Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is, first and foremost,
an outstanding work of art. At the same time however, it is also a passage that
can be read to provide the ideals of humanism and religion of the time. One
question that is pondered is how the ceiling regards the humanist ideal that “man
is the measure of all things.” Despite the intensely religious subject matter,
Michelangelo's painting vibrantly expresses a humanist conception of man. As
Kurt Vonnegut succinctly described, “Being a Humanist means trying to behave
decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead (AHA 1).”
The Sistine Chapel is not a painting only about God or religion. It is a
painting about the glory and exultation of man, and an expression of some
humanist ideals including putting man in the center of one’s world view.
Michelangelo's ceiling reads as a glorious declaration
that man is the measure of all things, or in other words that man should be
admired for his accomplishments, honored, and that his time in this life is not
only a preparation of his time in the next life. Very clearly this does not try
to counter all of the overwhelmingly obvious religious symbolism and
connotations. Instead it places man in the center of the view of the divine and
suggests that the Sistine Chapel ceiling is about the virtuous man’s relation
to God and his life that is lived in God’s grace. It does not see the ceiling
as a celebration of that God; it sees it as a celebration of a man who places
himself at the center of his life. It is a man who cares about his family and
state, and a man who strives toward excellence. It is a man who is religious,
but doesn’t let religion define his life.
Is this “human exultation” interpretation even
debated? I believe that it is. Robin Richmond in her book Michelangelo and
the Creation of the Sistine Chapel does not see only the religious aspect
of the ceiling. It is to conceal the full significance of the work which is a
celebration of man, and illustration of some humanist ideals. The first piece
of evidence supporting such a claim comes from the planning of the ceiling Michelangelo
did before settling on his final program of decoration. Michelangelo, the
Sistine Chapel Ceiling edited by Charles Seymour contains drawings
showing early designs Michelangelo considered before arriving at what we now
see. The original project placed the twelve Apostles on thrones in a similar
position as the Prophets and Sibyls and on the vault was a pattern of circles
in squares, and rectangles and diamonds. This would place emphasis solely on
the religious aspects of the Apostles. Yes, the Apostles are men, but they
would have been enthroned and the depiction would probably represent their
“office” more than any individual. The entire vault would be filled with abstract
shapes leaving God’s Apostles as the only subject mater. Michelangelo's second
design calls for a reorganization of the central geometry into octagons, ovals,
and rectangles (
The third major point that stakes out this argument relates to the panels themselves. Their content suggests that after man’s creation he becomes Michelangelo’s central actor and replaces God as the focus of the work. The family and also the good of other people take on a significant role. Not that God is done away with, just that in the public arena it is man’s actions that count, not piety. Addressed in chronological order, God moves around in the first five panels busy creating stuff and departs after the Creation of Eve. Men and women are the exclusive subjects in the subsequent panels. After God sets the stage for man’s coming, he assumes a background role. What also appears is an idea of virtuous behavior outside of religion in The Flood. All of the figures not on the Arc are condemned by God, yet Michelangelo still recognizes the virtue of the man struggling to carry another onto the rocks. Also the conception of patriarchy in Sacrifice of Noah implies that Noah is not just sacrificing to please God, but also because he has a duty to the well being of his children and wife.
To say once again, the Sistine Chapel ceiling should
always be respected as a work of exceptional art, but it can also be viewed in
a historical context for what information it may yield about the embodiment of
humanist ideals. The ceiling also expresses an exultation and admiration of man
as an independent being. And the central panels show that in Michelangelo’s narrative,
man is at the center of things after his beginning.
Bibliography
American Humanist Association. http://www.americanhumanist.org/about/faqs.html.
2002
Richmond,
Robin. Michelangelo and the Creation of the Sistine Chapel. Barrie &
Jenkins: Hong Kong. 1992