Michelangelo took artistic liberties in his Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco By Atlas Obscura, adapted by Newsela staff on 10.21.19 Word Count 778 Level 1050L

Image 1. A section of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by the inimitable artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. Photo: QYPCHAK via Wikimedia Commons

In the Christian tradition, All Saints' Day, celebrated on November 1, is a festival intended to honor known and unknown saints. Michelangelo's famed Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco made its public debut on All Saints' Day in 1512, in Vatican City. This city-state is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.

Giorgio Vasari, an early art historian and Renaissance biographer, later wrote about the ceiling's unveiling. "The whole world came running when the vault was revealed, and the sight of it was enough to reduce them to stunned silence," he wrote.

Little did they know, the most stunning was yet to come, in the form of a detail easily missed at first. According to Michelangelo's painting, the forbidden fruit of Biblical fame wasn't an apple. It was a fig.

Michelangelo's ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel depicts scenes from the Bible's Book of Genesis. It also shows countless other biblical figures and references. The nine-panel work brought the

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. loftiness of heaven down to earth for viewers.

After four years of back-bending work, though, the artist had had enough of painting. He wrote in an extended sonnet: "I've already grown a goiter from this torture/hunched up here like a cat in Lombardy." A goiter is a kind of inflammation in the neck. Michelangelo closed his poem with the resigned realization that, "I am not in the right place — I am not a painter." He preferred sculpting to painting, though he was famous for both. Yet Michelangelo's longing for sculpture work might not have been the only thing frustrating his creative process.

A Humanist Education

Michelangelo was trained as a youth at the Medici family's humanist academy in Florence, Italy. Humanism is a system of thought that places emphasis on the human experience instead of divine or religious ideals. The school promoted a blend of Christianity and the ideals of Plato, the Greek philosopher. Thanks to his humanist education, the painter likely would have been comfortable challenging the Catholic Church's emphasis on being the sole mediator between people and God. The symbolism hidden within the frescoes of his ceiling aligns Michelangelo more closely with the philosophy of Renaissance Humanism. Followers of this intellectual movement held the more modern, liberal belief that people could hold a relationship with God directly.

In his panels, Michelangelo also chose to include non-biblical men, known today as the Ignudi. These were supporting figures in the panels, wholly unrelated to the scenes they frame. Michelangelo also included an anatomical image of the human brain, like something out of a textbook. These inclusions may have been a subtle effort to blend the Church's views with his own. Both examples show an interest in the secular, or non-religious, world. The Ignudi's relaxed, natural poses placed emphasis on the human side of Catholicism.

One of the most noticeable artistic liberties Michelangelo took, however, is in the form of figs.

In the central section of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, the artist illustrates scenes concerning Adam and Eve. In the Bible story, they're the first humans on Earth. One panel depicts the two being tempted by a snake. The snake urges them to eat a "forbidden fruit" from the Tree of Knowledge. This act would give them knowledge of all that is good and evil. After giving in to this temptation, the two characters are banished from the Garden of Eden.

Popular thought in Italy at the time held that the forbidden fruit of the Bible was an apple. The Vulgate was the Catholic Church's official Latin translation of the Bible during the 16th century. In it, the Tree of Knowledge is widely read as bearing apples. In Michelangelo's fresco, however, the tree bears figs. This interpretation of the text is more in line with Judaism than with Christianity. (It should be noted, though, that the Book of Genesis describes Adam and Eve as covering themselves with fig leaves upon their new awareness of nudity. So figs were definitely part of the action in some way.)

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Interestingly, figs would come up again in Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel, just at a lesser height. The artist's famed wall fresco depicting the "Last Judgment" is full of nude figures rather than traditionally clothed ones. This bold act of biblical revision spurred a movement known as the "Fig Leaf Campaign." At the Council of Trent in 1563, leaders of the Catholic Church decreed that all inappropriate nakedness in religious art must be covered. Moving forward, nakedness would be hidden by carefully placed fig leaves.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Read the following paragraph from the introduction [paragraphs 1-5].

Giorgio Vasari, an early art historian and Renaissance biographer, later wrote about the ceiling's unveiling. "The whole world came running when the vault was revealed, and the sight of it was enough to reduce them to stunned silence," he wrote.

What conclusion is BEST supported by this paragraph?

(A) Many people tried to go see the Sistine Chapel but were not allowed because it was locked.

(B) Giorgio Vasari wrote about the ceiling because he had helped Michelangelo create it.

(C) Visitors were awed and amazed after eagerly awaiting the unveiling of Michelangelo's work.

(D) People were silent when they entered the Sistine Chapel because talking was forbidden.

2 Which selection from the section "A Humanist Education" explains WHY Catholic Church leaders later altered Michelangelo's paintings?

(A) In his panels, Michelangelo also chose to include non-biblical men, known today as the Ignudi. These were supporting figures in the panels, wholly unrelated to the scenes they frame. Michelangelo also included an anatomical image of the human brain, like something out of a textbook.

(B) In the central section of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, the artist illustrates scenes concerning Adam and Eve. In the Bible story, they're the first humans on Earth. One panel depicts the two being tempted by a snake. The snake urges them to eat a "forbidden fruit" from the Tree of Knowledge.

(C) In Michelangelo's fresco, however, the tree bears figs. This interpretation of the text is more in line with Judaism than with Christianity. (It should be noted, though, that the Book of Genesis describes Adam and Eve as covering themselves with fig leaves upon their new awareness of nudity. So figs were definitely part of the action in some way.)

(D) The artist's famed wall fresco depicting the "Last Judgment" is full of nude figures rather than traditionally clothed ones. This bold act of biblical revision spurred a movement known as the "Fig Leaf Campaign." At the Council of Trent in 1563, leaders of the Catholic Church decreed that all inappropriate nakedness in religious art must be covered.

3 Which answer choice describes two CENTRAL ideas of the article?

(A) The Book of Genesis describes Adam and Eve becoming aware of their nudity and covering themselves with fig leaves. Michelangelo interpreted this to mean that the apples in the Bible story were most likely figs.

(B) The Medici family trained artists at a humanist academy in Florence, Italy. Michelangelo learned while studying there to challenge the Catholic Church's emphasis on being the sole mediator between people and God.

(C) Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco made its public debut in Vatican City on All Saints' Day in 1512. The painting shows scenes from the Book of Genesis as well as other biblical references.

(D) Michelangelo's fresco in the Sistine Chapel depicts scenes that include alterations and non-religious imagery. This symbolism illustrates the painter's desire to include elements of Renaissance Humanism in the religious work.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4 Which statement would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?

(A) Michelangelo included nude figures and replaced an apple with a fig to emphasize the human experience over divine or religious ideals.

(B) The story of Adam and Eve is famous for depicting a snake tempting the pair to eat a piece of forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.

(C) Michelangelo suffered physically and developed a goiter from his work bending backward to reach the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

(D) The Christian tradition of All Saints' Day is a festival held on November 1 that is intended to honor both known and unknown saints.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.