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The Interpretation of the Figure of the Prophet Jonah by Michelangelo On ORIGINAL ARTICLE Vol. 38 (3): 317-323; May - June, 2012 The interpretation of the fi gure of the prophet Jonah by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the sistine chapel: anatomical urological vision _______________________________________________ Leonardo Oliveira Reis, Emerson Luis Zani, João Carlos Alonso, Fabiano André Simões, Ronald Finamore Rejowski, Gilson Barreto School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas - Unicamp (OLR, ELZ), Campinas and Urology Department of Municipal Hospital of Paulínia - HMP (LOR, JCA, FAS, RFR, GB), Paulinia, Brazil ABSTRACT ARTICLE INFO _______________________________________________________________ _____________________ Purpose: A detailed analysis in the iconography and pictorial appearance of the Key words: scene of the “Prophet Jonah” painted by the artist Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475- History; urology; art; anatomy; 1564) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between the years 1508 and 1512. humans; penis; science Materials and Methods: Literature review on the Italian Renaissance period and the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti and analysis of historical aspects of the evo- Int Braz J Urol. 2012; 38: 317-23 lution of studies of human anatomy in this period and the works of the artist. ________________ Results: A comparative analysis of the representation of the fi gure of the fi sh on the left thigh of “Jonah” with a cross section of penis shows a curious similar- Submitted for publication: ity. The pictorial and iconographic analysis reveals an intensity of light on the October 27, 2011 pubic area and the position of the prophet with the legs spread apart and left ________________ hand placed on this region. A tube-shaped cloth covers the region and the angel at the side seems to be looking at this anatomical region of “Jonah”. In fact, sets Accepted after revision: of iconographic and pictorial relate to the deciphered code. February 16, 2012 Conclusions: This description helps to confi rm the relationship of the Renais- sance art with the human anatomy; science has been much studied in this period. The design of a cross section of the penis is revealed with the two cavernous bod- ies with the septum between them and the spongy body. Considering the circum- stances in which Michelangelo had painted, subjectivity was fundamental due to religious motivations added to the vigorous implications of a limited scientifi c knowledge typical of that era. INTRODUCTION lic dissections in his early teens, when he joined the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici and was exposed to its Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is a physician-philosopher members (1-4). These ana- famous Italian Renaissance artist. In addition to fa- tomic studies aided him in creating extremely ac- mous sculptures as “Pieta” and “David”, the artist curate depictions of the human fi gure in his sculp- painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between tures and paintings, notably the statue of “David” in the years 1508 and 1512 in Rome. Florence and paintings of “God” and other fi gures Michelangelo had a life-long interest in from the Book of Genesis in the Vatican’s Sistine anatomy that began with his participation in pub- Chapel in Rome. 317 IBJU | MICHELANGELO ON THE CEILING OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL: ANATOMICAL UROLOGICAL VISION The link of anatomy with several artists of kidneys (7). According to Eknoyan, the artist’s in- this period is confirmed by binding studies of anat- terest in the kidney started when he became afflict- omy at the School of Fine Arts in Florence during ed with urolithiasis and sought help from the most the Renaissance. Scholars of this period believed prominent physician in Rome, Realdo Colombo (8). that knowing the minutiae of the human anatomy In the painting “The Separation of Land and Water” could help artists to reproduce the human form in on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the mantle of sculptures and paintings. the creator resembles a bisected right kidney (7). Sistine Chapel frescoes are considered one Another panel in ceiling of Sistine Chapel of the monumental achievements of Renaissance is “The Figure of the Prophet Jonah”. According to art. In the winter of 1511, Michelangelo entered the Old Testament, “Jonah” stayed inside the belly the final stages of the Sistine Chapel project and of a whale (some translations call it a fish) for three painted 4 frescoes along the longitudinal apex of days and three nights (Jonah, 1:17 - Bible), thus es- the vault, which completed a series of 9 central caping death by drowning. The scene is located at panels depicting scenes from the Book of Genesis. one end of the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In 1990, Frank Lynn Meshberger reported that Mi- The prophet is depicted leaning back and turned chelangelo concealed an image of the brain in the slightly to the right, and he thus creates an unusual first of these last 4 panels, namely, the “Creation effect by “contradicting” the architecture of the of Adam”, showing a sagittal section of the brain ceiling. “Thanks to the strength of art, the vault, as the bottom of the figure of the creator (5). The which is in fact curving toward the front, seems to Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Cha- be pushed back”, described Vasari (1). We made a pel has long been recognized as one of the world’s detailed analysis of the scene of the “Prophet Jo- great art treasures. nah” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Others researchers reported that Michel- iconography and pictorial appearance with a cross angelo appears to have hidden an image of the section of the penis. brainstem and spinal cord in a depiction of God in the final panel of this series, the Separation of MATERIALS AND METHODS Light From Darkness (6). These findings by a neu- rosurgeon and a medical illustrator, published in Literature review on the Italian Renaissance Neurosurgery, may explain long controversial and period and historical aspects of the evolution of unusual features of one of the frescoes’ figures. Al- studies of human anatomy in this period and the though the vast majority of subjects in this paint- life and works of the Michelangelo Buonarroti were ing are considered anatomically correct, art histori- analyzed. A detailed analysis of the iconographic ans and scholars have long debated the meaning of and pictorial clues of the scene of the “Prophet Jo- some anatomical peculiarities seen on God’s neck nah” was made, with special attention to position of in the part of this painting. the figures, the direction the characters are looking The Separation of Light From Darkness is at, the “movement”/position of the hands and the an important panel in the Sistine Chapel iconog- region of the body that is painted in lighter shades. raphy because it depicts the beginning of Creation A detailed analysis of the scene of the and is located directly above the altar. The authors “Prophet Jonah” on the ceiling of the Sistine Cha- propose that Michelangelo, a deeply religious man pel in its iconography and pictorial appearance and and an accomplished anatomist, intended to en- its correlation to a design of a cross section of the hance the meaning of this iconographically critical penis was done. panel and possibly document his anatomic accom- plishments by concealing this sophisticated neuro- RESULTS anatomic rendering within the image of God (6). An American renal physician reckoned to A comparative analysis of the representa- have found convincing evidence that Michelangelo tion of the figure of the fish on the left thigh of was familiar with the anatomy and function of the “Jonah” with a cross section of penis shows a curi- 318 IBJU | MICHELANGELO ON THE CEILING OF THE SISTINE CHAPEL: ANATOMICAL UROLOGICAL VISION ous similarity (Figure-1). The pictorial and icono- its contributors into anatomical dissection to bet- graphic analysis reveals an intensity of light on ter reproduce the body in their art. With time, tra- “Jonah’s” pubic region; the prophet was positioned ditional courses of instruction for aspiring artists with his legs spread apart, and a tube-shaped cloth actually included a study of human anatomy, not covers the region; the angel at the side seems to be only for its external features, but also for that of its looking at this anatomical region of “Jonah”. supporting structures. In fact, the Florentine Acad- The fish painted next to “Jonah’s” left thigh emy of Art was the first to institute an obligatory has an unusual aspect (the front part does not look course in anatomy, in which aspiring artists copied like a mouth). Comparing this front part of the fish directly from cadavers and skeletons (4,9-11). In with a cross-section of the base of a penis, the two Florence, according to the Statuta universitatis et cavernous bodies can be seen with the septum be- studdi florentini de 1387, the painters and sculp- tween them and the spongy body. All these struc- tors were accepted into the Consorteria dei Medici tures can be found in this detail of the painting of e degli Speziali in the year 1303. The artists were the fish. given the bodies of people who died of natural Add to these evidences, a study of the causes in Santa Maria Novella Hospital or in other Prophet Jonah by Michelangelo Buonarroti re- hospitals of the city, while to doctors only two ca- veals that the artist portraited the prophet with davers of criminals hanged of both sexes were sup- the right hand over the genital area. A draft for plied per year for the study of anatomy. the ceiling of Sistine Chapel not maintained on The reason for this uneven distribution was the original painting confirms the genital focus that while the artists were concerned only with the of the scene (Figure-2).
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