Althouse: The Sistine Chapel.

May 28, 2010

The Sistine Chapel.

An amazingly complete photographic view.

(WARNING: some nudity.)

38 comments:

Known Unknown said...: What does Ken Starr have to do with the Sistine Chapel?

Check thy links!; 5/28/10, 9:55 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/28/10, 9:55 AM
kjbe said...: Opps.; 5/28/10, 9:58 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Forgive my sin.

Enjoy....; 5/28/10, 10:06 AM
MadisonMan said...: I think it would be a good place to listen to a sermon, because you could look at the decorations during the boring parts.; 5/28/10, 10:08 AM
Palladian said...: Incredible.

Speechless.; 5/28/10, 10:08 AM
Anonymous said...: Forgive my sin.

Enjoy....

ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis; 5/28/10, 10:12 AM
master cylinder said...: wow-that is a trip.; 5/28/10, 10:13 AM
Anonymous said...: The link is beyond words!!!!!!!.

Was the artist really a mortal?; 5/28/10, 10:14 AM
kjbe said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/28/10, 10:19 AM
kjbe said...: Forgiven.

Wow, I've never seen the inside, before. What an incredible presence.; 5/28/10, 10:20 AM
Unknown said...: Incredible.

As a programmer, I'd love to know what software they used.

Ann Althouse said...

(WARNING: some nudity.)

One of the greatest works of art in the history of the human race and you're giving NSFW warnings?

Yeah, I suppose there are more than a few PC types who would freak.

Forgive my sin.

The phrase is, "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned".

I'm sure you are.; 5/28/10, 10:27 AM
The Drill SGT said...: wow!!

k*thy said...

Wow, I've never seen the inside, before. What an incredible presence.

In some ways better than in person becasue of the lack of people; 5/28/10, 10:29 AM
lemondog said...: Brilliant, but feeling claustrophobic.; 5/28/10, 10:44 AM
lemondog said...: Clearly he did not suffer from attention deficit disorder.; 5/28/10, 10:45 AM
Known Unknown said...: Boy, no one in the bible is that well hung are they?; 5/28/10, 11:00 AM
Palladian said...: One of the greatest works of art in the history of the human race and you're giving NSFW warnings?

The censorious impulse isn't a new one. In fact, soon after Michelangelo died, the Vatican hired an artist to paint drapery over all the naughty bits depicted in "The Last Judgement" fresco which is located over the altar. That artist, Daniele da Volterra, will forever be known by the derogatory nickname he acquired by disgusted contemporaries: "Il Braghettone", or "The Breeches Painter".

It is wonderful to see it without the tourists. Probably better this way than in person.

Clearly he did not suffer from attention deficit disorder.

Don't forget, though, that Michelangelo Buonarroti isn't the only artist who worked on the interior of the chapel. Many of the wall frescoes were painted by a panoply of the greatest artists of the day including Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Botticelli, Luca Signorelli, Cosimo Rosselli, along with the assistance of their workshops which included apprentices such as Piero di Cosimo, Pinturicchio, Bartolomeo della Gatta, etc.

Amazing, though, that Michelangelo did most of his portion of the frescoes by himself, upside down, on a rickety scaffold. And he didn't even consider himself a painter.; 5/28/10, 11:13 AM
Palladian said...: Oh, they didn't censor the frescoes on the ceiling because it was too hard to reach; they didn't want to pay for another giant scaffold.; 5/28/10, 11:15 AM
Joan said...: I love the internet.

I've never been to Italy (yet). This is simply incredible, as others have noted -- better, in some ways, than being there IRL because you've got the place all to yourself.

How come no one ever talks about how beautiful the floor is? We hear so much about the ceiling, etc (justifiably) but that gorgeous floor is never mentioned, and people have been walking on it for hundreds of years.

I knew the Sistine Chapel was awesome, but I had no idea just how awesome.

Thanks, Professor!; 5/28/10, 11:22 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: That's awesome.; 5/28/10, 11:58 AM
rhhardin said...: The Vatican, nrusing a grudge, is still avoiding Cartesian coordinates.

They've got it on a wildly inappropriate azimuth and elevation system.; 5/28/10, 12:01 PM
rhhardin said...: Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?; 5/28/10, 12:07 PM
Bender said...: It must be seen in person, even with all the tourists in there speaking in a loud roar and treating the place like it's a tourist spot, rather than a real and functioning church.

Many of the Michelangelo frescos have a 3-D quality to them when seen in person -- the figures seem to leap out at you.

But the wall frescos by others are impressive as well, including those by Botticelli and Perugino.; 5/28/10, 12:07 PM
Bender said...: What is very interesting about the Creation of Adam is Michelangelo's inclusion of Eve in the fresco.; 5/28/10, 12:09 PM
Pat said...: Wow. that made my day, thanks. What a beautiful place.; 5/28/10, 12:10 PM
lemondog said...: He depicted more women than I imagined.

Couldn't clearly determine if lower walls are draped or painted as draped.

Wiki to the rescue...painted.; 5/28/10, 12:23 PM
Bender said...: Many of the architectural features are actually painted as well, e.g. the moldings and statutes. More of the 3-D effect at work.; 5/28/10, 12:38 PM
Larry Davis said...: Wow! Beautiful. Thanks for the link.

I'm with Joan, I love the Internet, also.; 5/28/10, 12:50 PM
Anonymous said...: I was checking the nude figures to see if they had the Hideous Pedophilic Bald Eagle back then.

Peter; 5/28/10, 12:58 PM
lemondog said...: re: ceiling - one panel down from Adam given life, is that Adam again mooning while being banished?; 5/28/10, 1:25 PM
The Dude said...: I have been there a couple of times. A priest shushed the crowd - said this is a chapel, keep your voices down. The floor is nice, too.

WV - kedu - I kedu not.

WV.2 - rulla - Mikey did not us a rulla when he painted that.; 5/28/10, 1:48 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "One of the greatest works of art in the history of the human race and you're giving NSFW warnings?"

Please tell me you appreciate my sense of humor.; 5/28/10, 2:28 PM
Palladian said...: "He depicted more women than I imagined."

Michelangelo only painted and sculpted men. If women were required for the narrative, breasts were added and penises removed.; 5/28/10, 3:18 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/28/10, 4:51 PM
Robt C said...: This really is awesome. I've been there once, took some surreptitious pictures (you're not allowed to take pictures for some reason--I think maybe the Japanese TV network that paid for the restoration got an exclusive?) and stood in awe with the rest of the folks. This brings back great memories, and as others have said, almost better in some ways. Michelangelo deliberately distorted the figures in the ceiling so they would look normal from down below. Sheer genius.

educher -- Looks like it was done with Flash, which means iPod owners can't view this magnificent work.; 5/28/10, 5:28 PM
JAL said...: That is amazing.; 5/28/10, 7:40 PM
Sydney said...: Thanks so much for posting this. Probably the only way I'll ever see the Sistine Chapel. More beautiful than I ever imagined.; 5/28/10, 9:37 PM
Largo said...: "Clearly he did not suffer from attention deficit disorder."

Because of the attention or focus needed to do the work?

It's not commonly known, but the deficit in ADD is not in one's ability to focus, but in one's executive control over one's focus. Hyperfocus is a common symptom, and can be a virtue or a vice depending on one's occupation.; 5/29/10, 9:12 AM