What is Michelangelo saying in The Creation of Adam?

[Reptillian]

If you look at Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam:

and then look at a cross section of the human brain:

You might notice that God seems to be sitting on/riding on a human brain. What is Michelangelo trying to say in this piece of art? Is he saying God is a product of the human brain, that God and the mind are related, maybe that God created the brain? I'm not sure what to make of this, was Michelangelo a closet atheist?

 

[Storm]

Don't overthink it. He probably didn't know what brains look like to begin with.

 

[Reptillian]

Don't overthink it. He probably didn't know what brains look like to begin with.

He might have, he was a renaissance man after all. Leonardo da Vinci was a student of anatomy. Note the similarities in the pictures...the leg acting as the pituitary gland.

 

[Storm]

He might have, he was a renaissance man after all. Leonardo da Vinci was a student of anatomy. Note the similarities in the pictures...the leg acting as the pituitary gland.

They studied anatomy for the purpose of understanding how the shapes fit together. I'm pretty sure they didn't dissect cadavers to study internal organs.

Come on, you've got to know you're stretching here. It's just an oval with some decorations.

 

[Reptillian]

They studied anatomy for the purpose of understanding how the shapes fit together. I'm pretty sure they didn't dissect cadavers to study internal organs.

Come on, you've got to know you're stretching here. It's just an oval with some decorations.

I looked it up and Michelangelo was a student of anatomy. I don't think it's far fetched to think that he studied a brain at some point.

 

[Storm]

I looked it up and Michelangelo was a student of anatomy. I don't think it's far fetched to think that he studied a brain at some point.

Even if he did, saying that the shape of God's throne or whatever being vaguely reminiscent of a brain means he was secretly an atheist planting subversive imagery in the Sistine Chapel is such a bizarre, ludicrous conspiracy theory that Dan Brown would be embarrassed to put in a book.

Even your tamer options are unfounded. There IS such a thing as coincidence, you know. Especially when the only connection between one idea and another is "hey, this slightly altered oval bears a slight resemblance to that slightly altered oval."

 

[Reptillian]

There's further evidence of Michelangelo's possible atheism: he paints a self portrait as the head of Holofernes from the Book of Judith. Holofernes was a Babylonian (Assyrian? It's been a while since I've read the Book of Judith) general who occupied a bunch of nations and destroyed their gods in order to promote the worship of Nebuchadnezzar.

 

[Storm]

There's further evidence of Michelangelo's possible atheism: he paints a self portrait as the head of Holofernes from the Book of Judith. Holofernes was a Babylonian (Assyrian? It's been a while since I've read the Book of Judith) general who occupied a bunch of nations and destroyed their gods in order to promote the worship of Nebuchadnezzar.

Look, I'm not commenting on his religion one way or another. But this is just sad. Artists draw references from EVERYWHERE, and making a mythological reference is not in any way indicative of their beliefs.

Could Michaelangelo have been an atheist? Sure. Can you find proof of it in a work of art? No.

Now, if you have something he SAID, like a letter or diary, you might be able to build a case.

 

[Awoon]

In the picture Man and God never touch. So religion creates intercessors out of bibles, creeds, priest, saints, bishops, popes, preachers, prayer warriors.

God originates in the Human Being.

 

[fallingblood]

If you look at Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam:


and then look at a cross section of the human brain:


You might notice that God seems to be sitting on/riding on a human brain. What is Michelangelo trying to say in this piece of art? Is he saying God is a product of the human brain, that God and the mind are related, maybe that God created the brain? I'm not sure what to make of this, was Michelangelo a closet atheist?

You are only seeing a brain because you want to see it. Really, when we look at it, it doesn't look like a brain. Yes, it is kind of rounded on top, but other than that, not many similarities. Looking at the bottom of it, a brain doesn't have that many objects sticking out of it. Not to mention that in the back, there is a swirling heap that simply is not seen in a brain. Also, there is nothing sticking out of the front of a brain either.

You're simply stretching here.

Also, your last post would only suggest that Michelangelo may have worshipped a different god. But really, he probably was just using pictures and ideas that were common around his time. Many from that time did just that.

 

[Reptillian]

Look, I'm not commenting on his religion one way or another. But this is just sad. Artists draw references from EVERYWHERE, and making a mythological reference is not in any way indicative of their beliefs.

Could Michaelangelo have been an atheist? Sure. Can you find proof of it in a work of art? No.

Now, if you have something he SAID, like a letter or diary, you might be able to build a case.

Isn't art a form of language...an expression of ones inner most ideas?

In the picture Man and God never touch. So religion creates intercessors out of bibles, creeds, priest, saints, bishops, popes, preachers, prayer warriors.

God originates in the Human Being.

Good point! I also notice that God's doing all the work when it comes to touching...the human is like "meh, whatever"

You are only seeing a brain because you want to see it. Really, when we look at it, it doesn't look like a brain. Yes, it is kind of rounded on top, but other than that, not many similarities. Looking at the bottom of it, a brain doesn't have that many objects sticking out of it. Not to mention that in the back, there is a swirling heap that simply is not seen in a brain. Also, there is nothing sticking out of the front of a brain either.

You're simply stretching here.

Also, your last post would only suggest that Michelangelo may have worshipped a different god. But really, he probably was just using pictures and ideas that were common around his time. Many from that time did just that.

I think the differences are possibly due to ignorance...still the basic shape and leg/pituitary gland are what convince me. The thready part corresponding to the cerebellum is just icing...it looks to me like a brain wrenched violently from a human skull...the blue/green garment by the leg/pituitary could be a blood vessel.

Michelangelo may have worshiped a different god, he was certainly familiar with Judaism and it's theology.

 

[fallingblood]

I think the differences are possibly due to ignorance...still the basic shape and leg/pituitary gland are what convince me. The thready part corresponding to the cerebellum is just icing...it looks to me like a brain wrenched violently from a human skull...the blue/green garment by the leg/pituitary could be a blood vessel.

Michelangelo may have worshiped a different god, he was certainly familiar with Judaism and it's theology.

The basic shape also looks somewhat like a lemon, or jelly fish. And really, you're only looking at one of the legs as it supports your opinion. If we look at them all, it looks more like a jelly fish.

You are only seeing what you want to see.

 

[Reptillian]

The basic shape also looks somewhat like a lemon, or jelly fish. And really, you're only looking at one of the legs as it supports your opinion. If we look at them all, it looks more like a jelly fish.

You are only seeing what you want to see.

The basic shape also looks somewhat like a lemon, or jelly fish. And really, you're only looking at one of the legs as it supports your opinion. If we look at them all, it looks more like a jelly fish.

You are only seeing what you want to see.

If it had something corresponding to a pedicel, seed, radial canal, or gonads; then I might agree that it's a lemon/jellyfish. I think if you look at a human brain's cross section and look at Michelangelo's "Creation" work, the similarity is uncanny. He was living at a time in which anatomical brain information was beginning, and he was a student of human anatomy. It just seems likely to me that he was trying to make some sort of statement.

The lining is even the right color for a brain....how are you guys not seeing this?!

 

[fallingblood]

If it had something corresponding to a pedicel, seed, radial canal, or gonads; then I might agree that it's a lemon/jellyfish. I think if you look at a human brain's cross section and look at Michelangelo's "Creation" work, the similarity is uncanny. He was living at a time in which anatomical brain information was beginning, and he was a student of human anatomy. It just seems likely to me that he was trying to make some sort of statement.

The lining is even the right color for a brain....how are you guys not seeing this?!

We are not seeing it as its not there. Can you show a picture of how the brain was depicted in his time? Because how we depict it now has no bearing on his time.

 

[Reptillian]

We are not seeing it as its not there. Can you show a picture of how the brain was depicted in his time? Because how we depict it now has no bearing on his time.

The man was an artistic genius and lived in a violent time, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that he saw a human brain at some point in his life and was able to draw something similar from memory.

Besides, it was during the renaissance that human dissection and anatomical study began.

 

[Storm]

Isn't art a form of language...an expression of ones inner most ideas?

Of course it's a form of language (well, communication), but it's not limited to expressions of one's beliefs. Art, graphic or otherwise, explores ideas, and real artists aren't afraid to explore ideas they don't hold. For instance, JMS (a staunch atheist) penned one of my favorite quotes: "Faith and reason are the shoes on your feet. You can go further with both than just one."

What's more, inspiration and reference don't even necessarily come from ideas, ESPECIALLY in the visual arts. A Satanic painter might really like the composition of the Chapel's ceiling and be inspired to reference it without intending any theological commentary.

The complex interweaving of self-expression, commentary, and simple aesthetics is precisely what makes art so fascinating.

 

[fallingblood]

The man was an artistic genius and lived in a violent time, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that he saw a human brain at some point in his life and was able to draw something similar from memory.

Besides, it was during the renaissance that human dissection and anatomical study began.

So you have no pictures of how it was depicted at that time? So how can you say that this resembles the brain, from the perspective of Michelangelo? You can't.

More so, what you find reasonable it in fact, unreasonable. Just because he lived in a violent time nowhere suggests that he would see a human brain. More so, if he saw one as the product of violence, it most likely wouldn't resemble fully a brain, as it most likely would be damaged (I mean, if it is spilling out of the head, so you can see it, there was some major trauma there).

Really, you have no actual support for you claim besides that you want to believe it to be true.

 

[BSM1]

If you stare at the picture long enough you can see a sailboat.

 

[Reptillian]

So you have no pictures of how it was depicted at that time? So how can you say that this resembles the brain, from the perspective of Michelangelo? You can't.

More so, what you find reasonable it in fact, unreasonable. Just because he lived in a violent time nowhere suggests that he would see a human brain. More so, if he saw one as the product of violence, it most likely wouldn't resemble fully a brain, as it most likely would be damaged (I mean, if it is spilling out of the head, so you can see it, there was some major trauma there).

Really, you have no actual support for you claim besides that you want to believe it to be true.

I'm just amazed you guys don't see the similarity. Here's a drawing of the brain from 1543:

Having read up on it a little, Michelangelo was known to have dissected some corpses.

 

[fallingblood]

I'm just amazed you guys don't see the similarity. Here's a drawing of the brain from 1543:

Having read up on it a little, Michelangelo was known to have dissected some corpses.

And that picture looks nothing like what is being depicted.