The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is about 800 square meters, and Michaelangelo painted it! His famous paintings were mostly taken from the Old and New Testaments.
The Michaelangelo Sistine Chapel exhibit at the Fairfield Commons Malls in Dayton, Ohio showcased more than 30 artfully displayed reproductions of the artist’s masterpieces.
Here are some of the paintings.
DAVID AND GOLIATH
The battle between the shepherd boy David and the giant warrior Goliath is a symbolic representation of the battle between the righteous and a seemingly invincible opponent. David went into battle against Goliath, a warrior of the Philistines, who were threatening the Israelites. With courage, cleverness and the support of God, he successfully defeats his opponent. Michelangelo’s painting depicts the moment of triumph, with Goliath already lying on the ground and David pulling back his sword ready to cut off his head.
JUDITH SLAYS HOLOFERNES
The story of the Jewish woman Judith and the Babylonian general Holofernes is written in the Book of Judith in the Old Testament. Holofernes’ army laid siege to the city of Bethulia around 600 BC. In order to protect the city against its imminent conquest, Judith left the Israelites and made her way to the enemy encampment, where she intoxicated Holofernes so that she could subsequently behead him. Michelangelo shows how Judith and her maidservant sneak away from the scene unnoticed after committing the act.
THE DELPHIC SIBYL
The depictions of the sibyls and prophets are all embedded in painted architecture and impressively presented in marble alcoves. The portraits do not, however, seem static. By varying the postures of the sibyls and prophets depicted, Michelangelo has successfully given the seated figures an additional dynamic element. The sibyl from the Greek town of Delphi seems to have been reading her scroll before suddenly being moved by the Word of God. She prophesied that the coming Messiah would be mocked with a crown of thorns.
THE ANCESTORS OF CHRIST JOSIAH
Josiah, also known as Yoshiyahu, was the King of Judah from 640 to 609 BC. After his father Amon was assassinated, he ascended to the throne at the age of just eight. Josiah was ultimately killed in battle with the advancing Egyptians. A lamentation of Jeremiah, an image of which can also be found in the ceiling frescoes, is dedicated to Josiah’s memory. This painting yet again shows a small family, a motif used in the series of ancestors time and time again as a reference to the Holy Family. For background information on the series of ancestors, please refer to number 100.
THE PROPHET ISAIAH
The prophet Isaiah foretold the sacrificial death of the coming Messiah. He lived in the 8th century BC in Judah, the kingdom surrounding Jerusalem that was established by the biblical King David. In this painting, Isaiah has placed the fingers on his right hand between the pages of his book as if he wants to carry on reading shortly. His attention, however, is focused on the small figure standing behind him. These figures always appear in pairs in the depictions of the prophets and sibyls. They are considered to be conveyors of God’s message.
THE ANCESTORS OF CHRIST EZECHIAS
Like Asa, Ezechias, who is also known as Hezekiah, was the King of Judah. He lived from 752 to 697 BC and was therefore alive at a time in which the Kingdom of Judah was fiercely besieged by the Kingdom of Assyria. As a result, Ezechias often consulted the prophet Isaiah to ask him for advice and request God’s assistance through him. Nevertheless, instead of showing King Ezechias in the battle against the threatening armies, this painting depicts him as a small child nestling up against his father while his mother regards him sorrowfully. For background information on the series of ancestors, please refer to number 100.
THE PROPHET DANIEL
Michelangelo’s depictions of the prophets and sibyls show them reading. The fact that they are always holding scrolls or books is intended to symbolise their intellectual activity. Michelangelo also depicted the prophet Daniel writing, as if he wanted to record God’s message for future generations. It is thought that Daniel lived around the year 600 BC. As a descendent of the People of Israel, he spent many years working as a scribe in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, where he was above all valued for his ability to interpret dreams.
THE PROPHET JONAH
The depiction of Jonah forms part of a group of paintings showing a total of seven biblical prophets, all of which foretold the coming of a me ssiah.The books of these prophets tell their life stories, explore their dreams & visions and comprise the fourth part of the Old Testament. Jonah is considered to be a prefiguration of Christ. He was swallowed by a whale and only escaped after three days and three nights, the precise amount of time for which Jesus spent in the tomb after being crucified and before his resurrection on the third day.
THE CREATION OF ADAM
“The Creation of Adam” is the most famous painting of the ceiling frescoes. Adam lies casually in the left-hand side of the image while the dynamic figure of God approaches from the right. The figure of God, depicted in front of a flowing red robe, is surrounded by a multitude of small beings. The point of focus in this image composition is not, however, these small figures, but the implied yet incomplete contact between God and his greatest creation, mankind.
THE CREATION OF EVE
The “Creation of Eve” is the central painting on the chapel’s arched ceiling. It depicts Adam sunk into an absent-minded sleep while Eve, in contrast, reaches out towards her creator. In this painting, Michelangelo has included a representation of God, who appears as an archaic father figure, ensouling Eve with his gaze. Eve enters the world as a sinner and it is due to her actions that salvation through Christ arising from original sin is necessary in the first place. She is therefore also the ultimate legitimization of the Church and the papacy, which strive to continue the work of Christ.
THE FALL OF MAN AND EXPULSION FROM PARADISE
The second group of paintings on the arched roof depict the story of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. In this painting, Michelangelo chose to combine two successive scenes. The left-hand side of the image shows the fall of man, with Eve taking the fruit of knowledge from the serpent and in doing so, going against God’s will. The painting also shows Adam reaching out for fruit from the tree. On the right-hand side, the archangel Michael uses his extended sword to expel the sinners from paradise.
See the rest of the paintings by visiting the exhibition. Buy your tickets here: https://sistinechapelexhibit.com/dayton/
Location: Mall at Fairfield Commons (Upper level of previous Elder-Beerman) Beavercreek, OH. Click this link for Google Map directions.
Credit: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Experience
