The painting has been reproduced in countless imitations and parodies.[4] Michelangelo'sCreation of Adam is one of the most replicated religious paintings of all time.[5]
Michelangelo painted the ceiling of theSistine Chapel; the work took approximately four years to complete (1508–1512). Between (top and bottom respectively)The Creation of Eve andSeparation of Land and Water this fresco can be seen.
In 1505,Michelangelo was invited back to Rome by the newly electedPope Julius II. He was commissioned to build thePope's tomb, which was to include forty statues and be finished in five years.
Under the patronage of the Pope, Michelangelo experienced constant interruptions to his work on the tomb in order to accomplish numerous other tasks. Although Michelangelo worked on the tomb for 40 years, it was never finished to his satisfaction.[2]: 14–15 It is located in theChurch of S. Pietro in Vincoli in Rome and is most famous for his central figure ofMoses,[6]: 58, 112 completed in 1516.[7][failed verification] Of the other statues intended for the tomb, two known as theHeroic Captive / Rebellious Slave and theDying Captive / Dying Slave, are now in theLouvre.[2]: 15, plates 149–154 [6]: 62–63
During the same period, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which took approximately four years to complete (1508–1512).[6]: 134 According to Condivi's account,Bramante, who was working on the building ofSt Peter's Basilica, resented Michelangelo's commission for the Pope's tomb and convinced the Pope to commission him in a medium with which he was unfamiliar, in order that he might fail at the task.[8][6]: 43,116
Michelangelo was originally commissioned to paint theTwelve Apostles on the triangular pendentives that supported the ceiling, and cover the central part of the ceiling with ornament.[2]: 12 Michelangelo persuaded Pope Julius to give him a free hand and proposed a different and more complex scheme,[6]: 43 representing theCreation, theFall of Man, the Promise of Salvation through the prophets, and thegenealogy of Christ.[2]: 12–14 The work is part of a larger scheme of decoration within the chapel which represents much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church.
The composition stretches over 45 ft. × 128 ft. (more than 500 square metres) of ceiling,[6]: 43 and contains over 300 figures.[2]: 12 At its centre are nine episodes from theBook of Genesis, divided into three groups: God's creation of the world; God's creation of man and his fall from God's grace; and lastly, the state of humanity and sin as represented byNoah and his family. On the pendentives supporting the ceiling are painted twelve men and women who prophesied the coming of Jesus; sevenprophets of Israel (Joël, Ezekiel, Jonah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Isaiah) and fiveSibyls (Erythraean, Delphic, Libyan, Cumaean, and Persian),[2]: plates 127–144 prophetic women of the Classical world.[2]: 12–14, plate 50 Among the most famous paintings on the ceiling areThe Creation of Adam,Adam and Eve in theGarden of Eden, theDeluge, theProphetJeremiah and theCumaean Sibyl.
God is depicted as an elderly white-bearded man, wrapped in a swirling cloak while Adam, on the lower left, is completelynaked. God's right arm is outstretched to impart thespark of life fromhis own finger into that of Adam, who is actually already created[9] but inert[10][11] (seeGen. 2:7), and whose left arm is extended in a pose mirroring God's, a reminder that God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). The inspiration for Michelangelo's treatment of the subject may come from amedievalhymn, "Veni Creator Spiritus", which asks the 'finger of the paternal right hand' (digitus paternae dexterae) to give the faithful speech.[12] The two index fingers, however, are separated by a small gap [3⁄4 inch (1.9 cm)],[13] and some scholars think that it represents the unattainability of divine perfection by man.[14]
Many hypotheses have been formulated regarding the identity and meaning of the twelve figures around God. According to an interpretation that was first proposed by the English art criticWalter Pater (1839–1894) and is now widely accepted, the person protected by God's left arm representsEve, due to the figure's feminine appearance and gaze towards Adam,[15][16] and the eleven other figures symbolically represent the souls of Adam and Eve's unborn progeny, the entire human race.[15][16] This interpretation has been challenged, mainly on the grounds that the Catholic Church regards the teaching of thepre-existence of souls as heretical.[15][16] Consequently, the figure behind God has also been suggested to be theVirgin Mary,Sophia (the personification of wisdom mentioned in theBook of Wisdom), the personified human soul, or "an angel of feminine build".[15][16]
Michelangelo's main source of inspiration for his Adam in hisCreation of Adam may have been acameo showing a nudeAugustus Caesar riding sidesaddle on aCapricorn. This cameo is now atAlnwick Castle inNorthumberland, England.[17]: 14 [18] The cameo used to belong tocardinalDomenico Grimani who lived in Rome while Michelangelo painted the ceiling. Evidence suggests that Michelangelo and Grimani were friends.[17]: 12–13 This cameo offers an alternative theory for those scholars who have been dissatisfied with the theory that Michelangelo was mainly inspired byLorenzo Ghiberti's Adam in hisCreation of Adam.
Several hypotheses have been put forward about the meaning ofThe Creation of Adam's highly original composition, many of them taking Michelangelo's well-documented expertise inhuman anatomy as their starting point.
Alternatively, it has been observed that the red cloth around God has the shape of ahumanuterus (one art historian has called it a "uterine mantle"[21]) and that the scarf hanging out, coloured green, could be a newly cutumbilical cord.[22]: 112 In 2015 a group of Italian researchers published onMayo Clinic Proceedings an article where the images of the mantle and the postpartum uterus were overlapped.[23] According to Enrico Bruschini (2004), "This is an interesting hypothesis that presents the Creation scene as an idealised representation of the physical birth of man ("The Creation"). It explains thenavel that appears onAdam, which is at first perplexing because he was created, not born of a woman."[22]: 112
Additionally, in 2019 Deivis Campos noted in theClinical Anatomy Journal that the left side ofAdam'storso contains an extra concealedrib.[24] Due to Michelangelo's in-depth knowledge of human anatomy, he insinuates that this rib outline is intentional, and represents the rib ofEve.[24]
Campos suggests that this extra rib inclusion was a way for Michelangelo to represent Adam and Eve being created side by side, which differs from theCatholic tradition that states Eve was created after Adam.[24] There is significant evidence that Michelangelo radically disagreed with many Catholic traditions and had a tumultuous relationship with the commissioner of the ceiling,Pope Julius II. Thus, Campos suggests that the rib inclusion was an intentional way to slight Pope Julius II and the Catholic Church, without having to admit fault, as very few people knew anything about human anatomy at the time and could challenge the piece.[24]
Scheme for the Decoration of the Vault of the Sistine Chapel: Studies of Arms and Hands, British Museum
Michelangelo was a prolificdraftsman, as he was trained in a Florentine workshop at a dynamic time in the art scene, when paper had become readily available in sufficient quantity.[25] As follows, sketching was the first step in Michelangelo's artistic process, as it helped him plan his final paintings and sculptural pieces.[25]: 416–418 Thus, Michelangelo's sketches provide a critical link between his creative vision and final compositions.[26] This is especially evident through his sheets "filled with multiple figures and close studies of human anatomy."[27]
Michelangelo completed two sketches in Rome in preparation for theCreation of Adam scene. They are both in theBritish Museum in London, revealing Michelangelo's in depth planning process for the Sistine Chapel ceiling composition, and his serious attention to perspective and shadowing.[25]
The first is aScheme for the Decoration of the Vault of the Sistine Chapel: Studies of Arms and Hands.[28] The right side of the page was sketched in 1508 with black chalk, and is a study ofAdam's limp hand, before it is ignited with the gift of life fromGod, in the Creation of Adam scene. Michelangelo sketched this over a previous brown, lead pointstylus study of the vaulted Sistine Chapel ceiling.[28] The entire composition is 274 millimeters in height and 386 millimeters in width.[28] The second sketch is titledStudies of a Reclining Male Nude: Adam in the Fresco "The Creation of Man." It was created in 1511 in dark red chalk, over a stylus under drawing.[29]Red chalk was Michelangelo's preferred medium at this period of time, as it could be shaved to a finer point than black chalk. Michelangelo used this fine point to create a scintillating skin surface, that was unique for this particular sketch, and is not seen in his later works.[25] The recto drawing is 193 millimeters in height and 259 millimeters in width.[29]
In a well known study in red chalk in the British Museum, Adam is resting on earth, propped up by his forearm, with his thighs spread out and his torso slightly twisted to the side.[29] Michelangelo employed a male model to capture this pose and used his red chalk to develop thick contours, in order to establish a definitive form, so everychapel visitor could clearly recognize the muscular body from standing on the floor, 68 feet below the ceiling.[29]
In Michelangelo's final fresco on the ceiling, Adam is physically beautiful, but spiritually still incomplete.[30] The sketch prefaces this story, as it is also incomplete in the sense that the only complete component of the drawing is Adam's twisted torso. Adam's other limbs bleed off of the trimmed page in immature form.[25] However, the work is not "unfinished", as it reached its purpose for Michelangelo, which was to work out the details of the torso in the medium of chalk so he was confident in the composition when he began the actual, permanentfresco panel.[31][better source needed]
Michelangelo heavily studied the human body and dissected numerouscadavers in his artistic career, and over time became captivated by the male torso.[31][better source needed] In histreatises on painting and sculpture,Leon Battista Alberti, defined the male figure as a "geometrical and harmonious sum of its parts".[25] Michelangelo however, felt that the torso was the powerhouse of the male body, and therefore warranted significant attention and mass in his art pieces.[32][failed verification] Thus, the torso in theStudy represents an idealization of the male form, "symbolic of the perfection of God's creation beforethe fall".[29]
Michelangelo's inspiration for the torso in the British Museum sketch is believed to be theBelvedere Torso.[33] The Belvedere Torso is a fragmentarymarble statue that is a 1st century BC Roman copy of an ancient Greek sculpture. Michelangelo historically used ancient, classical statuary as inspiration for the human physique in his great masterpieces.[33] In 2015, the Belvedere Torso was displayed with Michelangelo's sketch in the "Defining Beauty: The Body in Ancient Greek Art" show at theBritish Museum in London.[34]
Fair as the young men of theElgin marbles, the Adam of the Sistine Chapel is unlike them in a total absence of that balance and completeness which express so well the sentiment of a self-contained, independent life. In that languid figure there is something rude andsatyr-like, something akin to the rugged hillside on which it lies. His whole form is gathered into an expression of mere expectation and reception; he has hardly strength enough to lift his finger to touch the finger of the creator; yet a touch of the finger-tips will suffice.
— Walter Pater,The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry, "The Poetry of Michelangelo"
^Coughlan, p. 112. (Based on limited Google Books search previews of0zmv8qpFvKcC andd6tPAAAAMAAJ, I think this isThe World of Michelangelo, 1475–1564 by Robert Coughlan, published by Time, Inc. in 1966. I can request a hard-copy ofOCLC 711977 from my university's off-site collection if that would be helpful to someone.)
^Petry, Frauke Maria."Michelangelo - The Creation of Adam".the-artinspector.com. Retrieved18 January 2025.In Michelangelo's depiction, the Creator brings the inert Adam much more to life ... transmitting his energy with his hand.
^Martin, Michael W."Veni, Creator Spiritus / Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest".Thesaurus Precum Latinarum / Treasury of Latin Prayers.Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved15 March 2023.Tr. (?). The indulgence may be found in theEnchiridion Indulgentiarium, 1999, #26.
^abcdefWright, Alison (1 June 2007) [First published: 23 May 2007]. "Michelangelo Drawings: Closer to the Master (British Museum, London 23 March–25 June 2006). Catalogue by Hugo Chapman. London: British Museum, 2005. 203 colour and 80 b&w illus., £25. ISBN 13 978-0-7141-2648-7 (hb), ISBN 0 7141-2648-9 (pb)". Reviews of exhibitions.Renaissance Studies.21 (3):415–422.doi:10.1111/j.1477-4658.2007.00414.x.ISSN1477-4658.S2CID162184919.
^kmagerkurth (11 March 2019) [Sun, 09/22/2019 to Sun, 01/05/2020 in The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall]."Michelangelo: Mind of the Master".Cleveland Museum of Art.Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved6 December 2019.
^Pearce, JMS (Spring 2018)."The Anatomy of Michelangelo (1475–1564)". Art Essays.Hektoen International: A Journal of Medical Humanities. East Yorks, England.Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved6 December 2019.Highlighted in Frontispiece Volume 11, Issue 2 – Spring 2019
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