Michelangelo's World-famous Paintings

Michelangelo was an Italian painter, sculptor and poet of the High Renaissance. Though it has been more than 450 years since he died, his art is still substantial in understanding Renaissance art and its milestones. Let's have a look at Michelangelo Buonarroti's 3 World-Renowned paintings that everyone should be familiar with.

1. The Creation of Adam

This fresco painting is a part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and portrays the creation of Adam in an innovative way because God is not depicted as a separate figure, which is parallel to the humanist ideas; instead, he gives a piece from itself to Adam. Also, God is positioned in a red cloud which is like a brain and this may be an indicator of the power and knowledge God has. In addition to that, the red cloud resembling the brain may be a reference to the fact that humankind will be gifted with consciousness.

The Creation of Adam is one of the most replicated biblical paintings in history.

2. The Last Judgement

The Last Judgement is a fresco which covers the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It depicts the Second Coming of Christ and his last judgement. This masterpiece has over 300 figures and took Michelangelo five years to bring to completion. Let's have a look at some details of the painting. In the upper middle of the painting, Jesus and the Virgin Mary with her blue tunic can be seen. A little lower than Jesus, there are angels holding the deeds of the resurrected. The lower left depicts the dead rising and floating to heaven, they are the saved and the lower right depicts Charon, who in Greek mythology is appt to transfer the souls to the underworld, carrying over the damned to hell. In the lowest part of the fresco, there is the cross and the image of Jesus to remind the crucifixion.

The details mentioned above are only little parts of the fresco, there are many things to discover!

3. Doni Tondo (The Holy Family)

Doni Tondo depicts Mary, Jesus and Joseph and this painting gives points to the sacred family love. In the way that it depicts Madonna (Virgin Mary), this work was influenced by other artists like Signorelli and Leonardo da Vinci. Mary is situated at the centre of the composition, indicating the holy mother figure in the Christian faith. Joseph is in a little higher place than Mary. The nudes in the back may be symbolizing the human race before Christianity. A general idea concerning the painting is that Doni Tondo laid the foundations of Mannerism, which used exaggeration and affectation in art.

Sources:

https://historylists.org/art/20-of-the-world%e2%80%99s-most-famous-art-pieces.html

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/michelangelo/#pnt_5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Judgment_(Michelangelo)