The Last Judgment - Background
The Last Judgment, done between 1536 and 1541 by Michelangelo, covers the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The time of the painting came shortly after two significant happenings in the history of Catholicism. One was the surge of the Protestant Reformation, inspired by the insights of Martin Luther King, while the second one was the sacking of Rome by the armies of King Charles V. The Protestant Reformation was a break from the Catholic Church by some European countries due to the continued decadence of the papacy. This was especially during the reigns of Popes Leo X and Clement VII who were both descendants of the Florentine Medici Family. One of the main reasons for the Protestant Reformation was the Pope's dependence on the sale of indulgences to fund their earthly exploits such as art commissions, as opposed to free grace through faith espoused in the gospels (Leffler and Jones 102).
The Commission and Intentions
Initially commissioned by Pope Clement VII and later confirmed by Pope Paul III, the painting served to communicate the Catholic Church's response to the wave of Protestantism spreading through Europe, the onslaught from the pillaging armies, and the citizenry that chose to abandon Catholicism. Through the painting, the papacy sought to reestablish the paramount position of the Catholic Church in the second coming of Christ and the ensuing judgment. The art in the chapel further served to reinforce the Pope as the only true temporal conduit to salvation from doom. Clement VII commissioned the painting of the altar wall under the theme of resurrection, but upon his death, Pope Paul redefined the subject to the last judgment, since it resonated well with the 1530s Rome. The vivid depiction of the last judgment would help jolt the citizenry and remind them of the dire consequences of disregarding Catholicism as earlier embodied in the Protestant Reformation and the sack of Rome. Papal propaganda and Catholic dogma manifested themselves in the painting, given its time context (Leader 106).
Political Context
Significant political developments in Europe preceded and set the stage for the painting of the Last Judgement. The political ambitions of Pope Julius II, his expansion of the Papal States, and his foreign policy positioned the Catholic Church at odds with the Roman Empire, led by Emperor Charles. To make it worse, the Papal States sided with King Francis of France in his defeat to the Empire. The Empire's disregard of the Pope's primacy culminated in the sack of Rome in 1527. The painting, therefore, helped to invigorate the Catholic Church and to affirm the rule of the papacy (Leader 106).
Artistic Style
The picture's composition is indicative of the late Renaissance, also known as Mannerism. This is the period in art between the death of Raphael and the rise of the baroque style in the early 1600s. As opposed to the high Renaissance that enjoyed the lavish patronage of the arts by the papacy, the late Renaissance occurred when the forces of reform held that indulgence in art was secular. In the Last Judgment, the depiction of disquieting, overly emotional figures goes against the traditional norm. The artist's use of vivid colors in the skin tones, the blue color of the sky, and orange tones indicate its mannerist composition and a clear departure from the earlier instances of the Renaissance. The bizarre nature of themes, borrowed from Christianity, mythology, and classicism, further illustrates the mannerist leanings of the masterpiece. Michelangelo combined the biblical narrative of the second coming of Christ, the classical Dante's Divine Comedy, and figures from Greek mythology, such as the figure of Minos. Moreover, the interest in the human anatomy and its detailing also strongly links the Last Judgment to the late Renaissance period. Michelangelo arranges the human forms in postures that help to illustrate the elegance of the human body. As opposed to the serenity, symmetry, and observance of classical proportions epitomized by early and high Renaissance compositions, late Renaissance compositions featured dynamism, asymmetry, and distortion, as evident in the Last Judgment (Bodart 176).
Religious Themes
The primary religious theme in the painting is the second coming of Jesus, with the resurrection of the dead and final judgments. In the artwork, Michelangelo depicts Jesus as the dominant figure at the center, with the Virgin Mary beside him, surrounded by recognizable biblical characters. The resurrection of the dead happens on the bottom left of the fresco, where skeletons and entire bodies emerge from their graves and rise towards Christ for Judgement. The Virgin Mary seems to look aside from the impending wrath of her son, seemingly unable to intercede for the sinful souls any longer. The condemnation of sinners, seen descending to their fates to the bottom right of the fresco, is a vivid image meant to remain with the observer and possibly remind them to be better persons. The agony etched on the face of the sole damned man, descending to hell aided by two demons, is a cause for self-interrogation for any observer, who has to ponder their final destination and act accordingly (Bambach 211).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Last Judgment is one of the most famous yet controversial paintings of all time. The piece was commissioned by Pope Clement VII and confirmed by Pope Paul III. Furthermore, the artwork was a reaction to the broader raft of issues happening around the Vatican, Rome, and Europe.
Works Cited
:Bambach, Carmen. Michelangelo. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017. Print.
Bodart, Diane. Renaissance & Mannerism. New York: Sterling Pub. Co., 2008. Print.
Leader, Anne. Michelangelo’S Last Judgment: The Culmination of Papal Propaganda in the Sistine Chapel. 2006. Web. 9 Mar. 2018.
Leffler, William J, and Paul H Jones. The Structure of Religion. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2005. Print.
