The painting of the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, in the Sistine Chapel, contradicts both the first and second accounts of creation from Genesis as he attempts to put his own twist on the story. Why might he give it his own twist? By not interpreting the Creation of Man exactly how it is in Genesis, while including his own images into the work, Michelangelo was able to subtly get back at the Catholic Church, which he viewed as being a corrupt community led by the Pope.

In the first account, Adam and Eve are said to have arrived on Earth on the sixth day, both at the same time. However, in Michelangelo’s work, God is shown giving life to Adam establishing him as the first human being. This is a clear distinction from book two of Genesis. Another aspect worth analyzing is God and those who are surrounding Him. Taking a look at these background images, I noticed all the people around God appear to be both male and young children, except for the figure God has His arm around. This person seems to be a female who is closer in age with Adam. These observations cause me to believe that Michelangelo painted Eve next to God. But at no time in the creation accounts did it say that Eve, or other humans were with God at the time he created Adam.

Many scientists who have studied this image suggest there is a hidden image within this same part of the portrait. The outline of the shape is a brain, and researchers say it was not coincidental. Scientists discovered this image is an accurate representation of the side view of a human brain. Michelangelo was intrigued by human anatomy, and through dissections he knew what different parts of the body looked like. But why a brain? The interpretation I found most compelling is that this is not simply God giving Adam the ability to think and reason, but he is showing the brain allows these functions to happen “without the necessity of Church directly to God” (Fields).  

The second account from Genesis also differs from Michelangelo’s work. In Genesis, Adam is made from a cloud of dust, and God breathes life into him. Neither of these events are shown at all in this image. Instead what is shown is their fingertips nearly touching. In addition, there is no indication of Eve being made from Adam’s rib, how it occurred in the second account. I believe that showing God looking down to Adam and giving him life by touching him demonstrates the power of God, which is one of the things Michelangelo wanted to show. During his time painting the Sistine Chapel, the relationship he had with the Catholic Church became worse. “Michelangelo was a devout person, but later in life he developed a belief in Spiritualism, for which he was condemned by Pope Paul IV” (Fields). Because of this, he decided he wouldn’t really associate with the church anymore, but instead the best way to be spiritual was by going directly to God.  

Given this relationship and the fact that Michelangelo was known at the time for his famous sculptures, you can imagine he wasn’t too happy when Pope Julius II forced him to paint the Chapel’s ceiling in the early 1500’s. He was busy sculpting, and this daunting task took him away from his passion for multiple years. He had a clear frustration with the Catholic Church, which becomes apparent through his depiction of the Creation of Adam, in addition to other parts of the ceiling, where he added himself in two places on the ceiling, looking unhappy in these images. Even though he never wanted to do it in the first place, Michelangelo’s work in the chapel has become one of the most famous pieces of art known today.

Ryan Moffatt

Author

I am a sophomore at Colgate University from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I plan on majoring in Economics.