Michelangelo's flayed self-portrait in The Last Judgment The Vatican's Sistine Chapel housed its first mass on this day in 1438. In remembrance, let's explore Michelangelo's magnificient murals in this house of worship: "The Last Judgement" and "Creation of Adam." These Renaissance frescoes reveal more than epic Biblical scenes. Hidden within robust figures and billowing clouds, you'll find the artist's boneless self-portrait dangling from Bartholomew's hand, while silhouettes of a human brain and heart emerge -- perhaps pieces of the Michelangelo Code. But a few body parts remain hidden for all time, thanks to the chapel's former master of ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena. Declaring depictions of nude bodies in church obscene, he hired the artist's apprentice, Daniele da Volterra, to conceal genitals in the artwork. Adversely, Michelangelo painted Cesena as Minos, the ugly judge in hell. So many secrets on the walls of this chapel -- is there even more than meets the eye? Suggested Sites... USA Today: Cardinals Told to Let Michelangelo Be Their Teacher - learn about the controversies and history of Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel. Humanities Web: The Sistine Ceiling - read a note from Michelangelo and view close-up images of characters in the ceiling mural. Vatican Museums: Sistine Chapel - take a virtual tour of the chapel. Web Gallery of Art: Visit the Sistine Chapel - view interior and exterior images of the famous church.

Directory categories: Sistine Chapel, Creation of Adam, The Last Judgement, Michelangelo

Archived under: Artists, Arts, History, Regional, Religion

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