Michelangelo, Creation of Adam c. 1508-1512
Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the Italian Renaissance. He was born in the Republic of Florence. This painting was painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and took about four years to complete during the 15th century. The Creation of Adam is one of Michelangelo’s simple paintings to decipher. It shows God giving birth to Adam, the first man. This painting was created during the Italian renaissance and represents religious art, which would be Christianity.
In the Creation of Adam, God is portrayed as an old white-unshaven man enveloped by a whirling shroud while Adam, on the lower left, is totally nude. God's right arm is outstretched to confer the flash of life from his own finger into that of Adam, whose left arm is reached out in a posture reflecting God's, a sign that man is made in the picture and similarity of God. Another point is that Adam's finger and God's finger are not contacting. It gives the feeling that God, the provider of life, is connecting with Adam who still can't seem to get it; they are not on "a similar level" as would be two people shaking hands or hugging, for example.
The renaissance was a time of revival in art, literature, and philosophy. The creation of Adam features god reaching out to give a spark of life to Adam, which can signify humanity's introduction to an era of renewed culture as they depart from the middle ages into an era of modernity. By depicting both God and Adam in idealized human forms that mirror each other, this art reflects the idea that God created mankind in his own image, and alludes to the progression of human culture as an indication of becoming more divine beings.
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