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THE CREATION OF ADAM

By Name

Institution

Course
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The Creation of Adam

Introduction

Michelangelo’s Creation of Adamis the most popular part of the Sistine Chapel’s

ceiling.The fresco painting was unveiled on November 1st of 1512 by Michelangelo di Lodovico

Buonarroti Simoni. It demonstrates the Biblical creation story found in the Book of Genesis

about the creation of Adam, the first man God created. The painted scene shows God's right hand

about to touch Adam's left hand. God is in a nebulous floating form supported by wingless

angels. The image depicts God as a muscular elderly man with gray hair and a long beard.Adam

is portrayed by the scene as an idling figure on the ground who responds to God’s imminent

touch in a weak manner. God's contact with Adam will breathe life from God’s mouth into

Adam’s nostrils and eventually it will give life to all mankind1.Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

which illustrates God giving life to Adam is the most famous painting in the world and has

become iconic of humanity.

History

Michelangelo Buonarroti is the most famous Italian Renaissance artist who lived from

1475 to 1564 AD. In the beginning, he was a sculptor but not a painter. Michelangelo was

invited to Rome by Pope Julius II in 1505 to paint a series of Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. His first

assignment was creating a tomb which he completed it in 1516, and it is located in S. Pietro's

Church in Vincoli, Rome. Since he was a good sculpture, creating a tomb was the best

commission Michelangelo could hope to be assigned. The tomb which is a central figure of

Moses is now the most famous tomb in the world. He is the one who painted Sistine Chapel’s

1
Paul. 2001. "Michelangelo's Creation of Adam the Aesthetics of Theology" Barolsky, Source.
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ceiling, the most remarkable piece of art in the entire world. The work in the form of decoration

on the ceiling denotes much of the doctrine used in Catholic Churches. Michelangelo painted the

ceiling from 1508-1512 using frescoes painting that illustrates various Biblical narratives. The

ceiling which is five-hundred square meters in size contains more than three-hundred figures.

There are nine episodes from the Book of Genesis at the center of the ceiling which have been

classified into three groupings that is: the first three episodes are about God’s Creation of

Humankind, the second three are God's creation of the Earth, and the fall of mankind from the

God's grace and the last three episodes are about story of Noah. On the pendentives that support

the ceiling, there are paintings of twelve men and women who prophesied the coming of Jesus

Christ, the prophetic women of the Classical world, five Sibyls and seven prophets of Israel.

Besides The Creation of Adam, other famous paintings on the ceiling include Adam and Eve in

the Garden of Eden, the Prophet Jeremiah, the Cumaean Sibyl and the Deluge2.

Composition

The scene is painted using vibrant colors and incredible details. On the right-hand side of

the scene, it depicts God as a muscular elderly man with long beards. He is wrapped in a swirling

cloak supported by eleven wingless angels on a red lobe. Adam is on the lower left completely

naked. He is muscular and young. He is reclining on his back while the right arm is on the

ground. The left arm is stretched out. Adam's body forms a concave pose that mirrors God's body

which is in a convex posture. God is stretching his right arm so that he can give life from his

finger into Adam's finger.

2
Claire D'Harcourt, Masterpieces Up Close: Western Painting from the 14th to 20th Centuries
(San Francisco, Calif: Chronicle Books, 2004
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Analysis

The painting is religious in nature because it demonstrates the Biblical creation narrative.

Several hypotheses have been formulated to explain the meaning of Michelangelo’s Creation of

Adam. Adam’s figure on the background idealizes the muscular from of the human body.

Adam's pose mirroring God's posture can be seen as a reminder that human beings are created in

the image of God. God's finger and Adam's finger are not touching; therefore, this is an

impression that God is the one who gives life and he is reaching out to Adam who is yet to

receive it. Adam is portrayed as earthbound and slightly weak while God appears to be having a

strong presence and he is swirling through the heavens; this means that God is superior to

mankind and he is not on the same level with a man. The struggle by the angels to carry the

weight of God can be viewed as the weight of the world3.

3
Heidi J. Hornik and Mikeal C. Parsons, Interpreting Christian Art: Reflections on Christian Art
(Macon, Ga: Mercer University Press, 2004)
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Many theories have suggested that the feminine figure protecting God’s left arm might be

Eve, the future wife of Adam. The figure has a feminine appearance, and she is looking towards

Adam. She is waiting to the side until the day she will be created out of the rib of Adam. Others

suggested that the feminine figure represents the Virgin Mary and the child next to her would

finally be Jesus Christ. This suggestion is supported by the fact that God’s finger is placed on the

child.According to Catholic theology, the scene that depicts God placing his fingers on the child

is being practiced today during Mass when a priest uses his fingers to raise the Eucharist. The

Eucharist is considered as the Body of Christ.The final touching of God's finger with Adam's

finger is the giving of life to mankind. It can also be seen as the birth of human race.

The Creation of Adam piece of art ideologically exemplifies humanity. Michelangelo’s

work is believed to have been developed at a time when humanist ideals were being adopted by

scholars, statesman and also artists4. The image portrays God floating in front of an unusual

vessel. The origin of the vessel has been linked to Michelangelo's broad knowledge of human

anatomy. There was a debate on the whether the unusual vessel represents a human brain or a

human uterus. However, the two hypothesis can be argued effectively using facts from the scene.

The background and the enveloped figures that surround God in the scene can be linked to the

structure of the real human brain. The unusual locomotive vessel is an exact estimation of the

shape of a human brain placed in the mid-sagittal position, whereby brain is cut into two parts

with the pituitary gland hanging.The cerebrum and sulci are represented by the borders in the

painting. Also, the shape can be linked with a human uterus whereby the following green scarf

extending from the vessel represents an umbilical cord. Therefore, The Creation of Adam is an

4
William M. 2003. "Who's Missing from Steinberg's "Who's Who in Michelangelo's Creation of
Adam"?" Jensen, Interpreting Christian Art / Heidi J. Hornik and Mikeal C. Parsons, Ed. (07-
137),
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ideal piece of art that represents humanity painted on the vast background of Sistine Chapel's

ceiling.

Conclusion

The Italian Renaissance implanted thought and art with humanistic values. Renaissance is

a French word that literally means "rebirth,” and it refers to the period in European history

immediately after the Middle Ages. According to Renaissance thinkers, the Middle Ages is the

period associated with cultural decline. The interest in classical learning and values vanished

during Middle Ages period, and it resurged during Renaissance. The Renaissance began in Italy

in the 14th century, and the idea spread to other great nations of Europe to produce a French

Renaissance and English Renaissance among others. The characteristics of Renaissance include:

the fall of the feudal system and the rise of commerce; the discovery and exploration of new

continents; the invention of printing press, the mariners compass and gunpowder; the rise of

several religious movements such as Evangelicals, Protestants and the Catholic Church; musical

innovations and the resurgence of classical learning and values. The developments witnessed

during the Renaissance marked the transition from the ancient world to the modern world and

provided the basis for the elements of the modern culture5.

5
Jerry Brotton and Jerry Brotton, The Renaissance (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)
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Bibliography

Barolsky, Paul. 2001. "Michelangelo's Creation of Adam the Aesthetics of Theology".

Source.. -11.

D'Harcourt, Claire. Masterpieces Up Close: Western Painting from the 14th to 20th
Centuries. San Francisco, Calif: Chronicle Books, 2004.

Hornik, Heidi J., and Mikeal C. Parsons. Interpreting Christian Art: Reflections on Christian
Art. Macon, Ga: Mercer University Press, 2004.

Jensen, William M. 2003. "Who's Missing from Steinberg's "Who's Who in Michelangelo's
Creation of Adam"?". Interpreting Christian Art / Heidi J. Hornik and Mikeal C.
Parsons, Ed.. 07-137.
Brotton, Jerry, and Jerry Brotton. The Renaissance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.