Renaissance art in all its majesty and beauty portrays an era of religious art that I personally think speaks so well to the modern mind. In this post I shall be reflecting upon two of Michaelangelo's infamous frescos, comparing them theologically and in terms of the artist himself; thus analysing some psychological aspects behind the art. I shall conclude with an assessment of how well the art speaks to modern life and what implications it has for believers.
In 2010, I visited the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome. When you walk into the chapel, the sight that meets you may not particularly speak to you as a place of worship and divine presence. Rather the vast scopes of art that meet the eye seem to appropriate the place more as a living art gallery of religiosity. Obviously apart from the altar below the fresco of The Last Judgement, one could not be blamed for focusing too much on the art rather than prayer.
Michaelangelo painted the central element of ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - The Creation of Adam - in 1511 and it took a year to complete. He worked on it after the rest of the paintings on the ceiling had been completed, a total of just four years from 1508 to 1512. He was 37 upon its completion. When I was looking at this painting in the chapel myself I had to strain my neck completely upwardly to appreciate its beauty. I also had a set of binoculars on hand, to truly try and grasp the detail and effort that went into this work. No matter how hard I tried, I could not take in all the beauty and majesty of the work at once. It work take a lifetime to fully appreciate every stroke that went into the painting.
One can clearly see the relation to the Biblical narrative in the book of Genesis. Interestingly, the moment of the central piece between God and Adam focuses solely on Adam's creation, and omits Eve. Perhaps one could write this off, as people usually do, by claiming that Michaelangelo lived in a patriarchal society, and was commissioned by the Catholic Church no less; where women where not central people in society, never mind art. However, I would like to pose a different approach - that of the moment portrayed in the art. The temporal element focuses solely on Adam because he was the first person ever created, a central element given from God, by God. It is not that Eve is insignificant (she has a pretty large role to play in the Biblical narrative, at least!) Michaelangelo is showing the specific time of creation which is all about Adam primarily. It is interesting that the Biblical creation narrative says that God breathed life into Adam (Gen 2:7) The portrayal of God giving life to Adam in the fresco does not seem to match the text specifically. Rather I think it gives a more intimate relation between God and Adam. Although they are not touching, they are both reaching out to one another - something that humankind has strived to do throughout the history of the world. I think it portrays eloquently the faith journey welcomed to all - to be open to reaching out to the divine.
In fact, just as an aside, I find the argument against Catholicism (that it has a detrimental approach towards women) puzzling when they the Church so adamantly honours and venerates Mary - a woman, no less!
If one looks at the way Michaelangelo portrays God in the art, there is such a sense of movement there - God is not portrayed as a static being, matching fittingly I think to the sense that God is active and present within the world. He is not a being that looks on passively, but is always moving throughout the world, no less so than at the moment of creation. There is a certain beautiful irony that Michaelangelo was creating something portraying creation.
In complete contrast, just a stone throw away is the intimidating piece of The Last Judgement upon the wall above the altar in the chapel. The painting, evidently portraying a central aspect Christian faith - that of the second coming of Christ and the final judgement of humanity is understandably much darker than The Creation of Adam.
The Last Judgement as a Christian element of faith is not something explicitly referred to in the Bible - in the sense that what will happen is not explicitly stated, only alluded to or made in reference through the use of allegory (particularly in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation attributed to St John). The creation narrative however is seemingly much easier for Christians to believe not only because of its attempt at explaining the history of how we came to be, but also because of its logical implications for how we act as we do. The concept of the Last Judgement however is an alien concept in terms of a doctrine of God because traditionally believers attributes omni-benevolence as a defining characteristic of God's nature, and logically therefore the concept of judgement - though in line with God's supposed characteristic of justice - is at odds with God's kindness. That is another topic for another post, so let us move onto the discussion of the painting itself.
I appreciate it may be difficult to see clearly the elements which I shall be discussing, but please do go and view the image larger online as it is worth truly considering both its aesthetic beauty as well as the theological implications of judgement.
Firstly, Michelangelo painted this fresco a good twenty years after the ceiling had been completed. This understandably show a disparity in the artwork in the sense that he may have changed his approach to art, and indeed religion. The piece took four years from 1536 to 1541 to complete - a miraculous feat in light of the masterpiece that had been created. In terms of biographical elements, there has been popular speculation that Michaelangelo painted himself into this great work. If you look in the centre to Christ's lower-right, you will see a man holding a piece of cloth. On there is painted a morose face.
I was told on the tour of the chapel in Rome that Michaelangelo portrayed himself in this way because he was partly disillusioned with religion (ironic considering how much time he spent painting and sculpting religious facets) but there is a sense from this self-portrayal that perhaps Michaelangelo did not consider himself saved. If this indeed Michaelangelo's perception of himself, the suggestion is that Michaelangelo has abandoned his fate entirely to the will of God - he does not give himself a body nor any form of real choice - the man holding the cloth is responsible for what happens to it - he can drop it to hell or hold it up to heaven. There is a definite sense of ambiguity here.
On the other hand there is also a concrete sense of definitives. Christ, looking particularly angry, ready to smite evil human souls seems to be judging harshly and defiantly. For those critics too again who claim no place for women in the Church, Mary is beside Christ in central place, in the safety of his presence. Unfortunately, the picture above does not show it, but God sits above the scene upon a throne, presumably presiding over the judgement. In this role, in great contrast to The Creation of Adam, he is entirely passive. It is Christ expelling judgement. Although, in terms of a doctrine of the Trinity, Christ is God anyway so God is not at all passive, but you catch my drift. When I first saw this painting, what I first perceived from it was an immediate sense of chaos - the humans surrounding Christ are entirely helpless to their own fates - it was on earth where their actions mattered and now they cannot change anything. Their judgement is imminent. Luther's attitude to works is a far reality from here! Interestingly, Reformation theologians hated this piece as it seems to utterly deny the grace and mercy of Christ - something that is left to be decided by individual interpretation no doubt. The chaos continues in the higher echelons of the painting - even the angels seem to be busying themselves in preparation for the entrance of good souls into heaven.
As for hell, it doesn't seem the place of fire and brimstone that the Biblical texts seem to etch onto the hearts of God-fearing Christian literalists. Satan is a small figure, not particularly frightening and the human souls who are there, although their faces do show fear and pain, they are not in utter agony to the extent that I expected. The group of angels blowing trumpets just above Satan seems to me to portray that ever-popular dichotomy of good and evil in battle. The angels are divine representatives fighting off the evil forces, in this case, devils who are clutching at human souls waiting to devour them.
The figure that most interests me however is the man just to the right of the angels aforementioned. I think he shows the constant battle between passions and logic that humans go through in their earthly experience. He shows how much humans strive to be good, and to be in utter blissful communion with God; yet the powers of evil constantly try and tear us down. These need not be literal, in the form of devils literally pulling you to the depths of hell. These can be the feelings in your everyday life, which lead you to believe the world is not a place where God resides. Feelings such as disillusionment with the church, the problem of theodicy, that is why we experience suffering and pain; and a plethora of other human experiences which lead us further from God rather than closer to him.
What these wonderful works of Michaelangelo show us is the astonishing reality that art can be divinely inspired, that art can be an outworking of prayer and dedication and devotion; or indeed purely that the visual representation of Biblical concepts leads us to contemplate more fully the possibilities that the Christian faith present us with.
All information and pictures sourced from Wikipedia.
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