Composition

The Creation of Adam prior to the restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes

God is depicted as an elderly bearded man wrapped in a swirling cloak while Adam, on the lower left, is completely naked. God's right arm is outstretched to impart the spark of life from his own finger into that of Adam, whose left arm is extended in a pose mirroring God's, a reminder that man is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26). Another point is that Adam's finger and God's finger are not touching. It gives the appearance that God, the giver of life, is reaching out to Adam and Adam is receiving.

The inspiration for Michelangelo's treatment of the subject may come from a medieval hymn called Veni Creator Spiritus, which asks the 'finger of the paternal right hand' (digitus paternae dexterae) to give the faithful speech. [1]

[edit] Anatomical theories

Several hypotheses have been put forward about the meaning of The Creation of Adam's highly original composition, many of them taking Michelangelo's well-documented expertise in human anatomy as their starting point. In 1990 an Anderson, Indiana physician named Frank Lynn Meshberger noted in the medical publication the Journal of the American Medical Association that the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain, including the frontal lobe, optic chiasm, brain stem, pituitary gland, and the major sulci of the cerebrum. Alternatively, it has been observed that the red cloth around God has the shape of a human uterus (one art historian has called it a "uterine mantle"^[1]), and that the scarf hanging out, colored green, could be a newly cut umbilical cord. Meshberger also argues that there appears to be communication present despite the gap between the depicted Adam and God, just as neurons transmit biochemical information across synaptic clefts.^[2]

[edit] Influence on popular culture

The Simpsons parodied the work in "The Homer of Seville"

The Creation of Adam is one of the most well-known and famous artworks of all time, and as such has been the subject of a number of references and parodies. Many of these parodies substitute different characters for God, Adam, or both.

• It is the first image seen—even before "Leo the Lion" -- during the overture and opening credits to the 1959 version of Ben-Hur. The camera moves in slowly on the image, finally focusing on God's and Adam's hands.
• The original publicity poster for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial depicting ET's hand touching that of a boy was modeled after the painting.
• The painting was also seen as a background in the arcade game Magic Sword, mainly on Floor 38. However, the scaled-down SNES port of this game does not have this background.
• The first opening of the Death Note anime series has a still frame based on The Creation of Adam, with the protagonist Light Yagami as Adam and the death god Ryuk as God, holding an apple.
• An opening sequence of Zan Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Bangaichi shows The Creation of Adam with God and Adam wearing schoolgirl uniforms.
• In an episode of Arrested Development, The Creation of Adam is recreated with living representations.
• In an episode of Family Guy, Peter Griffin, hired to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, paints an OBEY stencil instead of The Creation of Adam.
• In an episode of The Critic, Alice shows Jay an exact replica of The Creation of Adam that she painted on her apartment wall. In another, Franklin Sherman bursts through the roof of the Sistine Chapel and the painting with a helicopter, referring to the work as The Birth of Man.
• In the TV version of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the faces of Adam and God are used to illustrate the Guide's entry for the Babel Fish.
• Spaceship Earth, a ride at Disney's Epcot theme park in Orlando, Florida, depicts the painting of The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the chapel, just before transitioning to the invention of the steam engine.
• In the 2008 videogame Grand Theft Auto IV, the character Bernie has the painting on the wall of his apartment, only instead of Adam, Bernie's face has been painted over it.
• In 2001: A Space Odyssey, David Bowman reaches out to touch the monolith before the monolith gives him the spark of life to transform into a Star-Child.
• The artist Benedict Campbell did a futuristic re-interpretation of The Creation of Adam, featuring only Adam and a female God, wearing skin tight silver body suits, and suspended within an open building reminiscent of Greek architecture: [2]
• A promotional poster for the film Bruce Almighty is based on the Creation of Adam, with actor Jim Carrey (who played the role of Bruce Nolan, the lead character of the movie) taking the place of Adam.
• In the film 2012's trailer, the Sistine Chapel's ceiling is shown cracking between God and Adam's hands.
• In Atlantis Squarepantis,a painting is shown similar to it with Squidward as Adam and a bearded squid as God.
• "The Creation of Adam" is seen on the bottom of Frank's swimming pool in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
• The Nokia early theme of connecting people shows two hands reaching together. Now it has changed to shaking hands.
• The parody religion, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, uses an edited version of "The Creation of Adam" known as "Touched by His Noodly Appendage", in which God is replaced with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, as one of its iconic illustrations^[3].
• The promotional poster for the film Creation (2009 film) shows Charles Darwin and a young orangutan reaching toward each other.^[4]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Stokes, p. 89
2. ^ http://www.mentalhealthandillness.com/creation_fr.html, Mental Health & Illness.com, Retrieved September 21, 2010
3. ^ http://www.venganza.org/
4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3521744640/tt0974014

[edit] References

• Day, Fergus & Williams, David (ed.) (1998). Art: A World History
• Meshberger, Frank Lynn. "An Interpretation of Michelangelo's Creation of Adam Based on Neuroanatomy", JAMA. 10 October 1990; 264(14):1837-41.
• Stokes, Adrian (1955). Michelangelo: A Study in the Nature of Art
• Letters in comment: JAMA. 6 March 1991; 265(9):1111.

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