The frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo are considered as some of the most significant works of Renaissance paintings in history that took four years to complete. The Sistine Chapel is located in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City famous for its architecture evoking to Temple of the Old Testament (Bull, 1988). The ceiling is at a height of 4500 cm from the ground and length of 1400 cm and was created in 1512 by Michelangelo during the Renaissance. The chapel is located in the Vatican City and the ceiling is owned by the Vatican Museums. The decoration employs the Renaissance arts done by artists such as Michelangelo Buonarroti whose décor on the ceiling attracts millions of tourists to the Vatican City (Bull, 1988). The artist utilized bright colors that are quite visible from the floor of the building.
Historical Context
The Sistine Chapel was built on another chapel's foundation known as Capella Magna. The idea of changing the decoration was by a new Pope Julius II in 1503 and assigned the task to Michelangelo who was an artist (Bull, 1988). The painter started the program by painting the ceiling in 1508 working for four years and after more than 20 years the painting of the giant fresco was commissioned by Pope Clement VII (Bull, 1988). The Pope's idea was to paint only the 12 Apostles, but the Artist decided to have more figures. The paintings on the highest part of the ceiling depicted nine scenes in the book of Genesis such as separation of light and darkness among others. The fresco, which was done later, represents the last judgment or the coming of Christ in which the righteous are on the right side going to heaven while the sinners are on the left going to hell (King, 2014). Besides, some Biblical and Catholic characters are also depicted including many saints. The task was exhausting leading to a strained relationship between the artist and the Catholic Church. Restoration of the Sistine Chapel began in 1980 taking 14 years in the reattachment of fresco and its cleaning (Bull, 1988). After completion of the work, more than 300 figures were completed showing creation, Adam and Eve, and the Great Flood stories.
Narrative Framework, Composition, and Organization
The Sistine Chapel ceiling painting done by Michelangelo revealed the scenes from the Old Testament and began with the creation of the world to the story of Noah and the flood. The program was formulated with the help the Vatican theologian started in 1508 and completed in 1512 (Grabon, Anderson, Bushnell, Calvo " Chadwick, 2015). The images start at the altar and moves to the entrance side of the Chapel oriented in such a way that one must view them right side up. The work of painting the ceiling was tedious and complicated since the artist had to construct scaffolds to the ceiling which was about 65 feet from the ground (Grabon, Anderson, Bushnell, Calvo " Chadwick, 2015). The ceiling can be divided into 33 areas with each having a different scene. The central part of the ceiling depicts nine scenes from the book of Genesis such as separation of light and darkness, creation of the solar system, separation of water and dry land, creation of Adam, creation of Eve, the fall of man, Noah's sacrifice, the Great Flood, and Noah's drunkenness. The scenes reveal the strengths and weaknesses of humanity as well as tell the origins of humankind. In the corners of the ceiling, Michelangelo presented four stories drawn from the Old Testament such as that of Moses holding the bronze snake, empower David slaying Goliath, Judith, and Haman who was slain when he plotted t murder the Israelites. The scenes portray the good and bad side of humanity as well as share the power of God working through chosen people in punishing evildoers and saving the innocent (Grabon, Anderson, Bushnell, Calvo " Chadwick, 2015). For instance, in the first panel (from the entrance) Noah appears drunk surrounded by his family showing the weakness of man. In the second, the story of the flood is clear as people struggle to save themselves from drowning. The third panel reveals the sacrifice by Noah and thanksgiving to God for saving his life and that of his family while the forth portrays the fall of Adam and Eve as they are seen accepting the apple from Satan (snake) before they are expelled from the Garden of Eden (Grabon, Anderson, Bushnell, Calvo " Chadwick, 2015). The creation of Eve from a rock follows (fifth) while the sixth panel gives the image of Adam as he stretches his hand to God just after conception. Separation of water from the land is the seventh panel followed by the creation of sun, moon, as well as plants. The group closest to the altar shows separation of light from darkness. The triangular regions on the sides of the central panels reveal Christ's ancestors such as Solomon, Josiah, Jesse, Rehoboam, Asa, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Zerubbabel. The square panels which are situated between the ancestors of Jesus contain the prophets Jonah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Joel, and Zechariah as they interact with other people. The four corners of the ceiling show four scenes from the Old Testament. The triangles indicate images of David and Goliath, worshiping of the Brazen Serpent, Haman's punishment, as well as Judith and Holofernes (Afshar " Afshar, 2015). In the second section of the ceiling are the prophets and Sybils occupying much space. The artist used dull colors and dark shades although during restoration brighter shades were used. Michelangelo taste for royal blue, golden yellow and dusky pink is clear. His work is lightly lit with bright, brash tones against pale creams, and pastel colors can be seen clearly. For instance, the scene in which God is creating Adam it is possible to see fluffy white clouds. The mood of the painting reveals religious values while the tone is very spiritual. Being a Catholic, Michelangelo was very religious and so were his artworks (Afshar " Afshar, 2015). It is possible to note the sacred tone of the ceiling full of Biblical images. The work can also be described as moving provoking viewers’ emotions at every scene. There are images showing disaster, love, danger such as during the flood, and God's love for humankind.
The first image was that of Noah fresco near the chapel’s entrance. The central scenes of the Old Testament are painted in grayish monochromatic color thus appear like concrete fixtures. Above the arched windows, there are triangles with paintings of larger figures that seem to be seated. In the first group of images, persons such as David, Jesse, and Josiah appear. The three are connected to Christ's human ancestry. Between the triangles figures of old prophets and pagan sibyls who gave prophecies about the coming of Jesus to save humanity (Colalucci, 2017). One of the images is the Libyan Sibyl is sitting on a cloth on top of a seat with her body twisted to close a book. Her weight seems to rest on her toes as she is looking over her shoulders towards the altar, which is below her. The Delphic Sibyl has a powerful expression holding a scroll. The monumental features on Sistine’s chapel ceiling show sculptural paintings. The Alter has three divisions in which the first three paintings narrate the creation of Heavens and Earth followed by Adam and Eve then Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Then the story of Noah and the Great Flood while in the four corners of the room were scenes of Israel’s salvation. The artist has utilized physical space of water and sky for separating the four parts of the story. For instance, towards the right side, several people struggle for safety from rainwater under a makeshift shelter while on the left people climb up a mountain as they escape from the water. At the center, there is the boat, which is almost capsizing due to the heavy downpour while in the background some men are busy constructing the ark. There is a lot of desperation for those about to die as God wipes the entire world except Noah and family (Grabon, Anderson, Bushnell, Calvo " Chadwick, 2015). The first figures and scenes reveal the artist's use of his earlier work such as the Pieta because the painting was an unfamiliar medium to him (Colalucci, 2017). The paintings are small but stable, but as they proceed, they become bigger.
Religious Symbolism of the Ceiling and its purpose
The paintings on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel have great symbolic meaning has it reveals the doctrine of humankind and the need for salvation, which was given by God through Jesus Christ. The work shows God as the creator of the perfect world that he gave to human beings to live in it. However, man fell into disgrace after which he was given the punishment of death and separated from God. The paintings also reveal God’s concern for his valuable creation by sending prophets and Sibyls to announce the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ who was to redeem the earth and save humankind (Colalucci, 2017). The figures give the storyline of the lineage of individuals all the way from Adam to the birth of Jesus thus the ceiling is about the path to salvation. Near the scene of the creation of Eve, the artist shows her with Adam, and God occupying a small space bringing out some tension that can be interpreted as a way of moving away from the Renaissance, which was more concerned with harmony. This point away for the younger generation of other artists such as Pontomo, which was labeled as Mannerism. When Michelangelo did the painting of the second half, he repeated the same evolution from quiet stability and included stress and intimacy (Colalucci, 2017). He included twisted figures such as that of Prophet Jonah. The pictures are drawn during the second phase also, show greater inward expressiveness thus give a more meditative restraint compared to earlier works.
The chapel has several uses such as religious activities including the election of a new pope since 1492. There is a special chimney for broadcasting the voting status of the cardinals as white smoke symbolizes a new pope has been elected. On the other hand, black smoke signifies that none of the candidates got two-thirds of the majority vote. Michelangelo was first assigned the task of painting the 12 figures of the Apostles but refused as he considered himself a sculptor. It is also a tourist attraction under the management of the Vatican Museum bringing in millions of dollars every year. It serves as an historical site and a representation of renaissance art and religion.
Although Michelangelo Buonarroti did not consider himself a painter his work on the chapel ceiling was incredible due to detailed and unique paintings on Biblical stories. His artistic skill made the chapel one of the most visited by tourists from all parts of the world. The art reveals a mixture of religion and humanism during the 16th century. Religion considered human beings as sinful and flawed, yet humanism was concerned with the beauty and nobility of man. The nudity of the images tries to reconcile Christianity and Humanistic beliefs. Aspects such as architectural illusion, the muscular human anatomy, and dynamic sense of motion, foreshortening, bright colors, and emotion expression are aspects that constitute the images.
References
Afshar, A., " Afshar, N. (2015). Hands on Stamps: Hands from Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. Journal of Hand Surgery, 40(3), 576-577.
Bull, M. (1988). The Iconography of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. The Burlington Magazine, 130(1025), 597-605.
Colalucci, G. (2017). Michelangelo Buonarroti: Restoration of the Frescoes on the Vaulted Ceiling and the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage, 16(1), 89-126.
Grabon, M., Anderson, J., Bushnell, P., Calvo, A., " Chadwick, W. (2015). The Sistine Chapel: New HVAC System for Cultural Preservation. ASHRAE Journal, 57(6), 20.
King, R. (2014). Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
