Западноевропейское искусство от Джотто до Рембрандта - [13]
In this intricate iconographic structure the coming of Christ is foretold in the nine scenes from Genesis, according to the principle of correspondence between the Old and New Testaments that was illustrated repeatedly throughout Christian art. An added element is the oak tree of the Rovere family, to which Julius II and his uncle Sixtus iv belonged. The Rovere oak tree invaded the, scenes of Creation and alluded poetically to the Tree of Life, which stood near the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden and whose fruit in medieval theology was Christ.
The Fall of Man combines the Temptation and the Expulsion in a single scene, which in one motion leads the eye from the crime to punishment, linked by the Tree of Knowledge, represented as a fig tree. Never in history had nude figures been painted on such a colossal scale.
Michelangelo's vision of a new and grander humanity reaches its supreme embodiment in the Creation of Adam. Instead of standing on earth as in all earlier Creation scenes, the Lord floats through the heavens and is enveloped in the violet mantle he wears in all the scenes in which he appears. The violet colour is required for the vestments of the clergy during Advent and Lent, the penitential periods before the coming of Christ at Christmas and his resurrection at Easter. The Lord is borne by wingless angels. Michelangelo's Creator for the first time makes believable the concept of omnipotence. A dynamo of creative energy, God stretches forth his hand, about to touch with his finger the extended finger of Adam. This image of the creative finger derives from the famous medieval hymn «Come, Creator Spirit» sung at Pentecost, the festival of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. In this hymn the «finger of the paternal right hand» is invoked to bring speech to our lips, light to our senses, love to our hearts, and strength to our bodies. Adam reclines on the barren ground below, longing for life, and love about to be instilled by this finger. Adam means «Earth» and the finger is shown ready to be charged with the energy that will lift him from the dust and make him a «living soul». Adam's body is the most perfect structure ever created by Michelangelo. It embodies the beauty of Classical antiquity and the spirituality of Christianity.
The final scenes as one moves toward the altar were also the last in order of execution. TheLord Congregating the Waters was held to foreshadow the foundation of the Church. The Creationof Sun, Moon, and Plants shows the Lord twice, once creating sun and moon with a cruciform gesture of his mighty arms, then seen from the rear creating plants. Just above the altar the Lord separates the light from the darkness.
The seated prophets and sibyls show the majestic possibilities of the draped figure. Although Michelangelo's figures were clothed they looked nude. The Persian Sibyl was represented as immensely old, Jeremiah as grieving above the papal throne, Daniel aflame with prophecy as he writes in a small volume, the Libyan Sibyl looking down upon the altar, at the eternal Tree of Life. The final phase of the Sistine Ceiling is one of the supreme moments in the spiritual history of mankind. It was created during the years when Julius II, who commissioned and inspired the Sistine Ceiling, was fighting on the battlefield for the continued life of the Papal States against the armies of King Louis XII, and completed when the victory was won.
Make sure you know how to pronounce the following words:
Michelangelo Buonarroti; David; Moses; Ghirlandaio; Dante, Julius; Saint; Noah; Signorelli; Perugino; Goliath; Judith; Holofernes; sibyl
Pieta [ – Пьета («Оплакивание Христа»)
David- Давид
Moses – «Моисеи»
Dying Slave – «Умирающий раб»
Rebellious Slave – «Восставший раб»
Separation of Light from Darkness – «Отделение света от тьмы»
The Lord Congregating the Waters -» Отделение тверди от воды»
Creation of Sun, Moon, and Plants – «Сотворение светил и растений»
Drunkenness of Noah – «Осмеяние Ноя»
David and Goliath – «Давид и Голиаф»
Judith and Holofernes – «Юдифь и Голоферн»
Crucifixion of Human – «Человеческие страдания»
Brazen Serpent – «Змий-Искуситель»
Fall of Man – «Грехопадение»
Temptation – «Искушение»
Expulsion – «Изгнание из Рая»
Creation of Adam – «Сотворение Адама»
Persian Sibyl – «Персидская сивилла»
Jeremiah – пророк Иеремия
Daniel – Даниил
Libyan Sibyl – Ливийская сивилла
1. Read the text. Mark the following statements true or false.
1. Michelangelo's first masterpiece is the David.
2. The Moses was the first colossus of the High Renaissance.
3. The Redemption of man is the subject of the Sistine Ceiling.
4. Michelangelo's heavy nude figure was universally imitated by the painters throughout Europe.
5. Michelangelo imagined God over the altar.
6. Adam reclines on the fertile ground.
II. How well have you read? Can you answer the following questions?
1. Where did Michelangelo learn to paint? Where did Michelangelo study sculpture?
2. What is the
