Religion In Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo was a sculptor before painting, his sculptor skills and talents are definitely seen in the Sistine Ceiling. In this painting, all the people are drawn more realistically than the Maesta, he is able to illustrate both strength and elegance while also representing the ideal beauty. The most important part of the Sistine Ceiling are the series of nine scenes that move across the central panels, it starts with the creation of the world and god separating light from darkness. Michelangelo wanted to honor God through the Sistine Ceiling by constructing a connection between man and God in all his panels. He used this connection because god in the Rome religious society was considered to be an almighty and powerful being. In this painting Michelangelo painted each of his character which such grace and detail making the painting more realistic, not only were the characters realistic but they were also perceived as masculine. The detailed arm and leg muscles and male features add to the masculinity, even the women are portrayed as masculine one example of this is the Lilyan silby , we see her twisted body as well as every muscle in her back . It is said that Michelangelo used male models to not only help him paint the Lilyan silby but also for other of his female characters. Another important characteristic in the Sistine

His famous works includes Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome. When Michelangelo was 33 years old, he was working on Pope Julius II’s marble tomb. He was hesitant when asked to decorate the Sistine Chapel by Julius without any experience. What astounds me is he was able to paint the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling at that time, as there was no advanced technology to help him.

Intrigued by the beliefs for artists developed in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance bore a new evolution for artistic beliefs. Scholasticism was a popular belief during the Middle Ages that revolved around God. For artists during the Middle Ages, it was to believe that they were no more than craftsmen having God work through them. However, the Renaissance created a new belief as humanism; artists that worked through this time were considered geniuses of their own creations. The position of scholasticism in the Middle Ages reformed into humanism during the Renaissance through the works of artists, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

Whether intentional or not, by the time Michelangelo finished the Sistine Ceiling in 1512 he had created an enduring legend, that even today is the subject of much study and conjecture. However, because of the monumental scale of the chapel, a detailed study of the iconography in its entirety is would be daunting to even the most skilled and learned scholar. However, because the viewer today is most often separated from or completely uninformed about sixteenth century Italy there are many different interpretations of these iconic images.

The historian, Giorgio Vasari, considered him to be like a “mortal god” due to his gifts and virtues (130). His art was considered graceful and beautiful because of his perfection of nature and his focus on realistic human qualities. Raphael’s epitaph states that with his death Nature feared she would die (Vasari 137). His paintings also represented a planned and perfected structure, taught by his mentor, Perugino, bringing harmony to his artwork (Kleiner & Tansy 740). This theme of perfected harmony embodies what people were striving for in art during the Renaissance. Raphael was commissioned to paint the walls of a library in the papal apartments at the Vatican. He painted the four walls to represent valued areas of learning and wisdom during the Renaissance. One of the walls his mural, School of Athens, represents the study of philosophy (Kleiner & Tansey 741). To accomplish this he portrays famous ancient philosophers and scientists that were popular with humanists during the Renaissance (741). He also incorporates ancient gods as statues following with the humanism movement. The intellectuals in the mural are engaging with one another and portrayed with movement, all with realistic human gestures. The scene shows Raphael’s mastery of perspective and mathematical placement; he even paints himself in the scene among mathematicians (Kleiner & Tansey 742). This painting proves

Michelangelo had a gigantic influence on the renaissance. He was a master at both painting and sculpting, he also was an architect, engineer, and poet. During his day he was unbeatable in his painting and sculpting skills. He had many artist study under him and help him with painting the Sistine Chapel in Vatican, but none were on par with him.

David is a topic from the Old Testament, which is widely repeated and done by many artists. David is a story where it shows that not only does strength wins in a battle but also wits. Each artist depicts David in different views and moments, like Michelangelo who is an Italian sculptor painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance, another is Gian Lorenzo Bernini who is an Italian architect and sculptor, and he was credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. Although both artists depicted David, but each one had different style where Bernini’s is more expressive then Michelangelo’s.

One of those people being Domenico Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo was his apprentice when he was thirteen. Even though this only lasted a short amount of time Michelangelo learned the fundamentals of fresco painting from Ghirlandaio and these skills helped him when it came to painting the Sistine Chapel. Another one of the people that influenced him was Lorenzo de ’Medici. “Lorenzo invited Michelangelo into his home, so that the Medici could guide and shape the young artist 's career. The boy was exposed to the greatest artistic legacy in Florence, and to a social whirlwind of dinner parties, salons, lectures and debates. These early classical influences stayed with him forever” (PBS,

An emerging interest in human reason posed a threat to the church, which by now favored order, conservatism, and stability. As one author puts it, "Movements suspected of enthusiasm, such as Puritanism, Quietism, and Janesism, fell into disrepute, and the authority exercised by the state in religious affairs became more pronounced. It was an age dominated by Reason, which, until it provoked a reaction in such movements as Pietism and Evangelism, posed a formidable challenge to Christianity. Out of the Age of Reason came renewed interests in art, architecture, and music. The church used these as tools for enhancing worship, affirming faith, teaching, and advancing aesthetics. Ironically, what shakes the foundation of belief on one hand liberates it on the

From the years 1303 through 1310 CE, a man named Giotto Di Bondone, an italian painter, used the same principal ideals about sin and life after death that Dante used, in one of his most famous and influential pieces of work, The Scrovegni Chapel. This painting was framed around the Christian Religion, and has an emphasis on

Art and religion has always gone hand-in-hand. With that being said not all religion uses art in the same form, their will be differences. For example, in Islamic art, art is concentrated on patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather than

(March 6th 1475 - February 18th 1564) born in Caprese, Italy Michelangelo was an Italian painter, architect, poet and sculptor. Before his name was known he was just an apprentice to a painter and eventually began studying in sculpture, in the gardens of a wealthy and famous family known as the Medici. He has been remembered as the most famous artist in the time of the Renaissance. Some of his famous works include The Last Judgement (1535-1541), David (1501-1504), and the Pieta (1498-1499). Perhaps the most recognized work of his, is located on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which took about 4 years to paint. He stood out from other artists because of his ability to make sculptures so realistic, to the point where it looked like a living

Michelangelo was a renaissance man, meaning he was talented in many fields of work for his time and he was skillful in them. He was a painter, sculptor, engineer, poet, and architect, he is considered one of the most influential renaissance figures who applied an unparalleled impact on the advancement of Western Art.

When art began to form it was mostly about religion of course since that’s what mostly these people were about. The first picture in Document A was called Madonna Enthroned between Two angles by Duccio di Buoninsegna and was created during the late 13th century. As the painting

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475. Michelangelo was an Italian painter, sculptor. Three of his famous works are, David and Pietà sculptures, as well as the Sistine Chapel ceiling painting. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1541. David was the symbol and guardian of Florentine liberty. He died on February 18, 1564 in Rome, Italy.