1500 – 1600
End of the Renaissance and the Reformation

Michelangelo's Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel


Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, fresco, 1508-1512 (Vatican City, Rome)
Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker

 

Your Comments (4)

Previous Comments

Ann Albritton wrote on Wednesday, February 03, 2010

I'm loving using some of your 'talks' in my survey class this semester... Will you be attending CAA? Would love to chat.

Beth Harris wrote on Sunday, April 25, 2010

Thanks Ann! Will drop you an email - would love to hear how you are using Smarthistory in teaching.

Dana Howard wrote on Friday, August 06, 2010

Am loving the second life! I am building an online AP Art History class and using Smarthistory and Voice Threads to take it off the page. Thanks for the great work!

Debbie Graham wrote on Saturday, January 01, 2011

The image is a reference to the Gospel of John--remember the church and the followers of the Christian faith would except the concept of the logos existing next to God before Creation (John:1). We cannot interpret the symbolism with the eyes of 20th/ 21st century secularism that has discarded the religion and theology. One must also remember the religious influences that have acted directly and indirectly on Michelangelo. Savonarola was a firery evangelist who preached in Florence while Michelangelo was there. His burning of the art and speeches against the humanism of the ancient Greeks left an impression on the young Michelangello that we see reflected in his late Pieta and the Last Judgement. And while he wins the discussion for the design of the ceiling he is also given a Cardinal to assist him theologically. If you review his notebooks he discusses these things in letters to his father.

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Where and When

Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Rome, Italy
1508-12
This work is an open educational resource and This work is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license.