Michelangelo Last Judgement

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is a highly respected and known Italian sculptor, painter, and poet who is to this day considered one of the best artists of all time. One of his most famous works is the ceiling fresco he painted in the Sistine Chapel, which is in Vatican City, Rome. Twenty-five years later, when Michelangelo was sixty years old, he was asked by Pope Clement VII to paint the alter wall in the Sistine Chapel: the Last Judgment. This piece represents the Second Coming of Christ and the eternal judgment by God of all humans. It took Michelangelo five years to paint the Last Judgment, from 1536-1541. This piece is arguably the most impressive work of art done by Michelangelo because of its detailed work and because
According to Penofsky iconography is the branch of art history which ‘concerns itself with the subject matter or meaning of works of art”. In the Last Judgment iconographic analysis is essential in understanding the meaning behind the work. While having a basic knowledge of the Holy Bible will obviously give you a basic understanding of Michelangelo’s work, it is also possible to understand the work without any previous knowledge by using iconography. For example, most people know that fire is closely related to the concept of death and hell. Likewise, Heaven is closely associated with clouds and angels. Using these concepts, one already becomes somewhat familiar with the idea of the Last Judgment. The cross is an obvious symbol of Christianity. St. “Bartholomew holds a sheet of his own skin in his left hand and in his right hand is a knife. This symbolizes the terrible fate of Bartholomew who was flayed alive.” The sagging skin the man is holding is said to have the face of Michelangelo who added his self-portrait methodically into his piece. For example, “Saint Catherine carries a wheel because she was martyred on the spokes of a wheel. Saint Lawrence carries a grill, because he was burned to death, and Saint Sebastian carries arrows because his entire body was pierced by arrows”. The boat with the man pushing people towards shows them being cast away from the rest and order to spend eternity in hell. The angels grasping for others is a sign of them being welcomed into Heaven and the struggle to get there. On “either side of Christ [who is in the middle] directly are important figures, like Eve, and also Saints, many of whom died particularly painful deaths. We can identify these saints by what they carry. Usually [they] carry the instruments of their martyrdom, or some other identifying attribute.