Creation of Adam
I chose to discuss the Creation of Adam painting, which is part of the ceiling artwork created by Michelangelo in around 1508 CE in the Sistine Chapel. Michael 2006 contends that arguably the painting has a deep significance to the society and especially to the Christian religion. The artwork is part of the fresco in which the Italian artist Michelangelo depicts the biblical creation story and the book of genesis. Katz 2009 contends that the painting is perhaps one of the most replicated and referred to due to the description of humanity. The picture above is a crop of the painting, which will form the basis of my paper.
Bartz and König 2013 contend that Michelangelo took about four years to completely paint the Sistine chapel painting, which consisted of more than 300 characters. Wallace and Buonarroti, 1995 contend that the painting told the episodes entailed in Genesis, such as the fall of man, Noah’s ark, prophesies, and genealogy of Jesus, among others. I believe that above all the other aspects of the painting, the hands are the most iconic and significant for art lovers and religious persons. The proximity of the hand of God to that of Adam portrays a variety of messages. Another iconic aspect of the painting is the nakedness of Adam, which can be translated to show the openness, weakness, and purity of the human being as God created him. Essentially, the historical symbolism of the naked body of Adam is vital to the Christian faith. The painting shows how man is pure and perfect before he falls into sin. The hands which are the primary concern of our discussion are not touching, but each one is portrayed gesturing towards each other. According to the book of Genesis, man is created in the image and likeness of God, and the two hands appear reflective of each other to signify this concept.
Michelangelo had more symbolism embedded in the hands too. Their closeness but lack of contact express an entirety of mystery for humanity. This is so because as much as human beings attempt to reach God’s level, they can never be equal to Him. Moreover, the proximity may symbolize the closeness of man to God in the absence of sin as Adam was when he was created. On the other hand, Barolsky 2004 argues that while Adam in the painting is all flawless, he is spiritually empty. This could mean that God stretching His hand towards Adam was a mystical sign through which He gave him life and a soul.
I chose the work because I believe it is an imagery of one of the biggest questions of humanity; how does man relate to God? While recreating the work, I observed that God stretched out His right arm while Adam used his left arm. This could signify divinity and power that comes from God’s hand and how He wholesomely offers it to humanity. We, on the other hand, are held back by various factors that deter us from grasping the whole glory of God’s power. The whole experience of recreating gave me a deeper understanding of the painting. I understood that Michelangelo had a deep understanding of the biblical stories and the history of the church, and each fraction of the fresco painting had meaning. Instead of using another human hand to represent Adam, I used our dog’s paw. I aimed at bridging the divide between God’s creation. This shows that each individual is connected and requires the input of one another to achieve the optimum version of ourselves.
References
Barolsky, P. (2004). Paul Barolsky. Review of “Creating the “Divine” artist: From Dante to Michelangelo” by Patricia A. Emison. caa.reviews. https://doi.org/10.3202/caa.reviews.2004.70
Bartz, G., & König, E. (2013). Michelangelo: Masters of Italian art. Hf Ullmann.
Claudia. (2015). The creation of Adam by Michelangelo: Analysis & overview. Study.com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-creation-of-adam-by-michelangelo-analysis-lesson-quiz.html
Creation of Adam. (2015). The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia with atlas and weather guides.
Katz, J. (2009, April 9). The measure of genius: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel at 500. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/The-Measure-of-Genius-Michelangelos-Sistine-Chapel-at-500.html
Salcman, M. (2006). The creation of Adam by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564). Neurosurgery, 59(6), N11-N12. https://doi.org/10.1227/01.neu.0000253176.46348.fb
Wallace, W. E., & Buonarroti, M. (1995). Michelangelo selected scholarship in English: The Sistine chapel. Taylor & Francis.
The Bible, Genesis 1:27