The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - sample short art essay

This example short college essay looks at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It compares how the ceiling paintings, called pendentives, are linked to a wall painting that depicts the Last Judgment. This sample college short paper would be a good reference for a student who has been given an image a work and wants to discuss it.

The Sistine Chapel: Analyzing a masterpiece

Michelangelo cleverly linked the ceiling of the Sistine chapel and his later painting of the Last Judgment by using parallel images. This can especially be seen with the pendentives. In the left pendentive, one can find the The Punishment of Haman, wherein the man who attempted to destroy the Persian Jews is executed by Esther's husband. The crucifixion image is applied again in The Last Judgment as we see angels carrying up the cross, an instrument of the passion. Similarly, on the right pendentive, we see an image of the bronze serpent wrapping around a column. Michelangelo continued this theme in the painting below by having angels carrying the column Jesus was whipped on, another instrument of the passion, up to heaven.

Notice too that even Jonah plays a part in linking the two works together. Jonah serves a unique role as a prophet, because he was spat out of a fish after three days - a parallel to the resurrection of Christ. Following the direction of Jonah's arm, one can see he is pointing at the cross - Jonah in the painting is predicting that a savior will ultimately take a journey like he did and rise again when everyone thought he was dead.

Interestingly, several elements introduced by Luca Signorelli in his Last Judgment frescoes at Orvieto are mirrored in Michelangelo's work. First, we can't help but notice the muscular power of the bodies. The men and women of the heavenly host are shown with robust bodies, with defined muscles. Signorelli painted his men and women very similar, especially when they were rising from the dead. Also, the way the damned and the elect are treated mirror Signorelli. Michelangelo's elect stand on the left side of the painting, with expressions of joy, while the damned, who try to fight their way up, are prevented by demons. Angels, just like in Signorelli's work, stand watch from heaven to prevent the damned from entering. However, Michelangelo takes Signorelli's vision and expands it - he has Jesus turning, perhaps to point towards the damned. Mary looks away from the right side of the painting, perhaps because she can no longer intercede for them and the scene is too gruesome for her to watch. Finally, in a dramatic personal touch, St. Bartholomew holds up a sack of skin, asking Jesus whether he should let it drop into hell or not. The skin depicts Michelangelo's face, and the artist seems to indicate that he, too, is in God's hands at the end of time.
 
418 words/ 2 pages