Please explain Christ Within the Last Judgment

[aeiadart]

As the title says, can someone please explain Christ Within Miachealangelos the Last Judgment. What is the meaning of him being surrounded by devine light?

[kadon]

Not sure what you are asking here, but the divine light represents a halo signifying his divinity.

[stlukesguild]

The iconography of Christ owes a great deal to the iconography of the Greco-Roman god, Apollo. The various forms or attributes of Apollo are mirrored in those of Christ. Apollo was the son of God (Zeus), a bringer of light, a healer, a teacher, as Apollo Virotutis he was worshiped as the benefactor of all mankind, and he had the gift of the visionary or oracle... able to divine the future. Apollo was quite often portrayed as a shepherd (the "good shepherd"):





Early Christian artists often modeled their representations of Christ upon this aspect of Apollo:





Apollo, as the sun god, was often portrayed resplendent... with glowing halo... expressive of his power:



Images of Christ, especially those commonly referred to as Christ in Majesty, utilized the same iconography:



The figure of Apollo was was portrayed as beautiful, muscular, beardless... often with his arm raised in address... or in judgment:



Early Christian representations often employed a similar pose, as well as the image of Christ as a beautiful, muscular, beardless figure. By the time of Michelangelo, Christ was commonly portrayed as the bearded figure (the beard equated with wisdom). Michelangelo was working during the period in which the Greco-Roman art, literature, philosophy, etc... was undergoing a revival. Neo-Platonism attempted to rationalize the merits of Greco-Roman thought and achievement with that of Christianity. Michelangelo returns to the image of Christ as the handsome, muscular, clean-shaven youth. He strides forward asserting his power and raises his arm in unwavering judgment. His own mother, Mary, averts her eyes as the Apollo-like Christ glows with holy fury as he condemns the sinners.

[azulparsnip]

The Bible identifys Him as the Light which lights every man- John 3:19

[stlukesguild]

One might note that like certain images of Apollo, Michelangelo's Christ was originally nude... as was Mary!! Michelangelo argued that on the Day of Judgment all would be nude, yet even during the process of painting, Michelangelo had his censorious detractors including the Cardinal Carafa and the Pope's own Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, who declared that "it was mostly disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully," and that it was no work for a papal chapel but rather "for the public baths and taverns," Michelangelo worked Cesena's face into the scene as Minos, judge of the underworld (far bottom-right corner of the painting) with Donkey ears (i.e.foolishness) while his nudity is covered by a coiled snake who devours his genitals. When Cesena turned to the Pope for redress from this insult it is reported that the Pope, with a sense of humor, declared that had Cesena been confined to Purgatory he might have done something, but even the Pope has no jurisdiction in hell. Shortly after the painting's completion, strategic draperies were added to many of the figures... especially Christ and Mary by the painter, Daniele da Voltera, who became derogatorily known as "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches maker"). The space in time between Michelangelo's original painting and da Voltera's censorial additions is so slight that restorers made no attempt to remove the draperies for fear that they would have fused with the underlying layers of Michelangelo's own painting.

[gokenin]

Seriously stlukesguild, You just became my favorite person. Rarely do I find people online who share my leanings of Pagan deities and the subsequent appropriation of them by the Christian Church.

[llawrence]

Excellent explanations, stlukesguild.

[ann_aurora]

It's also important to recognize that this is the post-resurrection Christ, portrayed not as a human man, but as God in human form. As such, he is appropriately the most physically imposing of the figures in the scene.

It's interesting to compare this view of Christ with Michelangelo's PietÃ*, which is also in St. Peter's Basilica.


In the statue, Michelangelo portrays the dead Jesus as a human man. Mary, his mother, is about two and a half times life-size.

[llawrence]

I've always considered Michelangelo's sculptures superior to his paintings. I know, he was not a bad painter, don't get me wrong! But his sculptures... simply unbelievable.

[ann_aurora]

Oh, I love the detail selection you've made, llawrence. It's very beautiful and moving. I agree with you about Michelangelo's sculpture, too. I think I read somewhere that he always considered himself to be a sculptor who could paint; sculpture was his preferred medium.

[llawrence]

Thank you, Anne - but the credit for the photo and the crop go to the photographer Aurelio Amendola.

I think I read somewhere that he always considered himself to be a sculptor who could paint; sculpture was his preferred medium.

I've always found it interesting that what are probably the two most famous paintings in history - the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel - were both made by artists who did not consider themselves to be primarily painters.

[MarkMark]

Interesting stuff guys. It is an incredible painting

[Horsa]

St. Luke'sguild: Thank you for the tour of Apollonian iconagraphy as Christian iconography. I had not seen the portrayal of Apollo as the good shepherd before. It adds a layer of meaning to one of my favorite stained glass windows.

I have always considered Pieta to be Michaelangelo's greatest work.

[cjorgensen]

St. Luke's Guild: I always learn from you.

[IngridJ]

That explanation was made by Joseph Campbell, the famous mythologist, if someone wants to get to the source. Good to see it here!