Last Judgement, Michelangelo

Last Judgement, Michelangelo

The Last Judgment is often regarded as one of Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces. Inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, this fresco was commissioned by Pope Paul III; preparations began in 1535, painting commenced the following year, and the fresco finally emerged on October 31, 1541. Its creation required the destruction of the frescoes by Perugino that previously adorned the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.

Although The Last Judgment is iconic today, it was controversial in its own time. The most significant concern about the fresco was the widespread nudity, later covered by Michelangelo's student Daniele da Volterra and ultimately revealed again by restorers. Of course, Michelangelo was fascinated with the splendor of the human body (as clearly seen throughout his work), but the nudity of the figures in The Last Judgment, combined with the emotional fury of their movements, highlights their vulnerabilities amidst the surrounding chaos.

Michelangelo groups the figures to create a sense of compositional structure, yet still thoroughly explores the emotional personality of each individual. Perhaps the best example of this creativity is a character in the lower right middle of the frescoes, a damned soul descending into hell, seemingly terrified amidst the struggling figures around him, unable to resist his fate: he covers one eye with his hand and there is a pure expression of fear on his face. The figure holding his own skin is Saint Bartholomew, usually considered an auto-portrait of Michelangelo. Michelangelo's genius was his ability to explore the psychological responses of so many characters with the same conviction.

Michelangelo's The Last Judgment covers the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel. The painting depicts the second coming of Christ, and while the artist clearly draws inspiration from the Bible, his own creative vision predominates in this painting.

The painting radiates outward from the central figure of Jesus, and Michelangelo chose to depict the various saints in the painting holding the instruments of their martyrdom, rather than in actual scenes of torture.

While executing his "Last Judgment," it appears as if Michelangelo was given artistic license to paint scenes not only from the Bible but also from mythology.

It was decided that artwork in sacred spaces should be modest, and Michelangelo's student Daniele da Volterra was tasked with covering the naked figures with loin cloths and veils. Originally all the figures were naked. Other over-paintings were added for the same reason over the next two centuries.