Michelangelo’s Last JudgementJoin now to read essay Michelangelo’s Last JudgementMichelangelo Buonarroti, born in the sixteenth century, was perhaps one of the greatest artisans of all time. He was an accomplished artist, sculptor, architect, and poet who demonstrated his great skill with the creation of many astounding works. Michelangelos artwork consisted of paintings and sculptures that showed humanity in its natural state. He is remembered today as the man who had sculpted the “David” and the “Pieta”, which are two of the most stunning sculptures to come out of the Renaissance period. Although sculpting was the love of his life, his paintings of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and “The Last Judgement” are considered by many his best masterpieces. Michelangelos artistic career can be divided into two periods. In the early period he focused on realism. During this early period Michelangelos works included the Pieta and the David. At the age of 24 he completed a statue called the “Pieta,” which is still in its original place in Saint Peters Basilica. This marble sculpture shows the dead Jesus Christ in his mothers arms. In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence, Italy to sculpt the famous nude sculpture called the “David.” The “David” measures 18 feet tall, and is so massive that it took 40 men to move it from Michelangelos workshop (Liebert, 72). The second period of Michelangelos career was based upon his own imagination. In 1505 Michelangelo was summoned by Pope Julius II to fabricate a monumental tomb for him. We have no clear sense of what the tomb was to look like, since over the years it went through at least five conceptual revisions, and was never actually finished due to frustrating delays. A short time after starting the tomb, Pope Julius II selected Michelangelo to fresco the Sistine Chapel ceiling. When other artists were asked to paint ceilings they lied down on the scaffolding. Michelangelo painted in a standing position which caused him much discomfort (Liebert 146-147). Michelangelo even wrote a sonnet in which he described the pain he felt while painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. My bellys pushed by force beneath my chin My beard toward Heaven, I feel the back of my brain Upon my neck, I grow the breast of a Harpy; My brush, above my face continually Makes it a splendid floor by dripping down My loins have penetrated to my paunch My rumps a crupper, as a counterweight, And pointless the unseeing steps I go In front of me my skin is being stretched While it folds up behind and forms a knot And I am bending like a Syrian bow (Liebert 148).
Pope Julius chief architect Bramante questioned Michelangelos experience with frescos, but as he was a friend of the Pope, it was insisted upon that he be given the job. Michelangelo worked on the ceiling from July of 1508 to October 31, 1512. He had hired five assistants to aid him in painting process. All in all, Michelangelo had painted three hundred and thirty-six assorted figures on the Sistine ceiling. This was an incredible feat and in the present, three hundred thirty-five and one-half of these figures still remain (Brandes, 162). The overall organization of the fresco consists of four large triangles at the corner; a series of eight triangular spaces on the outer border; an intermediate series of figures; and nine central panels, all bound together with architectural motifs and nude male figures. The corner triangles depict heroic action in the Old Testament, while the other eight triangles depict the biblical ancestors of Jesus Christ. Michelangelo conceived and executed this huge work in only four years, the first half taking almost three years to complete. The paintings were done with the brightest colors that attracted attention to the whole ceiling as one entered to look. The ceiling was completed just a little after the Pope had died but has given the Sistine Chapel tremendous appeal for having the best fresco ever done.
In painting “The Last Judgment,” Michelangelo was given the chance to incorporate all that he had learned about the human body. He was able to show the way the body moved, as well as its displays of unrestrained passion, overwhelming grief, or endless torment. Michelangelo received a commission from Pope Clement VII to paint “The Last Judgment” on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in 1534. He was also commissioned at this time to paint a “Fall of the Angels” on the entrance wall, but this second work was never executed (Brandes, 198). Sebastiano del Piombo had persuaded the pope that the painting would look best in oil, and the wall was therefore prepared to receive oil pigments. This delayed the beginning of the work, since Michelangelo declared oil painting to be an “effeminate art” and insisted on painting “al fresco,” as he had done with the ceiling. Although he had painted the ceiling of
‫, the paintings were not finished. The work fell off the wall by accident, however, although in its final state of undress, and it will never be complete. It is worth noting that the “last” fresco, (which will not be shown) is due back in 1872, and no further work was completed. The same work was also awarded to Michaelangelo of Rome under different circumstances. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the last fresco had a lasting influence on Michelangelo’s later life and philosophy, which remained largely unknown until the 1930s. If Michelangelo and the other artist were not equally fortunate, it would seem that Michelangelo could not have given much thought to the artistic aspects of the work. As a Christian, he had always been drawn to the work of art without any preconceived notion of what it is he was creating–so the question arises of what impact he was to be making on the works he commissioned, what he felt was the right qualities for a Christian to have on another’s art?
#903: On the basis of these criteria, I believe we can say that Michelangelo could not have had much influence on the work of art of his contemporaries who were still around. In fact Michelangelo did not share his religious convictions, nor with any members of all his peers. He had no previous affiliation with, or influence over, the art process. Thus, it is important to note that Michelangelo was a Christian theologian who was the first Christian academic to call on Michelangelo to explain (in a clear and obvious and unequivocal way) the Christian understanding of the work of art. This was reflected in his writings which were also of a critical interest to the Christian masses and he was also one of the first intellectuals to point out that the original work of art was not made in accordance with God’s word. There are not many Christian thinkers and thinkers today who have a more direct grasp of the true meaning of the Word of God than Michelangelo! This is most noteworthy when one considers the influence that Michelangelo had on painting, especially when he painted this masterpiece under the guise that it was the work of God; and it is also interesting that while in the course of his research, Michelangelo’s artistic career had increased, his influence on the work of art continued and he became less involved in the art process entirely. The primary influence that Michelangelo had had on the work of art of this famous masterpiece was that of his work was inspired by the writings of some of the earlier members of his circle. The writings of this Christian laymen are most revealing, and many of these are worthy of their place in history: St. Francis de Salesius of Crete (1660-1720), Pope Fonsecan of Crete (1703-1800), Fr. Clement de Lusimontis of Constantinople (1839-1894), St. Thomas Aquinas of Lyons (1845-1864), Pauline Deucalion of Palermo (1874-1973), Saint Augustine of Hippo (1892-1972), Jean-Paul Sartre de Baudrillênes (1880-1975), and many other such Christian writers, but the most significant contributor to this generation of writers are those of the late Pope Leo XIII and later Cardinal Thomas Aquinas, Pope John Paul II (1887-1900) and some other early Catholic theologians, such as Ignatius Berossus, Thomas Aquinas, Benedictine, the Great Peter, Eutychius, St. Paul in general, Martin Luther