RENAISSANCE HUMANrSM IN MICHELANGELOTSSISTINE CHAPEL Am MILTON'S PARADISE LOST ERIN ELIZABETH McCONOMY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH McGILL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL JULY 1997 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts. Copyright Erin Elizabeth McConomy, 1997. 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Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substarntid extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. "If a man who does not admire Michael Ange10 talks of his love for Milton: he is deceiving either himself or his listeners." Oscar Wilde TABLE OF CONTENTS ... Acknowledgements III Abstract iv Abstrait v Introduction 1 Chapter One: Humanism in the Sistine Chape1 Ceiling Frescoes 10 Appendix: Illustrations for Chapter One 37 Chapter Two: Humanism in Paradise Lost 46 Chapter Three: The Sistine Ceiling and Paradise Lost Compared 80 Conclusion 113 List of Works Cited 117 McConomy iii In writing this thesis 1 have indebted myself to several individuals who have helped me at various stages of its production. Of primary importance is Professor Kenneth Borris who helped me shape this study fiom a vague notion into the rather lengthy piece of work before you today. Both my researching and writing of this study have benefitted invaluably fiom his insights and guidance. 1 would also like to thank him for his patience and his careful attention to every aspect of my work. My appreciation is extended also to Nathalie Maîteau for her French translation of my abstract, and Heidi Epstein for her help in gaining a working knowledge of some complex theological issues. In addition, 1thank Candace McConomy for her remarkable forbearance and good- humour in Italy, and David McConomy for always being available to talk and for his proofkeading, and to both of them for the years of encouragement. Finally, and defmitely most importantiy, 1would like to thank David Lemieux for helping in every aspect of the production of this thesis, especially for his infinite patience and support; my debt and gratitude to him is more than words can tell. ABSTRACT This thesis is a comparative study between Michelangelo Buonarroti's ceiling fkescoes in the Sistine Chapel and John Milton's Paradise LOS^. The parallets discussed arise out of the Renaissance humanism shared by both of these artists and expressed in their works of art. Beginning with Michelangelo, 1 will establish the relation of Renaissance humanism to the Sistine Chapel ceiling decoration and define Michelangelo's specific conception of the theories associated with this movement. Subsequently, the sarne critical approach will be applied to Milton's Paradise Lost, which will be revealed to be notably humanistic despite its positioning at the end of the Renaissance in a Protestant country. After exploring the individual works of Michelangelo and Milton separateiy, I will then consider the views shared by these two in their treatments of the myth of the Fa11 of humanity: both artists believe in the ultimate dignity and freedom of humankind, and portray both Adam and Eve as free and autonomous individuals; the Sisthe ceiling frescoes and Paradise LmIikewise emphasize the regenerative rather than the damning aspect of the Fa11 of humanity, expressing the humanistic insistence on the value of human expenence; finally, the humanistic notion that art, both literary and visuat, instnicts its audience while entertaining it, provides the governing artistic theory behind the works of both Michelangelo and Milton- Although the commonalities between Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling and MiIton's Paradise Lost are extensive, 1will not attempt to claim that Milton was specifically influenced by Michelangelo's kescoes. However, my study will reveal the potential for interart analogies to provide greater insight into the individual works of art and Iiterature being analysed. McConomy v ABSTRAIT Cette thèse est une étude comparative entre les fiesques de Michel-Ange Buonarroti se retrouvant au plafond de la Chapelle Sixtine et Paradise Lost de John Milton. Les parallèles discutés relèvent de I'humanisme de la Renaissance partagé par ces deux artistes et exprimé par leur art. En commençant par Michel-Ange, j'établirai l'existence de l'humanisme de la Renaissance dans les décorations de la Chapelle Sixtine et je défuiirai la conception particulière de Michel-Ange sur les théories associées à ce mouvement. Par la suite, la même approche critique sera appliquée au Pmadise Lost de Milton, qui se révélera être nettement humaniste malgré sa position à la fui de la Renaissance dans un pays Protestant. Après avoir exploré séparément les travaux de Michel-Ange et de Milton, je ferai une réflexion sur les opinions partagées de ces deux artistes dans leur traitement du mythe de la Chute de l'humanité: les deux artistes croient en l'ultime dignité et en la liberté de l'humanité et montrent Adam et Eve en tant qu'individus libres et autonomes; les fiesques de la Chapelle Sixtine et Paradise Lost mettent l'emphase sur l'aspect régénérateur de la Chute de l'humanité plut6t que sur l'aspect accablant de cette dernière, exprimant ainsi l'insistance humaniste sur la valeur de l'expérience humaine; finalement, la notion humaniste que l'art, autant littéraire que visuel, instruit son publique tout en le divertissant. Ce sont ces éléments qui fournissent les théories artistiques dominantes dans les oeuvres de Michel-Ange et de Milton. Même s'il y a beaucoup en commun entre les fkesques de la Chapelle Sixtine de Michel-Ange et Paradise Lost de Milton, je ne tenterai pas de prétendre que Milton a été particulièrement influencé par les fresques de Michel-Ange. Toutefois, je révélerai le potentiel des - analogies entre les arts pour fournir de plus grands aperçus en ce qui concerne les deux oeuvres (l'une d'art et l'autre de littérature) analysées dans cette étude. INTRODUCTION In the century and a half separating Michelangelo Buonarroti's painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chape1 and John Milton's writing of his great epic poem Paradise Lost, European culture experienced a period of radical change, unparalleled in history until the present century. Though that rnight suggest an insurmountable rift between the world of Michelangelo and that of Milton, a close exarnination reveals a remarkable cornmonality between their cultural milieux. A study cornbining an examination of the works of Michelangelo and Milton is made possible by the humanism evident in the thought of these two artists, and by theû common belief in the humanistic ideal of the affiity between the arts. While Michelangelo was a participant in the humanistic cultural movement a? its height in fifieenth and sixteenth century My, Milton was a proponent of much the sarne beliefs in seventeenth century England, near the end of the humanist em. Since Michelangelo and Milton did not work in the same artistic mediuni, there are special considerations in undertaking a comparative study of their works. A cogent investigation into interart relations must provide interpretations of the individual works of art that are valid in themselves and not contingent on the interart analogy, and must ensure that the correspondences between the works of art are founded on evidence arising directly out of an examination of the works. Though modem interpretations of Renaissance humanism Vary widely, scholarly disputations on the nature and significance of the movement are nonetheless congruent enough to enable meaningful analysis of its influence on Michelangelo's and Milton's art. ' There seem to be four basic competing defmitions of the nature of h~rnanisrn.~Followùig ' The debate about the nature of the Renaissance and humanisrn's role in the Renaissance significantly predates modern (twentieth century) scholarship. For a good discussion of the earIy debate see Waiiace K. Ferguson's The Renaissance in Historical Thoughr. Although the study of Iater scholarship is markedly biased toward Jacob Burckhardt's The Civilization of the Renaissance in IiaZy (1860), discussion provided on earlier works is objective and valuable in understanding the development of the notion of hurnanism and the Renaissance. This four-part division is fiom Donald Weinstein's concise discussion of the debate in ''In Whose Image and Likeness? Interpretations of Renaissance Humanism." McConomy 2 the scholarship of Jacob Burckhardt, the first group of scholars maintains a view of humanism as "the birth of the modem consciousness via such Burckhardtian manifestations as individualism, secularism, and moral autonomy" (Weinstein 166). Opposed to this view of humanism as a fûndamentally secular and anti-Christian movement are those who insist on the religious aspect of Renaissance humanism. Still other scholars offer a view of humanism as prirnarily a social and political movement. However, since the innuential scholarship of Paul Oskar Kristeller, the interpretation of Renaissance humanism that has gained the most popularity among modem schoIars is that humanism was primariiy a cultural and educational movement ratber than a hIly developed philosophy.