My Favorite Painting

What a good idea for a blog! I have come to understand that most of you, classmates, had a bit of a tough time deciding on a special painting for this assignment. I hate to say it, but my reaction was entirely the opposite. Though I know there is an infinate number of spectacular paintings in our world, only one came to mind for me: Michealangelo's Creation of Adam--my favorite, favorite. Can you believe this painting took years to complete? Amazing...

This magnificent piece of art was completed in 1511 A.D. by the very famous Michaelangelo. The Creation of Adam is painted onto the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City (Italy), and the medium Michaelangelo used was fresco ( the ink/limewater mixture). On this note: I have learned that fresco was widely used by the painters of the Renaissance (Michaelangelo's era) as well as the Greeks and Romans.

This painting has been said to be one of the most famous in the world; I'm sure that most of you recognize the image above. In case you are wondering what exactly the painting means, it is a depiction of God giving Adam his first breath of life, a passage out of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testement in the Christian Bible. God is the powerful looking man with the white beard; Adam would be the naked man in a relaxed position on what appears to be a sheet or a cloud, soulfully looking into the eyes of God. There is a slight distance between the two, the fingers just barely touching is God sending into Adam the spark of life.

A little bit about about the man behind the painting: well, Im sure every one has heard of the artist Michaelangelo at some point or another. One of the most known painters of the Renaissance and without a doubt in the history of art. To the right is a headshot of him; you are looking at one of the most talented men of all time. Not only an incredible painter, but also an architect, poet and engineer who made invaluable contributions to the Renaissance. He was right there, side by side with Leonardo da Vinci, another very famous Italian of that era.

Michaelangelo's most famous work, by far and wide, is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He was invited to do this work by Pope Julius II, and completed the 12 apostles, 9 episodes and altogether 300 figures in just over four years (wow!) The most impressive part of this whole feat: he painted the entire ceiling lying on his back.

Very often, you will see the centralized version of this painting (which I love); with the close up of these two fingers just barely touching each other. See below:

This brings me to why I chose this painting. Ok, I'll be honest--the first reason is that it is hanging in my living room. Another reason: I attended Catholic School earlier on, and in the back of our church was an enormous replica of this painting, so the memories, good memories, come back when I see it.

Most of all though: there is something about this painting, and for that matter most of the old Renaissance art work that is unlike any other. There is a mysticism, and an eroticism about it. To me, it is almost otherworldy (as it literally depicts)...I swear to this day that there is truly no artwork like the artwork that came out of the Renaissance. An uncomparable beauty...