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The Divine Wisdom of Michelangelo in "The Creation of Adam"

Author(s): Maria Rzepiska


Source: Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 15, No. 29 (1994), pp. 181-187
Published by: IRSA s.c.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1483492 .
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MARIARZEPINSKA

The DivineWisdom of Michelangelo in The Creationof Adam

The reemergence of long obscured details in Michel- Jesus from the Doni Tondo,de Tolnaysays, and he concludes
angelo's newly cleaned frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine that just as the female figure is the idea of Eve, so the putto is
Chapel has prompted fresh interest in the ideological pro- the idea of Christ.3Michelangelo thus intended to convey the
gram as a whole.' The focus of this articleis one such detail in Platonic view that these two ideas had already preexisted in
The Creation of Adam [Figs. 1-2]. This is a female figure sur- God's mind.4
rounded by smaller figures enveloped in the windblown Another interpretationof the puzzling female figure has
mantle of the Creator,and identifiableas putti or angels. They been offered by Jane Schuyler,who maintainsthat in the read-
are shown with God the Father in all the scenes of Creation ing of the Sistine ceiling program, Neoplatonic elements
except the first. While their number and placement vary and should be supplemented by cabalistic ones.5 Her reasoning
their role is not quite clear, they are always boys. Here, how- is as follows: "Cabaladiffers from traditionalJudaism in the
ever, in their midst is unmistakablya woman and a very lovely belief that God's nature has male and female elements. The
one at that. The Creatorembraces her with his left arm. Only right is considered the male, active side of the tree of the
her head, breast, hand, and bent knee are visible. Herface is Lord's body, while the left is the female and passive side."
turned towards Adam with an expression of intense concen- This left side is also associated with evil. The latter is likewise
tration [Fig.3]. present in God himself, since God (En Sof, the Infinite, the
Most Michelangelo scholars have overlooked this figure. Unknowable), encompasses all, including good and evil.6
Some mention it only as a "beautifulfemale angel."2De Tolnay, According to Schuyler,the female element, identifiedwith
on the other hand, writes, "It is very likely that the young the left, is illustratedon the Sistine ceiling three times, includ-
woman who looks with fascination at Adam is a representa- ing the figure under discussion in The Creation of Adam.7
tive of Eve, or rather of the 'idea' of Eve." He observes that Schuyler believes the latter is the Shekhina, which emerges
God singles out one of the putti by touching its shoulder with from God's left side just as Eve emerged from Adam's. Inthe
the fingers of his left hand. The putto resembles the Infant Cabala, the Shekhina is the female component of the divine

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1) Michelangelo Buonarroti, (cTheCreation of Adam)),Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome.

nature, an element of God himself, whose nature is bisexual, the sephira, but at the same time she possesses sinister fea-
constituting the hierogamous unity of contradictory ele- tures.9 Inview of the "characterological"implications,it is im-
ments-the male and the female. In the occult books based probable that Michelangelowould have had in mind this of all
on the Cabala, God, identified with the sephirothic Tree of images when paintingthe female figure.
Life, was frequently represented by a diagram of ten inter- In any case, there is no indication of any interest on his
penetrating circles denoting the ten sephiroth, or divine ema- part in the Cabala.10David Summers includes on the list of
nations.8The ninth sephira was the Shekhina. what the artist is known with certainty to have read Dante's
Schuyler writes: Divine Comedy and CristoforoLandino'splatonizingcommen-
tary on it, as well as II convivio, Petrarch's poetry, and the
As a result of her closeness to the Lord,the Shekhina is writings of Savonarola.11 It is clear from remarks cited by
identifiedwith the community of Israel,the nuptialJewish Michelangelo's biographers that he also knew the work of
Ecclesia, and the neshameh, the spiritusof the highest part Alberti, Pomponio Gaurico, Pliny, Vitruvius, and Marsilio
of the tripartitesoul. InMichelangelo'sscene she turns her Ficino's commentary on Plato's Symposium, but that he was
head around to view Adam, who has just been imbued first and foremost an avid reader of the Old and New Testa-
with the neshameh (herself). Her hand affectionately en- ments-undoubtedly in the Vulgate, for it has been estab-
circles the Lord'sleft arm as if to suggest that she lovingly lished that he knew Latinwell. His biography and letters dem-
accepts a part in man's redemption. onstrate that he was a deeply religious man and placed high
value on the true Christianlife.
ButSchuyler'sidentificationis not convincing.Judaicschol- Nor do the Neoplatonic elements which researchers have
ars point out the ambivalent characterof the Shekhina. She is discovered in his paintings and sculptures contradict this in-

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WISDOMOF MICHELANGELO
THEDIVINE

2) Michelangelo Buonarroti,((TheCreation of Adam)),detail, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome.

ference in the least. Summers rightly recalls that to be a ment, and Messianic foreshadowing was read into various
Platonist in the Renaissance, one did not have to study Plato pagan prophecies and oracles. Therefore, the presence of
or even Plotinus directly. Platonism was kept alive and ex- the Sibyls on the Sistine ceiling not only caused no surprise
panded upon down through the Middle Ages.12 Attempts to but presumably met with the unreserved approvalof the pope
reconcile Plato and Aristotle with the Bible, and the philoso- and his theological advisers.14 In this culturalcontext, the in-
phy of late antiquity with the Revelation, reached their apo- clusion of pagan or Platonic elements in the story of the Cre-
gee in the writings of the Florentine humanists of the Renais- ation is quite orthodox.15
sance. But theologians also took for granted the study of As for Michelangelo himself, contemporary records show
ancient philosophers, poets, and rhetoricians alongside that that his faith was not only fervent but also wholly subordinate
of the Bible.13 Forthe clergy at the papal court the Old Testa- to the teachings of the Church.Letterswritten by the artistto
ment served mainly as the prefiguration of the New Testa- his family duringthe paintingof the Sistine Chapel contain no

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MARIARZEPINSKA

3) Michelangelo Buonarroti,((TheCreation of Adam)),detail, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome.

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THEDIVINE
WISDOMOF MICHELANGELO

referenceto his artisticideas, but he repeatedlyasks for a prayer the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his
"thathe may please the pope" and succeed in his work.16 commandment: when he appointedthe foundations of the
Knowing that Michelangelo was deeply religious and fa- earth:Then Iwas by him, as one brought up with him: and
miliarwith the Scriptures, Julius IImust have had equal con- Iwas daily his delight, rejoicingalways before him: Rejoic-
fidence in both the artist's talent and his ideological program. ing in the habitablepartof his earth; and my delights were
This is clear from a letter of Michelangelo's in 1523 in which with the sons of men.
he describes the commissioning of the Sistine ceiling. At first
the pope proposed a scene with the twelve Apostles, but These are the words of Sophia, or Divine Wisdom, she
Michelangelo regarded the idea as "too modest." Julius then who accompanied the Lordfrom the beginning of Creation,
changed his mind and gave Michelangelo free reign to do as and who may well be portrayedhere.18 She alone is so close to
he saw fit: "Allorami dette nuova commissione ch'io facessi the Lord'sside, and her alert, intelligentface looks attentively
ci6 ch'io volevo, e che mi contenterebbe, e ch'io dipignessi at the first of the "sons of men"created by God, whose face is
insino alle storie di sotto."17Not only did Michelangelo gain serene and joyful in this fresco only.
the freedom to choose his own subject matter but he also I believe that the identificationof the female figure as Di-
received permission to paint a much larger area. The "storie vine Wisdom is indeed the most probable, even if it may strike
di sotto" refer to works by Quattrocento painters of episodes some as too simplistic. Corroborationappears to lie in recent
from the lives of Moses and Christ.So much trust shown by studies by historians of religion, summed up by J. O'Malley.
the head of the Church obligated Michelangelo to do his ut- He rejects-perhaps too radically-the prevailingNeoplatonic
most; it is therefore understandable that he wanted his father interpretation of art historians in favor of the view that
to pray that his son might satisfy the pope in every respect. Michelangelo must have relied on a theologian or group of
In view of these circumstances, it is most unlikely that clergy for advice, a logical supposition in light of the impor-
Michelangelo would have drawn his inspirationfor the Cre- tance of the commission. O'Malleyacknowledges that careful
ation scenes from any source other than the Bible, even if he examinationof the archives produced nothing definitive,other
did not strictly follow its chronology of events. (Even Vasari than the proposal of such names as Egidio di Viterbo and
and Condivi were unsure of how to interpret some of the CardinalMarco Vigerio.19
scenes.) But despite the lack of established proof, it is unthinkable
Thus, it is not necessary to refer to either the Cabalistsor that the pope and his court would not have taken an interest in
the Platoniststo understandwhat Michelangelowanted to show the orthodoxy of the fresco programduringthe more than four
by paintinga beautifulfemale figure at the side of the Lord.The years of its execution. Moreover,both Vasariand Condivirefer
following passage is from the Book of Proverbs (VIII:22-31): solely to Biblicalsources for the frescoes. The former says the
scenes were drawn from the Book of Samuel, while the latter
The Lordpossessed me in the beginning of his way, before claims they represent "quasitutto il Vecchio Testamento."Ac-
his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the cording to O'Malley,some episodes in the lower parts of the
beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no ceiling derive from the Book of Maccabees.20
depths, I was brought forth; when there were fountains Notwithstandingthe presumable participationof members
abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, of the clergy in the program,because Michelangelo had full or
before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had nearly full freedom to select the episodes to be included, it
not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of may be supposed that it was his own idea to use a passage
the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I from the Book of Proverbs in The Creationof Adam. Perhapsit
was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the fascinated the artist-himself a poet-with its rare beauty,and
depth: When he established the clouds above: when he in his ravishingportrayalof DivineWisdom on the Sistine ceil-
strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to ing, he created a worthy equivalent.

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MARIARZEPINSKA

1 The predominanttendency in the past was to interpretthe pro- the complement and oppositionto the male element, and as passivity
gram in the spiritof Neoplatonism,as did C. de Tolnay,Michelangelo, relatedto the demonic "leftside." Scholem remarksthat the left side is
Princeton,1969, I(withbibliography).M.A. Hettner,ItalienischeStudien not consistently identifiedwith evil. It is certain, however, that in the
zur Geschichte der Renaissance, Braunschweig,1879, was the firstto image of the Shekhinafrom cabalisticwritings,ambivalentas it is, dark,
indicate Platonicelements. demonic featurespredominate,sometimes makingit resemble"eastern
2 See G. Brandes, Michelangelo, His Life, His Times, His Era, monsters,"while it also echoes very ancient cosmic lunarsymbolism;
New York,1967, p. 260. See also J. Wilde,Michelangelo:Six Lectures, see Scholem, Vonder mystischen Gestalt,p. 186.
Oxford, 1978, chapter on "TheSistine Ceiling,"pp. 48-84; in this de- 10 Schuylerassumes that Michelangelocame to knowthe Cabala
tailed study he makes no mention at all of the female figure in The through indirect means, primarilyvia della Mirandola.The latter's
Creationof Adam. Nordoes F Hartt,Michelangelo, London,1965, writ- Conclusiones Philosophiae, Cabalisticaeet Theologiae, published in
ing on the scene (p. 102). 1486, andHeptaplos,which appearedthree years later,contained both
3 De Tolnay,Michelangelo, pp. 6-44. It is not clear whether it is cabalisticand Platonicelements. InSchuyler'sview, Michelangelomay
indeed the prefigurationof Christthat is meant here. De Tolnayignores have readthese works duringhis stay in the ViaLarga,as well as trans-
the fact thatthe discussed puttoclasps the woman's knee with its hand, lations of some of the books of the Cabalaowned by Pico himselfand
which is quite inexplicableif she is either Eve or the idea of her. which were also to be found in Lorenzo'slibrary.Schuylersays that her
4 In support of his thesis, de Tolnay quotes a fragment of interpretationis based on cabalisticelements in Pico's writingsand on
CristoforoLandino'scommentaryto Book XIIIof Dante's //paradiso: works quoted or mentioned by him, and she refersto Sholem, Onthe
"Nelladivinamente e sapientiapongono le cognitionidi tutte le cose, e Kabbalahand Its Symbolism, New York,1965. (Not having access to
queste Platone chiama 'idee."'Anothersource was to be provided by that edition, I rely in this article on the earlierGermanone; see n. 9,
Pico della Mirandola'sHeptaplos, a Platonicinterpretationof the Book above.)
of Genesis. De Tolnaymakes clear that it is not certainwhether it was 1 Michelangeloand the Languageof Art, Princeton,1981, pp. 9-
these texts which Michelangeloused, but the artist's renderingof the 11.
act of Creationis close to the Neoplatonicconcept found in them. As 12 lbidem, p. 15.
13
we know,Michelangelolived in the Medicipalace in the ViaLargafrom See S. Swieawski, Dzieje filozofiieuropejskiejXVwieku (The
1490 to April8, 1492 (the date of Lorenzo'sdeath), and in this period Story of Fifteenth-Century EuropeanPhilosophy),III,Warsaw,1978, pp.
may have become acquaintedwith elements of Platonismwhich per- 168-74 ("Platochristianus"),174-77 ("Platognosticus'i.
14
vaded humanistthought at the CareggiAcademy and the Medicicourt. See J. O'Malley,"IImistero della volta. Gliaffreschidi Michel-
s J. Schuyler,"The LeftHandof God: A Reflectionof Cabalain angelo alla luce del pensiero teologico del Rinascimento,"inLacapella
Michelangelo'sGenesis Scenes," Source, Notes in the Historyof Art Sistina. I primi restauri:Lascoperta del colore, Novara, 1986, pp. 92-
VI,no. 1 (Fall1986), pp. 12-19. 148. He points out that the Sibyls had appeared in art before-in the
6 InJewish
mysticism, God as the giver of all encompasses both pavement of the cathedralof Siena, for example-but that this is the
darknessand light.This idea found expression in magic, alchemy,and firsttime they were represented in such a prominentplace.
art at the turn of the sixteenth century;see M. Rzepiriska,"Tenebrism 15isBut as far as cabalistic doctrines are concerned, even if one
in BaroquePaintingand ItsIdeologicalBackground,"Artibus etHistoriae assumes thatMichelangelolearnedof them throughsecondarysources,
VII,no. 13 (1986), pp. 91-112. as is probable,it is hardto imaginethat he would have expressed them
7 Eveemerges fromthe leftside of Adam,and the serpent,which on the vault of the papel chapel, in the very heart of Christianity.It
has a woman's head and upper body, is handingAdam the apple with should be rememberedthatthirteenof the theses in Pico'sConclusiones
the left hand. Schuyler identifies the serpent with Lilith,the embodi- were censured by Pope InnocentVIIIand their authorwas imprisoned
ment of temptation,the "left-side,"wicked companion of Adam, con- at Vincennes.Afterhis release-due in large partto the interventionof
trastedwith Eve, whom the Churchsaw as a prefigurationof the Virgin Lorenzode' Medici-Pico continued to publish works which enjoyed
Mary. great popularityamong Florentinehumanists,but it is unlikelythat the
8 Forsuch a diagram,see the title page of AndreaRiccio'soccult Vaticanwould have forgotten about the charges of heresy previously
book Portaelucis, Amsterdam, 1560. broughtagainst him. Despitethe then very liberalattitudeof the Church
9 Inthe Bookof Zoharwe readthatthe Shekhinais often rendered authoritiestowards various manifestationsof religioussyncretism,the
as the personificationof sin, judgment,and expulsion,and that herface Cabala Jewish gnosis came in for repeated criticism and was even
is then dark;see G. Scholem, ZurKabbalaund ihrerSymbolik,Zurich, condemned by lay scholars as well. An ample literature adversos
1960, p. 143. She is also sometimes identifiedwiththe Treeof Deathand Judaeos developed; see S. Swieawski, Dzieje filozofiieuropejskiejXV
withdemonic powers.Scholem,VondermystischenGestaltder Gottheit, wieku, IV,Warsaw,1979, pp. 140-43.
16 See
ch. IV,pp. 135-87, says the concept of the Shekhinacannot be traced Tolnay,Michelangelo, I, 6, 8.
17 lbidem, I, 249, Appendix. Michelangelowrote the letter in Flo-
directlyback to the Bible but only to the Apocrypha.It occurs in the
Talmudand in rabbinicalwritings,whichtreatit as the personificationof rence to GiovanfrancescoFattuciin Rome.
the lightcreated by the Lord,withoutalways definingits female charac- 18 J. Klaczko,Jules II,Rome et la Renaissance (Paris,1898), ad-
ter. It is only in the mysticaldoctrines of the Cabalaformulatedin the vanced the theory that she is "Sapientia,identifiedby the Churchwith
early thirteenthcenturythat the Shekhinabecomes the ninthsephira: Mary,to whom the Sistine Chapelwas dedicated"(p. 355). This was
"als einer unter mytischer Fixation erscheinenden Hypostase der rejected, however, by W. Thode, Michelangelo, Kritische Unter-
ImmanenzGottes in der Welt....IhreweiblicherCharakterhatte schon suchungen iber seine WerkeI (Berlin,1908). Since then, no one has
starkpassive und rezeptiveZige." She is presented in this way in the pursued the idea and it was quite forgotten, having been superceded
Book of Zoharand the Book of Bahir.Her dark,demonic features are by the view of the figure as "the Platonicidea of Eve."
given particularemphasis in the Zohar,where she also appears most 19 See O'Malley,"IImisterodellavolta,"pp. 92-148; and also Hartt,
frequently,usuallyas the "eternalfeminine"in the sexual meaning, as Michelangelo, p. 31, who also emphasizes the possibilitythat Cardinal

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WISDOMOF MICHELANGELO
THEDIVINE

Vigerio, a Franciscanlike Julius IIand particularlyclose to him, may sostiene che I'animae creata sul momento della concezione. La linea
have played an advisory role. However,Harttwrites, "Thetheological del petto non suggerisce il modo caratteristicodi Michelangelo di
expert is forgotten in the dazzlinglightof the artist'simagination." rendere il petto femminile, ed e perfettamente coerente con quello
20 O'Malleyregardsthe female figure simply as an angel (p. 142): degli ignudi; i ricciolidei capelli inoltresono pii corti di quelli di molti
"Labellissima figura di adolescente, su cui resta un lieve sospetto nudi."One can hardlyagree with these claims. Michelangelopainted
d'androgynia,si distingue dagli altriputtiper una vibrantevitalith...." and sculpted the female breast in various ways; a comparison of the
F Hartt,"Lacreazione dell'uomo,"in Capella Sistina. La storia della Sibyls from the Sistine ceiling with the female figures on the tomb of
Creazione,Tokyo,1989, p. 254, also considers the figure male: "Spesso the Medici is sufficient. As for the hair,the style worn by the figure
e in modo incomprendibile caratterizato come femina e come here-a cluster of long curls bound on top of the head-is typically
rappresentazione della non ancora nata, incarnataanima di Eva, o feminine and is never found on a man in any paintingor sculpture by
perfino della VergineMaria,contrariamentealla teologia cattolica che Michelangelo.

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