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Michelangelo's Last Judgment: The Renaissance Response (Volume 5)
In her analysis of Michelangelo's Last Judgment , Bernadine Barnes provides an original and stimulating view of this renowned fresco and of the audience for which it was created. Because Michelangelo is so often regarded as a nearly superhuman artistic genius, we tend to forget that his works were not created to illustrate his life. The Last Judgment did have great personal meaning for him, but his representation of this religious event was not purely self-directed, says Barnes. She argues that Michelangelo had a particular type of viewer in mind as he designed his work.
The Last Judgment dealt with an especially evocative subject, and Michelangelo engaged viewers by creating highly imaginative scenes tempering fear with hope and by referring to contemporary events. The painting's original, elite audience—the papal court and a handful of distinguished lay persons—was sophisticated about art and poetry, almost exclusively male, and orthodox in its religious beliefs. That audience later broadened and included artists allowed into the Chapel to copy Michelangelo's work. These artists helped to create another, less sophisticated audience, one that knew the fresco only through reproductions and written descriptions. The response of this latter audience eventually prompted the church to censor the painting.
Beautifully illustrated with photographs of the recently restored Sistine Chapel, Barnes's study greatly enhances our understanding of changing Renaissance attitudes toward art. Her book also provides valuable insights into one of Michelangelo's greatest works.
The Last Judgment dealt with an especially evocative subject, and Michelangelo engaged viewers by creating highly imaginative scenes tempering fear with hope and by referring to contemporary events. The painting's original, elite audience—the papal court and a handful of distinguished lay persons—was sophisticated about art and poetry, almost exclusively male, and orthodox in its religious beliefs. That audience later broadened and included artists allowed into the Chapel to copy Michelangelo's work. These artists helped to create another, less sophisticated audience, one that knew the fresco only through reproductions and written descriptions. The response of this latter audience eventually prompted the church to censor the painting.
Beautifully illustrated with photographs of the recently restored Sistine Chapel, Barnes's study greatly enhances our understanding of changing Renaissance attitudes toward art. Her book also provides valuable insights into one of Michelangelo's greatest works.
- GenresArt
160 pages, Hardcover
First published February 12, 1998
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June 17, 2017
This book delivers beautifully on a narrow focus: Michelangelo's Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel, its contemporary audience, and the message it communicated both as intended by the artist and as received by a larger audience over time. Barnes' "hypothesis is that Michelangelo knew how sophisticated the viewers of his painting could be (sophisticated in matters theological, literary, and artistic) and created a work with them in mind. That audience changed in time, however, and the conflicting expectations of successive audiences led to the sometimes heated criticism leveled at the fresco in the later sixteenth century."
Barnes explores a variety of topics including the cultural history of Last Judgment art over the preceding several centuries, e.g. the glorious 12th century mosaic in Torcello, the cultural background of the curia that would have been the primary audience, a close reading of the fresco itself, and a discussion of the immediate critical reaction and the broader reaction to early reproductions.
Barnes explores a variety of topics including the cultural history of Last Judgment art over the preceding several centuries, e.g. the glorious 12th century mosaic in Torcello, the cultural background of the curia that would have been the primary audience, a close reading of the fresco itself, and a discussion of the immediate critical reaction and the broader reaction to early reproductions.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review