"In 1508, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling. The theme is the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The images show God creating the world through the story of Noah, who was directed by God to shelter humans and animals on an ark during the great flood. The ceiling's most famous scene may be "God Creating Adam," where Adam reaches out his arm to the outstretched arm of God the Father, but their fingers fail to meet."
"At the sides, the artist juxtaposed the male Hebrew prophets and the female Greek and Roman sybils who were inspired by the gods to foretell the future. It was completed in 1512; then in 1536, Michelangelo was asked to create a painting for the wall behind the altar. For this immense work of 590 square feet (about square meters), filled with 391 figures, he labored until 1541. He was then nearly 67 years old."
"As an art historian, I have been aware how, from the beginning, Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" sparked controversy for its bold and heroic portrayal of the male nude. Many layers of meaning Michelangelo liked to consider himself primarily a sculptor, expressing himself in variations of the nude male body. Most famous may be the Old Testament figure of David about to slay"
Michelangelo's fresco The Last Judgment, covering the wall behind the Sistine Chapel altar, began restoration on Feb. 1, 2026, and will last about three months. The Sistine Chapel contains walls painted in 1480 with scenes from the Life of Moses and Life of Christ by leading Renaissance painters. In 1508 Pope Julius II commissioned the ceiling, themed on Genesis, completed in 1512 with the famous God Creating Adam. In 1536 Michelangelo painted the 590-square-foot Last Judgment, populated by 391 figures and finished in 1541 when he was nearly 67. The work provoked controversy for its bold portrayal of the male nude.
Read at The Conversation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]