Happy Friday!
The week seems to have passed quickly, which I think is because I wrote this on Wednesday night, as I am at a headache medicine meeting this weekend. Since I couldn't think of anything better to write about (Open an Umbrella Indoors Day to see whether it brings bad luck was a poor second choice), I circled back to finish Michelangelo birthday celebration and the Sistine Chapel story. Whatever you do, don't open an umbrella in the Sistine Chapel today. It is so crowded, you are likely to injure another tourist (medium and large umbrellas are banned inside and there is a dress code.)
Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint scenes on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel in 1508. The building was completed nearly three decades prior under the Papacy of Sixtus IV, designed by architect Giovanni dei Dolci. It is a brick building with arched windows and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The walls were painted with frescos showing scenes from the lives of Moses on the south wall and Jesus on the north wall. They were painted by some of the most renown Italian Renaissance artists of the time, including Sandro Botticelli and Pietro Perugino. Michelangelo was also highly celebrated, and David was the icing on the cake – Pope Julius was determined that he do the ceiling.
The Chapel ceiling developed a massive crack in 1504 and the repair offered the perfect opportunity to add to the existing artwork. Julius II and Michelangelo were already well acquainted because Michelangelo was working on the design of the Pope's tomb; it's always better to plan ahead for these things, especially if you are the Pope. The Pope envisioned a grandiose design incorporating 40 marble statues. Although the plans got less ambitious over time, the work dragged on and on. Michelangelo got so frustrated that he quit the project, which he called "the tragedy of the tomb", left Rome, and his pupils eventually finished the job. He was not too keen to take on another project with the Pope but signed the contract in May 1508.
The ceiling had been previously painted with a blue sky and stars, and Michelangelo's original agreement was to paint figures of the 12 apostles at the edges of the ceiling and fill the interior with architectural designs. This was apparently too mundane for Michelangelo, who scrapped the idea and decided to paint the entire ceiling, approximately 800 square meters, with the story of Genesis and Christian imagery. The sides of the ceiling alternate depictions of 7 prophets (Jonah, Daniel, Isaiah, Zachariah, Joel, Jeremiah and Ezekial) and 5 sybils (prophetesses) from Greek mythology (Delphi, Cumae, Libya, Persia, Erythrae). Jonah appears above the altar with the large fish that swallowed him; the fish appears to be falling backwards, partially related to the shape of the ceiling.
The four corner panels show David and Goliath, Judith and Holofernes (at the entrance), the Death of Haman, and Moses and the Brazen Serpent (the alter end). The edges of the ceiling are painted to look like the sky to give the impression that the ceiling is open to the outside.
Nine main panels run the length of the ceiling and alternate in two different sizes. They contain scenes from the Book of Genesis from creation to Noah. One must face the altar to see then in chronological order and the right way up. There are 4 nudes at the corners of each main panel which have no significance other than Michaelangelo's good taste.
As viewed from the chapel entrance, the panels are:
- The Drunkenness of Noah
- The Great Flood
- The Sacrifice of Noah (also interpreted as the slaying of Abel)
- Adam and Eve's Temptation and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
- The Creation of Eve
- The Creation of Adam (who is posed similarly to Noah as they both fell from grace). The Central panel of God in the clouds touching Adam's finger is one of the most replicated of all time.
- The Separation of Land from Water (the third day)
- The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Planets
- The Separation of Light from Darkness (the first day)
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Michelangelo worked largely alone, lying on a bridge-like scaffold that he designed. He moved along the scaffolding from the entrance to the alter wall and would not let anyone see his progress, not even the Pope. He painted the frescos in bright colors and used contrasting colors to make them appear even brighter when viewed from the floor. He also used perspective and shortening techniques. The work was completed in 4 years, which was considered a quick turnaround for that time period.
When it was finally "unveiled", the work was well received, with the exception of some who objected to the amount of nudity and genitalia in several of the figures. Pope Paul III 30 years later commissioned Michelangelo to paint the entirety of one wall of the chapel with his interpretation of the Last Judgement. He worked on the fresco from 1536-1541. This fresco was more controversial as he depicted Jesus without a beard, younger than usually illustrated and with yet more nudity. Michelangelo included his "signature" of a self-likeness in the flayed skin held by St. Bartholomew.
The ceiling was cleaned thoroughly from 1989-1994 using cotton swabs to remove centuries worth of smoke residue, varnish and dust. As mentioned last week, the current project is removing a white film (calcium lactate, a salt) from the Last Judgment fresco, caused by microparticles circulating in the air from human sweat. The Chapel is still open and the restoration will take about 3 months. A screen with a full-sized reproduction of the Last Judgment blocks the view of the cleaning.
Have a great weekend! If you haven't been to the Sistine Chapel, or even if you have, I recommend that you go online and look at photos of Michelangelo's frescos. They are truly spectacular.
Deb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKgk6G0lekQ