
A common cliché in the artistic world is the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” which is true to an extent. The meaning found within a work of art is only limited by the perspective of its observer which is why a picture is worth so much more than a thousand words. When observing a painting it is common to look at the work based on the period during which it was produced, religious or other influences, and any other background information about the artist or his inspiration though these details don’t tell the whole story. Although you can derive meaning based on the influences of a work of art it often detracts from the beauty that is presented to try to place the work in a box by labeling it as something which it’s not rather than respecting it for what it is. In Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam it is obviously a religious work as it is painted on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel but the way this image is painted offers insight into his view of God and his interpretation of the creation story. Also a work of art is a sum of all of its parts, all of the intricacies combined create the image as a whole and by choosing to focus on any single piece of a painting you can find new meaning in the smallest details.

This painting is very simplistic in the background detail which allows the people at the forefront to appear more lifelike in comparison. In this painting Adam appears naked laying atop a high mountain peak with one arm extended as far as it will reach towards God. On the other end of the painting is God who is being carried through the air by several angelic beings, some look like grown men and women others in the form of cherubs. God is straining his reach equally towards Adam which shows how God cares for his creation in the same way his creation cares for him. Adam is looking at God with a sense of longing his face shows that he cares for this being who created him and longs to be closer to him while God’s face seems to have a similar longing look but with more concern for his creation. God showing concern towards Adam shows that even though God is an omnipotent being who is far superior to Adam he still views him as his son and who he cares deeply for and worries about his safety as he cares about the well-being of all of his creations. Another interesting detail of this painting is the fact that Adam and the angelic figures carrying God appears naked while God appears clothed in an ornate flowing robe, this detail could suggest God’s superiority to all other beings but it also suggests a certain sense of vulnerability and innocence. In the creation story Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden and they are naked but they do not feel ashamed until they eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and understand shame. The fact that Adam is naked in this painting and doesn’t feel the need to clothe himself shows that he has not been corrupted yet by the words of Satan and he has not yet lost his innocence. 

Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam was a religious piece painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel under the commission of Pope Julius II. Michelangelo painted numerous pieces on the ceiling though this one was placed at the center of all the paintings and is one of the most recognizable of all the paintings in this set. It holds special meaning because it depicts the creation story which is one of the most famous stories in the bible and is featured at the beginning of the book of Genesis. The orientation of this painting at the focal point of the ceiling shows that Michelangelo views this painting as one of the more important ones because it embodies the relationship between God and man and depicts a close relationship through the reaching out by God and Adam attempting to make even the slightest contact. 

 We can also find meaning in what Michelangelo chose to exempt from this painting. By excluding Eve from this painting an observer could infer that either Michelangelo believes the creation of Adam was more significant to focus on than painting Adam alongside Eve. It is also plausible to assume that this exception of Eve from the painting was a personal choice by the artist because he believed women are less important than men which was a commonly held belief in his time period when men ruled the world and women stood idly by. Though there are any number of explanations for the lack of any other people in this artwork aside from the angels it is likely that Michelangelo simply chose to exclude all nonessential details in the painting as a way to fully express the image he viewed as the most important in the telling of the creation story.

This painting exemplifies an artistic representation of the love between an omnipotent creator and his creation. My interpretation, though it may be accurate, could be limited by my background knowledge of this artwork as well as my knowledge of the bible which allows me to interpret this as a religious painting. Although there is more than meets the eye in works like this it does not have to be interpreted in a religious sense. It is possible for someone who has no knowledge of this painting, or Michelangelo, or even the Christian religion to interpret this work in a very secular way due to the fact that they are not limited simply by what they know about the artist and the painting. This plausibility of any number of interpretations of this work is what gives validity to the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” because the only limitation to our interpretation of a work of art is our own knowledge and creativity as well as our ability to keep an open mind and a healthy speculation.