition that states Eve was created after Adam.

There have been many reinterpretations of this painting in later eras. Some also speculate if God created the man in the painting or if the Man is inventing God out of his despair !? I think it is more about creation than who created whom. These varied interpretations and speculations highlight the painting's depth, inviting viewers to explore the complex relationship between humanity and divinity.

For years humanity has tried to answer difficult questions through science and art. In the 16th century, this painting had fended off the doubts of many believers until Darwin entered the chat I guess. Art holds the power of nudging perceptions, I believe, the power of influencing is the mightiest of all.

I hope you liked this rather long read. Hope it makes you curious about art and its contexts. Do let me know if you like this one.

I am attaching some more reference images below for more anecdotes. See you soon for the next one !

References—

https://www.michelangelo.org/the-creation-of-adam.jsp

https://theromanguy.com/italy-travel-blog/vatican-city/vatican-museums/most-famous-artwork-at-the-vatican/

https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2017/06/06/afro-latina-artist-reimagines-michelangelos-creation-adam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fm7dxs3vlg5f61.jpg%3Fwidth%3D570%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D25739cbd03531920dcdfb93af57a79eaef0b0da7