by Fulcrum Gallery Staff
6. March 2013 09:29
Happy Birthday, Michelangelo! As sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564) stands as the archetype of the Renaissance genius, with a talent that transcends time and continues to influence and inspire contemporary artists. In May of 1508, Michelangelo accepted a commission from Pope Julius II to paint the Vatican's Sistine Chapel ceiling. Using the centuries-old technique of fresco, Michelangelo worked at a feverish pace under exceptionally adverse conditions. Completed four years later in 1512, the ceiling marked the summit of the artist's career as a painter and sealed his reputation as the greatest painter of the High Renaissance.
"The Creation of Adam" is perhaps the most enduring of Michelangelo's paintings. Almost five centuries later this image remains prevalent and is still being used in adverting and on posters and T-shirts. This is particularly true of the detail that shows the two hands as they reach towards each other, tantalizingly close, almost touching. The panel illustrates the moment when life is instilled in Abam by God. Michelangelo has placed the central focus upon the hands of Zgod and of Adam, not just by the placement of the figures, but also by the two outstretched arms. Adam, who is only half-sitting up against the mountainside, seems weak and lanquid, with his arm resting upon one bent knee as if it is too heavy for him to hold up without some support. The hand is limp, the fingers are drooping as if they are without energy, awaiting the vital spark of life.
