John+and+Denzell's+Renaissance+Project

=//The Creation of Adam// - John Moore= //The Creation of Adam// is a fresco painting completed by well known Renaissance painter Michelangelo in 1511. It can be seen on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. //The Creation of Adam// Itself is actually just part of a large system of murals that depict the Book of Genesis. In this particular section, Adam lays on his back, resting on the earth. It is said that he is the ideal physical form of man. In the painting, Adam is reaching out to God to receive enlightenment and intellect (New York University School of Medicine). The fact that Michelangelo has painted the ideal man portrays his deep care for humanism. Michelangelo was a very humanistic painter. He was not interested in backgrounds and nature as many renaissance painters were such as Da Vinci. He was quoted once saying: “The highest object of thinking men is Man” (//Art of the High Renaissance//). He became so fond of the human form that he studied cadavers to learn how to express humanity correctly. He said: “He that has not mastered, or does not master the human figure cannot comprehend it” (//Art of the High Renaissance//). The murals of the Sistine chapel represent this beautifully. When Michelangelo was asked to paint the Sistine Chapel in fresco he was originally against the idea. Pope Julius had recently stopped funding for his own tomb after commissioning the project to Michelangelo. Michelangelo also had not worked with frescoes since he was 13 and felt unprepared. He eventually accepted the proposition and began on the project with an idea smaller in size than was the result. Before the project really even began he decided to fire his group of assistants and began on a project of epic proportions. After four years of working himself to the point of depression, he finally completed the Sistine Chapel; covering it with 10,000 square feet (//Art of the High Renaissance//) of plaster. Once it was unveiled, so many people came to see the masterpiece that the dust from the floor remains on the walls to this day.

Bertman, sandra. "Creation of Adam." //New York School of Medicine.// New York School of Medicine, 28 June 1999. Web. 18 Jan. 2010. .
 * Works Cited:**

Ruskin, Ariane. //Art of the High Renaissance//. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964. Print.

=The Pieta - Denzell Conway=



The pieta shows the Virgin Mary holding Jesus Christ in her arms after he has been taken down from the cross. This painting really got Michelangelo noticed because his stood out the most. He carved this when he was 24 years old. It is said that as Mary hold Jesus she is sorrowfully accepting this immense loss. Michel was criticized because he made Mary look so young. This sculpture is one of four that was actually finished by Michelangelo. Michelangelo shows his religious vision in this sculpture. It took him five years to create this when he went to Rome. As Michelangelo was ill he still worked on his Pieta which shows dedication.

[]

=Group Reflection=

The Pieta has shown me how much the people around Christ wept after his death. It symbolizes care, love, hatred, strength, and death. His mother, Mary, really loved him and she was strong for being able to sit and hold the corpse of her son in her arms. You can relate this sculpture to Michelangelo and his situation with his mother’s death. He created Mary so young because he thought about his youth as when she died. The Pieta shows human suffering in the Christian form. Michelangelo uses his religious views on suffering and sorrow as he creates this piece. //The Creation of Adam// helps show how the perception of religion in daily life changed with the premier of humanism. The paintings show that although the concept of the painting is religious, the there is more of a focus on humanism. Michelangelo was devoted to expressing the human body in its best form, but needed to create a piece that focused on Genesis. To do this Michelangelo combined the two creating one of the most well known frescoes in the world. //The Creation of David// also shows how important art became in the spiritual world. It became a way to teach the teachings of the bible without having to hear the words from a priest, in this case, teaching the Book of Genesis through murals.