the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo

Many people consider Michelangelo to be the best artist in history (King, 2014). Michelangelo's artistic talent revealed itself in his early childhood, much to his family's dismay, when he was born in 1475. His sketches would often result in retribution from his aunt, who wished to persuade the youth to follow a more respectable and lucrative career rather than becoming an artist. His works evoked a sense of grandeur and style that has influenced artists for decades. Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel is one of the most important paintings of all time and an early example of Renaissance art (King, 2014). The masterpiece was a representation of various extracts from the Book of Genesis which was painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The painting was first made available to the public in 1512 (King, 2014). The expertly painted human figures and complex narratives surprised people and still continues to attract thousands of tourists and pilgrims from all over the world who visit the chapel each day.

The Christian worldview is reflected in the content of Michelangelo’s work. In his paintings, the central panels contain extracts from the Book of Genesis, ranging from the ‘Creation’ to soon after ‘Noah's flood’. Next to all of these scenes on both sides, on the other hand, are huge pictures of sibyls and prophets who prophesied the Messiah’s coming (Zappella, 2014). Below these portraits run spandrels and lunettes comprising of the descendants of Jesus and tales of misfortune in olden Israel distributed all over are smaller figures, cherubs and nudes. In the four corners of the chapel he painted the heroes or leaders of the Old Testament who defeated the foes of faith such as Moses punishing the brazen serpent worshippers, David and Goliath, and Judith and Holofernes (Zappella, 2014). In 1530s under Pope Paul III, Michelangelo returned to the chapel and painted the last judgment on the alter wall (Zappella, 2014).

Besides his art, Michelangelo placed his mind on essential moral factor of both his and our time: “How to have a good and significant life” (Zappella, 2014). He spent most of his time reading the Old Testament and also the opinions of great thinkers. As a result of the dangers in the time in which he lived, Michelangelo was not at liberty to disclose his thoughts about moral, religious, and spiritual issues (King, 2014).When he was 23 years old, Michelangelo’s priest was burned in Florence allegedly for piety and “religious error” (Zappella, 2014). Years later after the incidence, a killer was hired to assassinate Michelangelo because of political reasons. He knew that in that environment, speaking what was in your mind could very well result into death or imprisonment (Zappella, 2014). Therefore, Michelangelo inserted his understandings on “How to have a good and significant life” within his masterpieces which are crucial components of the Michelangelo Method.

Michelangelo’s message about the mind as a key to creative understanding was embedded in his painting: the vehicle transporting God to Adam is a robe made as a real replica of the brain of a human being (Zappella, 2014). Included in the drawing are the brain stem, pituitary glands, spinal cord, and the fissures foundamid convolutions of the brain. This similarity is so outstanding that it could not be explained as accidental. His other message was that each person has a masterpiece within and this was conveyed through David (Zappella, 2014). David was molded out of a “ruined” marble block disregarded by all of his colleagues. Michelangelo disclosed that he observed inside the stone to discover the image that he was intending to generate. He realized that he just had to remove a piece ofwhat was not the image to expose the masterpiece. Besides, in hissequence of sculptures referred to as the Captives, the figures give the impression of being freed from the stone that had been imprisoning them.

Michelangelo faced numerous challenges in the process of painting: to start with, he had never painted frescoes formerly and was thus learning as he worked as pointed out by Zappella (2014). Other setbacks included the growth of mold and the poor weather that prevented plaster curing among others. To help combat this situation he adopted various strategies: he had many assistants who performed various duties such as: mixing his paints and preparing the day's plaster (Zappella, 2014). Sometimes, he would entrust a brilliant assistant with a patch of sky, a little of landscape, or a figure so minor and small that it could barely be discerned from below. Additionally, Contrary to the widely spread belief that he did the work lying down, the artist and his aides used scaffolds made of wood that enabled them to be in an upright position and reach above their heads.

Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel ceiling provides an understanding of art as a gift from God as observed by King (2014). The entire work he did on the chapel eminently proves that his capability was God given. It is believed that the major reason why he initially rejected the Sistine chapel offer was because he considered himself as a sculptor but not a painter, and, therefore had no experience with frescoes. His rival was sure that he would fail in this undertaking (King, 2014). But his talents, being the gift it was, the end result was stunning and even his colleagues have confessed to this. For instance:Vasari’s “life of Michelangelo” explains Michelangelo’s work less as an account of his career, but as an artistry of a saint. He goes ahead to disclose how Sicilian who was a painter attempted to regenerate Michelangelo’s sketches in fresco in Santissima Trinita church and ended up with poor results (King, 2014).

I have no question on any aspect of Michelangelo’s work based on my understanding of faith. I believe that he did a good work that has since improved individuals’ knowledge about Christianity and appreciation of the same. Michelangelo painted frescoes covering over 5,000 square feet with the ceiling’s famous central panels contain extracts from the Book of Genesis, ranging from the Creation to soon after Noah's flood (King, 2014). Moreover, it gave him meansto express his devotion to religious open-mindedness and also to transfer his insightful horror at the mistreatment towards the persons who were considered to be thedescendants of Jesus.

Figure 1.1 Michelangelo’s drawings on the Sistine Chapel Ceiling



Adopted from King, R. (2014). Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.Bloomsbury Publishing USA



















Figure 1.2 Michelangelo’s drawings



Adopted from Zappella, C. (2014). Michelangelo’s Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Smart History.





















Figure 1.3 Michelangelo’s drawings



Adopted from King, R. (2014). Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

















Figure 1.4 Michelangelo’s Ceiling Drawings





Adopted from Adopted from King, R. (2014). Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

















Figure 1.5 Michelangelo’s Ceiling Drawings



Adopted from King, R. (2014). Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Figure 1.6 Michelangelo’s Drawings on the Ceiling



Adopted from King, R. (2014). Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.Bloomsbury Publishing USA.





References

King, R. (2014). Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Zappella, C. (2014). Michelangelo’s Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Smart History.