Analysis Of Botticelli's Sistine Chapel

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Due to the atmosphere of the Sistine Chapel, deeply Catholic, Botticelli was influenced to please those he was painting for, namely, Pope Sixtus IV. This is seen a prominent detail in the painting; the way the devil is portrayed. It is a clear indicator that Botticelli knew who his audience was. Instead of a red demon with horns, he portrays the devil as a hermit. This fits the Catholic teachings that the devil is not someone who tries to be scary to humans, but rather as someone who is wise and can be trusted. Botticelli stayed true to the actual story, and in doing so pleased his target audience, Pope Sixtus IV. Given that the Sistine Chapel houses other pieces of art like Botticelli’s The Trials of Moses and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Botticelli used fresco to paint The Temptations of Christ. Fresco is a wise choice in particular for the job that Botticelli was tasked with because the painting was to be directly on the wall, which is best done when …show more content…

The temptations of Christ are full of vertical lines that imply movement. The devils hand seems to imply he is actively tempting Jesus, instead of it just being a picture of the event. The body of angle of the Devil falling and Jesus casting him off make it seem like he is actively falling. This Is accomplished because of the diagonal lines that Botticelli uses. The diagonal lines also help to imply time, as it seems that Jesus and the devil are going from one temptation to the next. He uses vertical lines while the angels are tending to Jesus, which would imply rest. The center of the picture has some movement, where some people seem as if they are running to get somewhere. Others are standing straight, waiting to see what will happen with the holy man and boy in the center. All this movement in the picture makes the story come to life, instead of just pictures of a story that is being

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