RENAISSANCE ANALYSIS: THE CREATION

OF ADAM

All of Michelangelos artworks are incredibly famous, but no others are quite as iconic as his
paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. One of the most iconic portions of this painting
is Creazione di Adamo, or The Creation of Adam, completed in the Vatican in the year of
1512. Commissioned by Pope Julius II and portraying a scene from the Book of Genesis, this
piece is commonly referenced as one of the token Catholic pieces of art produced during the
Italian Renaissance. It was created during the so-called reinvention of Rome, in the period
during which chapels and similar pieces of architecture were becoming more grand and
decorative and religious paintings were commissioned to demonstrate the glory of the
church. This painting in particular also shows strong influences of humanism beneath the
religious appearance, as do many of Michelangelos works. As it was stated in an article
about this particular painting, The figures on the Sistine ceiling reflect Michelangelos firmly
held belief that the body should be celebrated as a reflection of both divine beauty and the
beauty of the human soul, thus intertwining the ideas of Roman Catholicism and
Humanism.
On the other hand, there is a fascinating theory supported by biological structure and
Michelangelos own writings that Michelangelo, in fact, based the painting of God on the
form of the human brain. This theory is what drew me most strongly to this piece, as
opposed to some of Michelangelos sculptures. While the Catholic imagery is important to
note in this piece, it was recently discovered that the structure of the painting almost
directly mirrors the brains most important structures, as demonstrated in the image below.

All the brains important structures line up with figures in the painting, including some of the
interior structure matching the silhouette of the people surrounding God within his cape.
Michelangelo was a sculptor known for his attention to anatomical structure in his art, to the
extent that he frequently performed corpse dissections, so to me this uncanny correlation
seems very unlikely to be a coincidence. Michelangelo himself, while Catholic, wrote that he
believed intellect was the most crucial human characteristic. As stated by Frank Lynn
Meshberger, a neuroscientist, The important point [is] to see that the larger image
encompassing God is compatible with a brain. Michelangelo portrays that what God is giving
to Adam is the intellect (Meshberger, pg. 4). This, while not straying from Catholic imagery,
is an innately Humanist ideal, that human individuality is our most important god-given gift.
Aesthetically, I quite enjoy this piece, though not as much as Michelangelos sculptures. The
color scheme is dull and I find the scene itself uninteresting, aside from its religious
connotation. Despite this, the hinted overlap with neuroanatomy gives this piece a sort of
mystery that I really enjoy, and the brain correlation theory is what drew me to this piece to
begin with. While the colors dont really draw me in, the detail of the painting is striking. As
always, Im impressed with Michelangelos attention to small details despite the
uncomfortable conditions in which the piece was painted. I find the piece to be among the
works that lead to the Enlightenment, which is one of my favorite facets of European history.