The Creation of Adam (The Donnadio)

Michelangelo Buonarroti, c. 1511

fresco

480 × 230 cm, 189.0 × 90.6 in

Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

The Creation of Adam prior to the 1980 restoration of the Sistine Chapel ceiling

The Creation of Adam is a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo Buonarroti circa 1511. It illustrates the Biblical story from the Book of Genesis in which God the Father breathes life into Adam, the first man. Chronologically the fourth in the series of panels depicting episodes from Genesis on the Sistine ceiling, it was among the last to be completed. It is arguably one of the most famous and most appreciated images in the world. God creates Adam by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. ... Year 1511 (MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Download high resolution version (1000x727, 155 KB)Michelangelo Buonarrotis The Creation of Adam The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Download high resolution version (1000x727, 155 KB)Michelangelo Buonarrotis The Creation of Adam The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... For other uses, see Fresco (disambiguation). ... The iconic image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam. ... The Sistine Chapel (Italian: ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in the Vatican City. ... Michelangelo (full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) (March 6, 1475 - February 18, 1564) was a Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet. ... Year 1511 (MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... For other uses, see Genesis (disambiguation). ... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ... Michelangelos The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Adam, with Eve in His arm. ... Photograph of a nude man by Wilhelm von Gloeden, ca. ...

Composition

God is depicted as an elderly bearded man laying on a kidney which he shares with some cherubim. The kidney was considered to be the organ that is essential for the body to stay alive in Michaelangelo's time, so it often represented life in art. His left arm is wrapped around a female figure, normally interpreted as Eve, who is not yet created and, figuratively, waits in heaven to be given an earthly form. God's right arm is outstretched to impart the spark of life from his own finger into that of Adam, whose left arm is extended in a pose mirroring God's. Famously, Adam's finger and God's finger are separated by a slight distance. The kidneys are organs that filter wastes (such as urea) from the blood and excrete them, along with water, as urine. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Michelangelos The Creation of Eve, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Eve from the side of Adam. ...

The composition is obviously artistic and not literal, as Adam is capable of reaching out to God even before he has actually been given "life". For this same reason, Eve is visually depicted prior to her own creation. The inclusion of Eve has led some people to believe the female figure must be Adam's mythical first wife, Lilith, although Lilith was also created after Adam. “Lilitu” redirects here. ...

The similar poses of God and Adam – the positions of God's right leg and Adam's right leg are, for instance, nearly identical – reflect the fact that, according to Genesis 1:27, God created man in His own image. At the same time God, who is airborne and appears against ovoid drapery, is contrasted with earthbound Adam, lying on a stable triangle of barren ground (Adam's name comes from a Hebrew word meaning "earth"). “Hebrew” redirects here. ...

The inspiration for Michelangelo's treatment of the subject may come from a medieval hymn called Veni Creator Spiritus, which asks the 'finger of the paternal right hand' (digitus paternae dexterae) to give the faithful speech, love and strength. [1] The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a god or other religiously significant figure. ... Veni Creator Spiritus is a hymn normally sung in Gregorian Chant and is considered the most famous of hymns. ...

Adam's index finger, the most famous in Western art alongside God's, is in fact not wholly the work of Michelangelo. It was damaged by a crack that appeared in the ceiling in the mid-16th century and was restored by the papacy. The Index finger The index finger, pointer finger or forefinger is the second digit of a human hand, located between the thumb and the middle finger. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

Another theory of the meaning of "The Creation of Adam", is that God's position in the piece is that of full outreach, indicating that he is giving all effort to reach the hand of Adam. Adam, seems very relaxed, and doesn't seem as interested to reach out, which is shown in his loose arm and hand. These two representations show us that at any point in time, all man has to do is reach out to God, and he will be there to help, or lend a helping hand.

Anatomical theories

Several hypotheses have been put forward about the meaning of The Creation of Adam's highly original composition, many of them taking Michelangelo's well-documented expertise in human anatomy as their starting point. In 1990 a physician named Frank Lynn Meshberger noted in the medical publication the Journal of the American Medical Association that the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain, including the frontal lobe, optic chiasm, brain stem, pituitary gland, and the major sulci of the cerebrum. Alternatively, it has been observed that the red cloth around God has the shape of a human uterus (one art historian has called it a "uterine mantle"^[1]), and that the scarf hanging out, coloured green, could be a newly cut umbilical cord. The Doctor by Luke Fildes This article is about the term physician, one type of doctor; for other uses of the word doctor see Doctor. ... JAMA, published continuously since in 1883, is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal published 48 times per year. ... For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... The frontal lobe is an area in the brain of vertebrates. ... Visual pathway with optic chiasm circled The optic chiasm (from the Greek χλαζειν to mark with an X, after the letter Χ chi) is the part of the brain where the optic nerves partially cross, those parts of the right eye which see things on the right side being connected to the... The brain stem is the lower part of the brain, adjoining and structurally continuous with the spinal cord. ... The pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea that sits in a small, bony cavity (sella turcica) covered by a dural fold (sellar diaphragm) at the base of the brain. ... A sulcus (pl. ... The telencephalon (te-len-seff-a-lon) is the technical name for a large region within the brain which is attributed many functions, which some groups would class as unique features which make humans stand out from other species. ... This article is about female reproductive anatomy. ... In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is a tube that connects a developing embryo or fetus to the placenta. ...

Notes

1. ^ Stokes, p. 89

• The creation of Adam is also known as The Donnadio, or gift of God in modern English.

References

• Day, Fergus & Williams, David (ed.) (1998). Art: A World History
• Meshberger, Frank Lynn. "An Interpretation of Michelangelo's Creation of Adam Based on Neuroanatomy", JAMA. 1990 Oct 10; 264(14):1837-41.
• Stokes, Adrian (1955). Michelangelo: A Study in the Nature of Art
• Letters in comment: JAMA. 1991 Mar 6; 265(9):1111.