Michelangelo's "Last Judgment" - Article Example

The Last Judgment The Last Judgment is the greatest work of art of the famous Michelangelo, painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Unlike the earlier works of the master The Last Judgment doesn’t anthemise the powerful energy of God’s creation but describes the huge crash of the entire world as retaliation for all the sins done by humans. In the fresco Michelangelo breaks with centuries of iconographic tradition and describes not the moment when the last judgment is being made and saints and sinners are being separated from each other, but the very beginning of the Judgment.

Dreadful Jesus holds his hand up retributively, therefore the saints, angels, and disciples around him are extremely frightened of the wrath of God. The pose that takes Virgin Mary symbolizes helplessness and imminence of what is going to happen with the world and humanity. On the top left side of the fresco angels upset cross symbolizing martyrdom and humiliation, and on the right top they plunge column, a symbol of passing human power. The part of the painting underneath Christ symbolizes the two ways where souls can go after the Judgment which are heaven and hell.

Seven angels proclaim the hour of judgment and name those who are either being saved or dismissed to hell. The fresco itself describes the inevitability of God’s wrath. Thus, there is no way out of the Judgment and it is the issue for everyone, so no one could avoid requital for the sins they’ve done.