Sistine Chapel: Creation of Adam
"The Creation of Adam" is the fourth panel on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The frescos of the Sistine Chapel were painted by Michelangelo during 1508 and 1512. "The Creation of Adam" (1511) was one of the last paintings to be completed. The dimesions of this painting are 130 feet 6 inches x 43 feet 5 inches.
I wanted to focus not on the whole fresco, but on the section containing God and Eve. As you can see, as God reaches out His finger to Adam, there is a female figure emerging from behind him who has her left hand clutched on God's left arm. Our tour guide told us that this female was Eve, and Michelangelo painted her in to portray his view that God had the idea of Eve during the creation of man. God's hand also extend over, touching a child. It is believed that this baby represents Christ. All of the images behind God are yet to be born.
This image of Eve resonated with the poet, Vittoria Colonna. In her sonnet to Michelangelo she wrote:
I saw no mortal beauty with these eyes
When perfect peace in thy fair eyes I found;
But far within, where all is holy ground,
My soul felt Love, her comrade of the skies:
The symbolism of opening the doors is of God's mercy, reaching out to mankind's frailty. The door itself reprenents Jesus, who opened the gate of salvation up to mankind.By passing through the doors, pilgrims are symbolically conquering Adam and Eve's expulsion from Paradise.
For she was born with God in Paradise.
This image that depicts the spark of love, that is life, between God and man, also inspires love in its viewers. "The Creation of Adam" is truly a powerful piece of artwork. Within this painting, Michelangelo captured both the creation of man, and the creation of love.
Porta Sancta of St. Peter's
To the right of the entrance of St. Peter's, before you hit Michelangelo's La Pieta, there is a concrete wall, with a gold cross. Standing by Michelangelo's statue, I watched numerous people walk up to the cross and touch its worn and discolored bottom. This cross marks the Porta Sancta, the Holy Door of St. Peter's.
This door is only opened on a Holy Year (Jubilee), which is every twenty-five years. The Pope cracks the cement with a silver hammer on the first day of a Holy Year. This ceremony was inducted in 1450, and was tied to indulgences. The abuse of indulgences led to the door being only opened once every one hundred years. As the rules stand today, the Pope can open the doors whenever he wishes, but the ceremonial opening has been linked to the Jubilee.
When the wall is gone, the "Door of the Great Pardon" can be seen. It is made up of bronze panels, crafted by Vico Consorti, that depict scenes of man's sin and redemption through God's mercy. Vico's door replaced the wooden doors that occupied the space from 1749-1948. One of the panels crafts the scene of Jesus unlocking the heart of doubting Thomas.
The symbolism of opening the doors is of God's mercy, reaching out to mankind's frailty. The door itself reprenents Jesus, who opened the gate of salvation up to mankind.By passing through the doors, pilgrims are symbolically conquering Adam and Eve's expulsion from Paradise. The last time the Holy Door was opened was in 2000, by Pope John Paul II.
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