Arcadópolis
Nudity. This work is shown blurred, as in the Museum.Show work
The Last Judgment
Michelangelo, 1536–1541
What you see
Christ, high in the center, raises his right arm; beside him, a woman in a blue mantle draws in and looks down. Dozens of muscular figures, most of them nude, crowd around them. Lower down, a group of angels blows long trumpets. On the left, bodies rise toward the sky; on the right, others fall. In the two lunettes at the top, angels haul a cross and a column.
The deep blue background ties the whole wall together and makes the skin tones stand out. Spot the man holding an empty skin, to the right of Christ, Charon’s boat at the lower right and the dark cave at the base. At the bottom, the altar’s crucifix and candlesticks also appear.
About Michelangelo
Michelangelo Buonarroti saw himself above all as a sculptor, but the pope asked him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He worked for four years on scaffolding, painting hundreds of giant figures above his head. He was also an architect and a poet, and lived to be almost 89.
More by Michelangelo
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