Michelangelo was the brain behind a paintbrush during the time of the Renaissance, and a spiritual awakening in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. He was in love with art and his passion was expressed in his work whether it was a painting, sculpture, or building. He was appointed by the Pope to work his magic in high-powered buildings and in popular European domains. Michelangelo positively influenced the world through his art in religion, architecture, and revolutionizing art techniques.
Michelangelo created beautiful paintings relating to stories in the Bible and furthering people’s beliefs as they could visualize the stories and were influenced into Christianity. Michelangelo painted across the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel depicting significant stories of the Bible creating an immense impact on the people of Rome. His display on the Sistine Chapel was an exploitation of the Bible, “The awe-inspiring work represents scenes of the Creation and the Old Testament through the story of Noah, and begins with Adam receiving the spark of divine life from God. The themes, divided architectonically, presented a complicated vision, miraculous in its variety and complete unification (Michelangelo gallery). When Michelangelo painted the images across the Sistine Chapel, he was representing the general faith that emerged during the time of the Renaissance. It was an important factor to the European’s lives as religion was becoming an important part of their lives. Because the curiosity of religion and faith was emerging at the time, the paintings Michelangelo created made faith come to life. The Europeans began their interest in Christianity, and getting to know God. Not only did Michelangelo paint Biblical stories, but the characters in them revealed stories themselves, “Michelangelo has depicted Adam as if just awakened and about to be charged with the energy of life through the outstretched arm of God, who is borne aloft by a cloud of angels. The beginning of human history starts with this moment, captured brilliantly by Michelangelo” (Spence 12). Michelangelo explains a very crucial story in his painting. He sends a precious message in his fresco, the creation of Adam and Eve who were the beginning of human interaction. This further explained the Bible to people who learned visually, or could not read or write. They could get insight into stories of the Bible that were difficult to understand, in order to gain a perspective into Christianity. He shows people through his work a very spiritual moment as God’s work is visually seen as Michelangelo interprets it. Michelangelo was very descriptive in his paintings as he displayed the Bible in a beautiful, moving way converting those who saw the piece to Christianity.
The Sistine Chapel is a remarkable sight due to the interior that shows faith in God as an empowerment that will save you. The people who pass the ceiling are massively affected, “It is a sublime sight. This fortissimo [great strength] of movement which develops in a crescendo of waves towards the back of the chapel, gripping the spectator who, even before he has grasped it’s meaning, feels the sensuous [appealing to the senses] thrill of annihilation in a higher world… The style is a personal one which Michelangelo has developed from that of the High Renaissance” (Lace 59). William Lace describes the sight of the Sistine chapel as an impactful sight to viewers. Michelangelo’s work gave insight to the unknown world of faith and acceptance of God. During the time of the Renaissance, religion and art were emerging. Michelangelo created his masterpiece at a time where people wanted more insight into religion so when he painted the ceiling, it was very captivating. The Christian roots displayed in the ceiling at the Holy building brought people to a hold. They wanted to see more and learn more from this displaying of God. Michelangelo carried people back in time to see the affect of God, “By reversing time’s arrow, Michelangelo reverses the biblical narrative and even entropy itself…we move from a world degraded by the sinful creatures who populate it to one dominated by a transcendent, all-powerful father. This reverse chronology is built into the structure of the chapel itself…” (Unger 170). Not only does Michelangelo display stories of the Bible, but he portrays his own message as a big picture. He shows viewers how the world is full of sin and wrath, displayed by harsh characters and scenes. This beautiful event is displayed in a manner that captures the souls of spectators, carrying them closer to God. Michelangelo affected the lives of the people in Rome as they saw his work. The artwork created a longing for explanation of what they saw. Michelangelo affected the lives of the people in Rome as they saw his work, and were exposed to the almighty God.
Many Europeans were reformed to Christianity during the time of the Renaissance due to devotions given by churchmen, and the artwork displaying the Gospel. Michelangelo created a religious ceremony for those who passed his art, “Michelangelo renders God’s creation as a seismic event, and those who testify to its miraculous nature are shaken from their complacency, filled with both awe and dread…To glimpse even a fragment of God’s Truth is a disruptive experience, registered across the prophet’s entire body even before his mind stirs to righteous anger.” (Unger 166). Miles Unger gives the reader an idea of how spectators act as they view Michelangelo’s work. They are captured and their mind cannot wrap around the idea of the powerful messages the art displays. Because Michelangelo depicts these ambiguous stories in a realistic manner, it is so powerful to the viewer. They were exposed to the Almighty God, as he would appear, for the first time in a work of art. Michelangelo formulated sculptures of Biblical characters who conceived facial expressions on them to better depict the story, “Michelangelo gave his ‘David’ the strong, handsome features of a hero, but with a troubled expression, as if he truly is about to take on his enemy, Goliath” (Wilkinson 35). Michelangelo created a large sculpture of a man, David, with intricate features showing his emotion. He made David with intricate features exposing his emotion. These features depicted the message Michelangelo was trying to convey, of a strong man about to make a crucial act. Michelangelo was able to display the strong expression David must have had when he was about to kill Goliath. This impacted the Europeans because now their faith was emerging and people were being saved by Jesus. Michelangelo positively influenced people into Christianity because his paintings were so detailed giving insight into Jesus and the Gospel.