visible from the À oor of the chapel. It is possible to follow the life force as it
moves from the ¿ ngertip through the arm to Adam’s head.
Michelangelo worked from the entrance of the chapel toward the altar, so the
last of the Genesis scenes that he painted was the Separation from Light from
Darkness. In the void, the partial ¿ gure of God is seen revolving in space.
The painted area is one of the small ones; God is cropped at the knees, but
Michelangelo makes a virtue of this limitation by emphasizing the maker’s
hands physically pushing matter, that is, “light” and “dark,” apart. Consider
that this initial act of creation is directly above the altar, and on the altar wall
just below the Separation of Light and Darkness is Jonah. This prophet’s
experience of three days in the belly of a whale before he was cast out was
understood as an Old Testament parallel to the entombment and resurrection
of Christ.
Creation, death, resurrection, and salvation through the sacri¿ ce of Christ—
these themes have never been more powerfully combined in the history of
Christian art. Ŷ
Michelangelo:
David, 1501–04, marble, 13’ 5” H (480 cm H), Galleria dell’Accademia,
Florence, Italy.
Ignudo, Libyan Sibyl, Prophet Jeremiah, Creation of Adam, Separation
of Light from Darkness, Jonah, 1508–11, fresco, Sistine Chapel Ceiling,
Vatican Palace, Vatican State, Rome, Italy.
Pietà, 1498–99, marble, 5’ 8 ½” H (173.9 cm H), Basilica of St. Peter’s,
Rome, Italy.King, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling.
Wallace, Michelangelo.
Works Discussed
Suggested Reading