Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Cleaned);

View Description

Download

small (250x250 max)

medium (500x500 max)

large ( > 500x500)

Full Resolution

Loading content ...

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Rating
Title	Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Cleaned);
File Name	civ metadata CID; Civ Archive 015 correct picture; 98300683.jpg
Copyright Status/Owner	Public Domain; Need to Request
Rights (Patron Usage Instructions)	http://www.lib.byu.edu/genericnote_copyright.html
Course	HUM 201
Lecture Number	37
Professor	Green, Jon D., 1940-
Description	The Sistine Chapel is the pope’s private chapel in the Vatican Palace. In 1508 Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint a fresco on the chapel ceiling, and when the artist reluctantly accepted, he was faced with a number of challenges. These consisted of his relative inexperience with fresco painting, the ceiling’s immense dimensions and height, and a complicated perspective. In addition, he needed to integrate the subject of the ceiling with the already-decorated walls, which included frescoes illustrating the lives of Moses and Christ, as well as representations of historic popes. Michelangelo was aided in this endeavor not only by his own interests and abilities, but was also advised by the pope and his theological advisors. The result was a grand drama of more than 300 figures in the most visually and theologically complex of all Renaissance fresco cycles. The artist employed an illusionistic architectural framework that spans the entire ceiling in order to compartmentalize the various scenes and figures in the intricate composition. The center of the ceiling illustrates nine episodes from Genesis, alternating between large and small, that chronicle the Creation and Fall of humankind, from the first day of the biblical Creation to the Drunkenness of Noah. However, the layout requires the viewer to read the narrative sequence backward in time, starting with the story of Noah that is visible when one first enters the chapel. The bordering decoration signifies the Redemption of mankind, from the enthroned Hebrew prophets and pagan sibyls who foretold the coming of Christ, to the ancestors of Christ situated in the triangular compartments above each window. In the four corner pendentives appear representations of Old Testament events that foreshadow the coming of Christ: David and Goliath, Judith and Holofernes, Haman, and Moses with the Brazen Serpent. The garlands of oak leaves and acorns that appear throughout the ceiling refer to the family name of popes Sixtus IV and Julius II, ‘Rovere,’ which means oak, and they allude to Julius II’s belief that he was divinely chosen to renew the Church. Similar to his explorations in sculpture, Michelangelo uses the Sistine ceiling to further experiment with representing the human figure, which he valued for not only its physical beauty but its spiritual and philosophical significance as well. Each body is painted with a sculptor’s eye for how light and shadow convey volume and texture. While the meaning of the ceiling as a whole has been much debated, Michelangelo incorporates a number of themes that reflect Renaissance ideas about Christian history. These include: the conflict between good and evil; the struggle between the energy of youth and the wisdom of age; the poetry in God’s creation of humanity; notions of ideal beauty; and, how human sin impedes an individual’s personal relationship with God. Beginning in 1977, a controversial project began to restore the ceiling and this image shows the completed ceiling after twelve years of cleaning. The surprisingly vibrant colors, dissonant juxtapositions and delicately modeled flesh have radically challenged traditional views about Michelangelo’s art and influence. While some scholars reject the authenticity of the restoration effort, others use the newly revealed coloration to suggest that Michelangelo’s impact on the Mannerist reaction to the High Renaissance began even earlier than previously believed.
Creator	Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475-1564
Country	Italy
Geographic Region	Europe
Type	Slide
Platform	Cross-Platform
File Size	4286.537 KB
Genre	Paintings
Category	Art
Keywords	Michelangelo Buonarroti; Sistine Chapel Ceiling;
Time Period	Italian High Renaissance
Date Range	1508 AD: 1564 AD
Date Original	1512 AD
Date Digital	2005-03-29
Metadata Entry Date	2009-08-11
Quality	High
Contributors	Brigham Young University
Copyright Expiration Date	2005-09-01
Edition	Electronic reproduction;
Format	JPEG
Owning Institution	Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome, Italy
Physical Description	128 x 45 in.
Publisher Digital	Brigham Young University
Source	Lawrence Cunningham and John Reich, Culture and Values: a survey of the Western Humanities, 5th ed., Vol. 2 (Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998), 97; Fred S. Kleiner and Christin J. Mamiya, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 12th ed., vol 2 (Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005), 624-628; Frederick Hartt, History of Italian Renaissance art: painting, sculpture, architecture 3rd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1987), 536-548
Use Time	0:00:00

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Cleaned);

Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Cleaned);

Description

Tags

Comments