Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups


NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024
Arlington, VA
Registration Is Open!


Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX
Contact Ben Had for info





















« The Morning Report — 6/27/23 | Main | The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition »
June 27, 2023

The Mid-Morning Art Thread [Kris]

Michelangelo Sistine detail.jpg

“The Fall & Expulsion from Paradise”
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

In this scene from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling, the artist combines two separate events from the Biblical account of Creation into one frame. On the left is the Fall of Man. On the right is The Expulsion from Paradise. They are cause and effect, depicting sin and its consequences. Together, they are an allegory of Jesus Christ.

In the center of the work is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent’s thick, powerful coils wind around the trunk. Notice the serpent is half-woman and resembles Eve. This might reflect the medieval and Renaissance belief that women were responsible for the Fall. Here Eve sees herself in the serpent and deceives herself. Adam and Eve are already at the Tree. The serpent hands Eve the fruit but Adam picks one off himself. This is interesting as while Eve needed to be coaxed to sin, Adam does not hesitate. The poses of the humans’ bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. Adam stands facing the Tree and twists his torso to his left exposing his back to the viewer. He reaches for the fruit with his right hand. Meanwhile, Eve sits at Adam’s feet with her back to the tree, but she twists exposing her front. She takes the fruit with her left hand. This pose/counterpose creates a contrasting balance. For me, the conflict in their poses reminds me of the conflicts of the event itself—between what God said and what the serpent said, and between obedience to God and Free Will—and ultimately between God and Man.

On the right is the consequence of disobedience—ejection from Eden. Notice how Adam and Eve have changed, especially Eve. On the left, the humans are beautiful and young. On the right, their faces wince and twist. To me, they look older and uglier. This could also represent the ugliness of sin and its side-effects: aging and death. For Michelangelo and many artists of the era, eternal youth sometimes symbolized spiritual purity. This is why, in many works, the Virgin Mary will look eternally young, no matter how old she’s supposed to be. The landscape the two are banished to is featureless and barren, the opposite of the Garden.

Michelangelo does something interesting with positive and negative space here too. The left-hand side is full of stuff—people, rocks, and a leafy tree. The right side is nearly empty, except for Adam, Eve, and the angel. There is a lot of empty space here but Michelangelo filled it with emotional weight. The faces of pre-Fall humanity are inexpressive. They are just there. On the right, they are all emotion. Their faces are distorted as they weep and cower before the avenging angel. The angel’s authority is made more potent by the outstretched sword. There’s violence here. This continues the balance/counterbalance theme seen in the rest of the panel.

The entire decorative program of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is a humungous allegory for Jesus Christ and His redemption of Mankind. This panel represents the Crucifixion. The serpent and the angel mirror each other. They look alike and have opposite poses. Their outstretched arms, sword, tree branches form the horizontal beam resting on top of the vertical tree truck, making a Cross. The first Adam sinned and Man fell. Through Jesus Christ, “the second Adam”, Man is redeemed, and sin and death are defeated.



digg this
posted by Open Blogger at 09:30 AM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
OrangeEnt: "Oh look! A picture of John Kerry and Joe B! ..."

Pillage Idiot: "Weasel, thanks for another good gub thread! Mor ..."

GWB: "it will change the recoil impulse unpredictably. ..."

sock_rat_eez [/i][/u][/b][/s]: "CBD, that's why I disinstalled the laser pointer o ..."

whig: "371 Thanks, Sven, and Whig. [And the Forgotten Wea ..."

CharlieBrown'sDildo: "People have to do what works for them and for the ..."

GWB: "What they know does not always apply directly to d ..."

[/i][/s][/b][/u]blaster: "[i]Just need to make her even slightly a gun nut! ..."

sven: "365 Posted by: GWB at April 28, 2024 09:51 PM (1zx ..."

whig: "Gee, that's just mechanicing 101. "Always run a nu ..."

[/i][/b]andycanuck (vtyCZ)[/s][/u]: "Thanks, Sven, and Whig. [And the Forgotten Weapons ..."

Pillage Idiot: "[i]350 PI, just warn her that lots of hugs are thr ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64