The film The Agony and the Ecstasy, 1965, is the epic portrayal of Michelangelo and Pope Julius II based on the historical novel of the same name, by Irving Stone, published in 1961. Their working relationship is documented as the struggle between two powerful and egocentric men. While one is the leader of the Christian world, the other means to change the world through his art. The paradox is that the Pope jealously believes Michelangelo to be the man that can capture the nature of God more successfully and translate that to his followers. The film follows their warring relationship and Michelangelo’s progress on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, as well as notes the inspiration that Michelangelo gets from God for his work on this ceiling.
In this film, Michelangelo is first commissioned by the Pope to execute a design for the 12 apostles on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo accepts this commission begrudgingly; he has no choice but to accept. Michelangelo begins to paint the apostles on the ceiling, yet he is unsatisfied with his work. One night, inspired by the metaphor ‘if the wine is sour, spill it out,’ he trashes the work he has completed so far and runs into the mountains, away from the Pope and his commission. While in the marble quarries of Italy, he sees an image of God and Adam in the sky; Michelangelo believes this to be a sign from God, which he will then translate into the now famous Birth of Adam scene on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo returns to Rome with his plan for the ceiling and begins his masterpiece.
While the film allows the viewer to envision Michelangelo’s artistic processes- like gessoing the walls, creating cartoons for the figures, and even sculpting figures...
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...ation in the marble quarries is contrived and Hollywood’s way of explaining Michelangelo’s conception of his artistic goals, shrugging of what might be uncomfortable in the 1960s with a man’s infatuation with the male form. A contemporary film would be required to delve more correctly into Michelangelo’s psyche rather then a 1960’s Hollywood sentimentality.
Works Cited
Dixon, John W. The Christ of Michelangelo: An Essay on Carnal Spirituality. Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1994. 60.
Oremland, Jerome D. Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling :A Psychoanalytic Study of Creativity. Vol. monograph 2. Madison, Conn.: International Universities Press, 1989. 3.
Von Einem, Herbert. Michelangelo; Bildhauer, Maler, Baumeister. Berlin: Gebr. Mann, 1973. 50.
Dixon, 53.
Penck, Stefanie. Michelangelo. Munich ;New York: Prestel, 2005. 42.
Dixon, 39.
Oremland, 2.
The Torment of Saint Anthony (c. 1487-¬88), an oil and tempera on a panel, is believed to be the first painting by Michelangelo inspired by an engraving by Martin Schongauer (c. 1470-75) when Michelangelo was 12 or 13 years old (Vogel. 2009). It is one of the four surviving panel paintings by Michelangelo, who, according to one biographer, had spoken with disdain of oil painting in later life.
Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, page 73). What this sentence is basically saying is that the whole painting of the Sistine chapel was meant to embody the ideas of the religious mentality that was embedded into the minds of the people during the renaissance period. When Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the celling of the Sistine chapel, he wanted it to solely represent the ideals and teachings of the church, however Michelangelo portrayed some of his own thoughts into the art. Examples of this can be found all over the painting the last testament and in the book titled Michelangelo A Life in Six Masterpieces by Miles J. Unger, upon examination of the painting it is possible to see on the bottom right hand corner the Pope himself with a snake wrapped around him and being dragged to hell. Historians believed that Michelangelo painted the Pope in this way because he did not agree with the way Pope Julius II was running the church, Michelangelo and the Pope often disagreed on many different occasions whether it be on religion or just the way he talked to Michelangelo. Throughout the last testament Michelangelo actually painted homosexual men all around the painting, and he did not paint them burning in hell, instead he painted them in heaven along with Jesus
In Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling Ross King gives a penetrating look into the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti during the four years he spends painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. At a scale of nearly five thousand and eight hundred square feet and almost seventy feet above the ground, this would be an incredible task for the artist. He faces many challenges, mentally and physically, during the process, but still finishes the ceiling in an incredibly short amount of time considering the size of his work. Michelangelo is renowned for his moody temper and reclusive lifestyle. Most people find him to be an extremely difficult person, due partially to his lack of concern for anyone but himself, and to his undaunted stubborn nature. The one man with whom he will despise and contend with all his life was Pope Julius II; he is also the man who commissions him to paint the ceiling. Ross King's purpose in writing this book is to detail Michelangelo's magnificent struggle with personal, political, and artistic difficulties during the painting of the Sistine ceiling. He also gives an engaging portrait of society and politics during the early sixteenth century.
...o signify a deep bonding with god, stone and himself. War is also a huge obstacle both characters have to overcome. Ender wages two wars at the same time. One with his emotions and another with the Formics. Michelangelo on the other hand fights a fierce battle with himself and the satisfaction of carving and shows pride as he goes against the pope. Motivation is displayed by both characters. Ender is motivated by compassion, by understanding and loving the enemy he can destroy them. Michelangelo’s motivation is based purely on the ecstasy in creating art. He uses everything to create David and paint the Sistine Chapel. Ender has beat all the games and defeated the Formics saving humanity while Michelangelo has triumphed at last over ignorance, poverty, and neglect. He has been recognized, loved, and has transformed art and even the faces of Rome and Florence.
Although they were rivals, they dabbled in two different types of art mostly. Leonardo was a profound painter with interest in science, whereas Michelangelo found his way around sculptures. He considered sculptures to be the most important aspect in visual arts. Examining Michelangelo’s works throughout time, a resemblance to contemporary society is shown. Major products of Michelangelo include the statue of David and the fresco ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (History, 2010). The combination of imagination and the technical skills produced renaissance sculptures that contain all aspects of accuracy and harmony. The sculpture of David was considered the greatest sculptor to be produced during the renaissance era. When considered the works from the Sistine Chapel ceilings, the psychological insight, intensity, and the physically visual realism are all combined to produce an excellent painting which showed off his ability in paintings as
The fresco on the Sistine chapel is arguably the greatest artwork ever completed. Central to the ceiling decoration are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis of which the most famous section is Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam.
Art, by definition, is “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”. Throughout history, one way that art has been used is to reflect a multitude of ideas and beliefs. Christian beliefs and ideas have been portrayed in artwork since the beginning of Christianity, although, it was not always acceptable to do so. The idea of the final judgement is a Christian idea that has been displayed in art repeatedly in a variety of ways. Michelangelo’s fresco the Last Judgment (1536-1541) is a piece that visualizes this idea. Since the time it was finished, this significant piece found in the Sistine Chapel has been continuously critiqued and analyzed. Many Christians struggle to interpret the event of a final judgment after reading it through Scripture. In analyzing Michelangelo’s piece, it is similar difficult to determine what he exactly meant to portray and what the various part of his masterpiece represent exactly. Many have examined this piece and made different regarding what exactly the various figures and objects are supposed to represent. The diverse interpretations of this work further shows the idea that when Christian ideas are reflected through artwork, it is hard to ascertain exactly what an artist intended to demonstrate. In addition, the controversies surrounding this piece represent the idea that when Christian ideas are revealed through art, there is potential for disagreement regarding what should and should not be included in Christian art. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is just an example of what results when Christianity is brought into art.
In the two different depictions of the scene Betrayal of Christ, Duccio and Giotto show their different styles on how they compose their paintings. The first decision into the composure of the painting would be the comparison of the size of surface they chose to paint on. Duccio in comparison to Giotto chooses to work on a wooden panel no wider than a foot, and Giotto went with a plaster surface with a width of ten feet. This detail alone lets the viewer know that Giotto’s artwork is embedded in detail and visual consumption. The size difference is the factor between who see’s it and what they see; the fine details and symbolism of the narrative will be better understood if the viewer can see every detail.
Vasari, Giorgio. Life of Michelangelo. [Translated by Gaston du C. de Vere.] (New York: St. Pauls, 2003), pp. 69-132.
The Temptation and Expulsion of Adam and Eve by Michelangelo Buonarroti 1508 is a two piece fresco painting on the Sistine Chapel in Italy. The tree located in the middle of the fresco with the green serpent separates the two pieces. This painting tells a story out of the Book of Genesis about the fall of Adam and Eve and removal of Adam and Eve out the Garden of Eden.
4).14 Painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo’s series represent several narratives from the bible. This painting is considered to be the most outstanding series of illustrations depicting biblical stories that were ever produced. It has also been suggested that the figures in the frescoes reflect Michelangelo’s personal Humanist philosophies. He believed that “the body should be celebrated as a reflection of both divine beauty and the beauty of the human soul”.15 The Creation of Adam, in particular, demonstrates the exact moment when God stretches out his finger and gives life to Adam, the first human. In this image, Adam on the left is portrayed completely nude as he sits languidly on the Earth. On the right, God’s presence appears assertive while he floats amongst several biblical figures in the sky. As their fingers do not touch, it is indicated that Adam is yet to receive the gift of intellect and
The night Michelangelo Buonarroti was born, “Mercury and Venus were in the house of Jove,” says Vasari. This means that, according to a lucky star, Michelangelo could be expected to produce extraordinary works of both art and intellect. How true this turned out to be! Whether it was fate or coincidence, few haven’t heard of this world renowned and avant-garde talent. From painting to architecture and sculpture, it seems like there is nothing Michelangelo couldn’t master. Michelangelo is said to have considered himself a sculptor, but why was it then that he produced his sculpture with such a unique and striking depiction of the human body? Why did Michelangelo create such masculine forms, and was it self expression that provoked this intense artistry? There are many factors that can influence an artists creative process, but with Michelangelo the most prominent were most likely his religion, society, travels, and self perception.
The Last Judgement by Michelangelo is the most preeminent representation of Italian Renaissance fine art, and undoubtedly the most valuable piece of the era. Characteristics of Italian Renaissance artwork are present throughout the painting. Realism, perspective, individualism, light & shadowing and are the most prominent qualities of this painting. Particularly, realism is expressed through the nudity of the people displayed in the painting, not every person’s body is perfect, ideally many bodies have flaws. Realism and expression are shown when “the proportions of his figures grew… more menacing… [and] seething with nudity” (1). The people behind the altar of the Chapel were naked with indecent expressions, displaying individual
...ver surpass its extraordinary success. The vast collection of the antique nude arose from this age and enriched the world today with its remarkable work. It seems that as Michelangelo explains God sparked divine gifts into their intellect, gifts designed to be shared and enjoyed with the whole world.
...the Jewish themes and the heliocentric concept work together to show how Michelangelo felt. When looking at The Last Judgment one can feel a sense hope amidst the fear that fresco is intended to evoke. Christ centered in the middle shows his availability, no longer is he separated by hierarchies. Christ is with all of us. The Last Judgment artistically sums up the religious discourse that many church leaders, like Marin Luther, were trying to spread to the masses. Salvation is available to all, even Jews. No longer could the Church hold salvation captive, and this message was made possible because of Michelangelo’s religious and classical education. If he had not been surrounded by different schools of thought and pushed to think differently it safe to say that the Sistine Chapel that we have today may not have ever existed.