Anatomical Interpretation of the Concept of Mind - Essay Example

EXPLORING A WORK OF ART: MICHELANGELO’S CREATION OF ADAM Initial exploration and analysis This assignment is and exploration of Michelangelo’s famous fresco found at the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, Vatican and painted between 1511 and 1512 (Salcman, 2006). The artwork is called the Creation of Adam. The artwork is Michelangelo’s finest masterpiece of the high renaissance and religious art (Kleetus, 2005). The Creation of Adam, when closely examined features two worlds; the upper world and the lower world. In between these worlds, there are two visible figures; that of Adam on the viewer’s left and that of God slightly elevated on the viewer’s right (Salcman, 2006). There is an established communication between Adam (man) and God (divine). Adam is seen stretching his hand reluctantly and loosely to receive what God is presenting to him. God is trying to transmit some sought of divinity to man. This is being attempted by bringing their fingers as close as possible but it is clear the fingers do not establish a contact. This could be the impossibility of God and man being into contact. The story is biblical though and it has it that after Creation of Adam, God breathed life into him. In the bible there is nowhere we are told that there was a lot of resistance in the process. However, in the creation of man, the work presents an interesting fact (Kleetus, 2005). God is seen trying to reach Adam with all his might. He is stretching his index finger to touch that of Adam. It seems there is a resistance in form of a wind, which is trying to deny him a chance to communicate to his creation. The presence of a wind-like force is depicted in the direction of God’s legs and those of the angels surrounding him. The implication from the figure here is that God is trying with all his might to touch and transmit his mightiness to hid creation amidst a strong opposing force. On the other hand, dam does not seem to have the energy and effort to reach to God. Adam is relaxed and while God is using his right hand to reach him, Adam is using his right hand to support his lazily leaning body and reluctantly uses his left hand to respond to God’s attempt to reach him. The left hand has to be supported by his left leg knee for that case. Adam’s body is leaning against God and it seems he is not willing enough or putting enough effort to make the divine connection with God. The body language of the two is totally different and while one is responding with strength to establish a connection, the receiver is not so much putting an effort to receive. A closer look at the index fingers of the two subjects in the fresco shows that God’s index finger is fully stretched to the maximum while that of Adam is limp (Salcman, 2006). All what is needed for Adam and God to make a connection is for Adam to straighten his finger a little. Adam has lost a lot of opportunity for this connection to be established because of the way he is seated and his posture, which shows no willingness to make such a powerful contact. In this case, the artwork depicts Adam with the desire to connect but the strength is not there. Another visible aspect is the color of God and that of Adam. The two colors are the some as opposed to the color of those surrounding God himself. This shows the divine connection of commonness that exists between God and his most loved creation on earth. It also confirms the assertion in the bible that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (Gen 1:27). Michelangelo used the visual design to establish a relationship that the bible does not clearly define. The visual strategies of color, texture, position and the body language between God and Adam is created through a refined effort. While the man is fully supported and seated on the land, God is suspended on the air with nothing to support him. The two worlds are distinct. The central parts of the artwork where Adam and God are communicating are an imagery of how God requires man to put an effort to need him, just a little effort. In this artwork, what Adam needs is to stretch his index finger and establish a divine connection with his creator. But he is not and he is loosing an opportunity. It symbolizes the desire of God to reach and inspire man and the unwillingness of man to establish the connection. Moreover, God being all powerful and almighty most likely is using his power and reaching to man and leaving a small distance between them because he requires man to make a little effort. Just a little effort and they will connect and man will benefit as a result. The work’s History The Creation of Adam was done between 1508 and1512 and is recognized as the world’s great art treasure. The work was done by the brilliant Italian renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti and was commissioned by Pope Julius II. History has it that Michelangelo was not helped by anybody in the creation of the work. The Creation of Adam painting is said to have suffered a great effect from smoke and between 1977 and 1989 the ceiling was done and a lot of details were revealed. By the time the creation of man was done, all art was marked by religious themes and this could explain the reason most artists were commissioned to do such frescos. The bible was an inspiration and the visual interpretation that went beyond the surface of human interpretation of bible was needed. Michelangelo must have mastered this interpretation and used his artistic skills to bring such a powerful interpretation of the creation story through the Creation of Adam. The creation of man in particular would be useful for the pope and other believers who needed to understand the difference between God and man and the need for God to outreach to the unwilling man. Christians must have used the fresco to understand the little effort God needs them to put so as to establish a divine connection with him and all the benefits that comes with it. Researching the work The Creation of Adam fresco features Adam and God reaching each other and their arms outstretched with fingers almost touching. Researchers have argued that the closeness of the index fingers generate an imagination of a spark of life jumping from God to Adam across the synapse between their finger tips (Steinberg, 1992). However, it is clear that Adam is already alive and the intention from the picture is that Adam is to receive something from God. A medical scholar Meshberger (1990) used a perspective that many scholars had overlooked. He argued that the art piece has an anatomically accurate in depicting the image of the human brain portrayed behind God. Meshberger (1990) posited that upon close examination of the borders in the painting, they correlate with Sulci of the inner and outer surface of the brain. Georgio Vesaris, a contemporary documenter of the lives of artists has argued that the works of Michelangelo reflect the great knowledge of anatomy that resulted from his experience in dissecting human body. Michelangelo is reported to flay dead bodies in order to enrich his knowledge on the human anatomy. Scholars have also developed hypotheses regarding the identity and meaning of the figures around God. They have argued that the person under God’s arm could be eve due to her feminine appearance and gaze towards Adam. Others have suggested that it is Virgin Mary, a personified human soul or an angel of feminine build (Gardner & Kleiner, 2009). Another interpretation of the creation of man is given by historians who argue that the red cloth around God is shaped like uterus and thus prompted the name “uterine mantle” (Stokes, 1955). The scuff hanging out has been likened to the newly cut umbilical cord (Bruschini, 2004). These interpretations are significant because they give the creation event a representation of a physical birth that marks the beginning of life. Bruschini (2004, p.112) analyzes that the view gives an explanation of the navel that Adam has and which created an enigma since Adam was created and not born of a woman. Creation of Adam as a work of art The Creation of Adam is a work, which is not easy to interpret even if it comes from a simple and popular account of creation in the bible. Since Michelangelo took his time and employed his genius to create a work that has been generating controversy and different interpretations for centuries, it remains a masterpiece in the works of art. It is a creative work whose meaning is both at the surface and deep hidden in the style used and the enigma of the characters. The creation of man is a thrilling and challenging piece to interpret and understand. It is not only challenging to the viewers, but also not a so direct art piece to understand and given the interpretations by scholars from different disciplines, only Michelangelo can tell what his intentions was when he included aspects of the Fresco. The creation of man is a high renaissance art whose complexity can only be left to philosophers to decipher and try to find the meaning in Michelangelo’s mind and not the one we all know from the holy bible. A disturbing question has been based on the identity of the feminine figures that are next to God. There is one particular female who is embraced under the armpits of God and it has been argued that since her placement is not just like the placement of other figures she must be a significant figure in the whole project. Many speculations have been that she could be eve waiting at the sides to be created from Adam’s rib. Others have reasoned that she must be eve because of the way she is staring at her future husband. More recent speculations have changed the theory of the female figure’s identity by positing that she is Virgin Mary. From the interpretation, it has been argued that Virgin Mary takes her position of honor next to God and the child next to her is baby Jesus Christ. For example, no one knows the identity of women who surround God. No one knows why Adam is so reluctant to establish a connection with God and even the other force that is puling God away from his creation and which denies his union with his most adored creation while we all know that God is almighty. The theory is also placed on the placement of God’s fingers on the child’s. The artistic part of it is that if this theory is correct, it shows that Michelangelo created an allusion in the creation story of the future coming of Christ. In all aspects, the Creation of Adam is an artistic piece in which Michelangelo proved his prowess. These artistic aspects are depicted in the contrast created between sluggish body of Adam and the energetic body of God, the painting style, which encompasses the whole fresco project, the use of muscular and twisted bodies, which are like sculptures. Beneath these simple physical aspects are the controversial themes, identities and meanings of some figures, aspects and details in the fresco. The fact that the art work has attracted different interpretations makes it a master piece in the history of art. Interpretational Perspectives The Creation of Adam is a piece developed from a very common creation story. Culturally, it came at a time when Christianity was a culture and a religion of the time and Italy. Being a high renaissance time, a lot of realism was being incorporated into the art and lifestyle likewise. The fact that the people are depicted naked and the placement of the piece was the church was a kind of realistic appreciation and break from the tough moral based art of before. The whole piece is symbolic of the creation story. If the theory of uterus is something to believe, them Michelangelo conceptualized a creation story similar to the birth of a human being. It could mean that the real birth of a person is the beginning of the world. This is depicted by the helplessness and lack of energy just as a small child. Apart from the different identities of the female figure embraced by God, Michelangelo is said to have used the comparative outlines of God and Adam. In this case, scholars argue that while God and the angels surrounding him are eclipsed into a symbolic cosmic egg, Adam forms an incomplete oval. The meaning of this interpretation remains in the hands of speculators and scholars in art. Another perspective in this is the history of image and design. The history of the Creation of Adam is based on the time; a time when religion was the centre of all things. The work was commissioned by a catholic pope, meaning that it was dear to religion, which was the strongest movement of the time. This is seen in the subject matter taken from the bible and the supposed function of the work, which was likely to remind believers that they have to make an effort to reach God. In a formalist approach, the Creation of Adam is a depiction of the visual elements and physical aspects that the artist considered. This is what makes it more of a work of art. The visual elements such as color, perspectives, lines and space are a significant in understanding and interpreting the Creation of Adam. For example it is through a formalist approach that one will understand that there is a force puling God away from Adam. Judgments and Conclusions The Creation of Adam is an enigmatic complex piece that is not easy to understand. For example, the reason as to why Michelangelo decided to complicate the creation story by including the likes of Mary or eve or whoever the feminine characters are remains unresolved and will remain so forever. The Creation of Adam is a masterpiece although it comes from a well known account of creation. The interpretations such as anatomical interpretation of the concept of mind are somehow limiting the enigma. The interpretation based on the scuff that surrounds God as uterus and the flowing green scuff as a cut umbilical cord are also demystifying some aspects regarding the question. However, the Creation of Adam has and will never have a specific interpretation. Michelangelo never meant it to be so. The work is a real art piece, which is interesting to keep viewing and every second of look at it comes with it a generation of difficult and unanswerable questions. Interestingly, it can fit in many interpretational perspectives including feminine, environmental and others depending on the person viewing them. References Bruschini, E. (2004). Masterpieces of the Vatican. Vatican City: Edizioni Musei Vaticani.  Gardner, H. & Kleiner, F. S. (2009). Gardners Art Through the Ages. A Concise Global History (2nd ed.). Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Kleetus K. V. (2005). Michelangelo and the Human Dignity : An Anthropological Reading of the SistineFrescoes (Bangalore: Asian Trading Corp.), pp. 31-35. Meshberger, L. (1990). An Interpretation of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam Based on Neuroanatomy. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 264 (14):1837-1841. Salcman, M. (2006). The Creation of Adam By Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) Congress of Neurological, 59(6), 11–14. Steinberg, L. (1992). Who’s Who in Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam: A Chronology of the Picture’s Reluctant Self-Revelation. Art Bulletin, 74 (4), 552-566. Stokes, A. (1955). Michelangelo. A study in the nature of art.  London: Tavistock Publications. Sutherland, B. (2013). Cameo Appearances on the Sistine Ceiling. Source: Notes in the History of Art (Ars Brevis Foundation, Inc.) 32 (2), 12-18. Read More