Around 500 years ago, the magnificent frescoes adorning Rome’s Sistine Chapel were unveiled to the public. Painted by the skillful sculptor named Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, these remain one of the Italian Renaissance’s most iconic masterpieces, turning the head of more than 5 million tourists gazing at their beauty each year.

The ceiling’s paintings took four years: there, Michelangelo produced an unprecedented work, especially when dealing with the most majestic themes of all:  The Creation, the Fall, and the Redemption.

 He spread a colossal decorative scheme across the vast surface, weaving together more than 300 figures in an ultimate grand drama of the human race.

Contrary to popular belief, Michelangelo painted, with the Fresco technique, in a standing position, not lying on his back. In fact, the artist used wooden scaffolds that allowed him to stand upright and reach above his head. He, himself, designed a unique system of platforms, which were attached to the walls with brackets. The impression that Michelangelo painted on his back might come from the 1965 film “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” in which Heston portrayed the genius behind the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling.

The central part of the ceiling shows scenes from Genesis. On both sides are some sibyls and several Biblical male and female prophets, who had predicted the coming of Jesus. 

Among the prophets are all the major ones: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel. In the lunettes above the windows a number of Jesus’ ancestors are shown. The corners of the ceiling show the rescuing of the Israelites, which was seen as a prelude to the Salvation.

In this short glimpse on Michelangelo’s ceiling, we are going to zoom in to better see and understand its Centerpiece: The Creation of Adam.

When looking at Michelangelo’s fresco's depicting the moment of creation: we see God, although depicted as old, but extremely energetic and dynamic. He points his finger at Adam, shown as a powerful youth, who in the center of the composition receiving the breath of life… There is no visible spark between the two barely touching hands, but Michelangelo did not need one to convey to the viewer this strength of love giving life. The divine dynamism is reinforced in God's blowing hair and beard. 

He is seated on a purple robe: Some theorists think that this robe shapes the unmistakable outline of a human brain. According to Frank Lynn Meshberger, a doctor who pioneered this hypothesis, Michelangelo meant to evoke God’s transfer of intelligence to the first human. 

And we see God is surrounded by angels….and a female figure. Eve??

Rev. Jacob Bertrand speaks of Eve “positioned under the protection of the Heavenly Father, and the red cloak swishes around both of them: so what looks like a brain from left to right, if you were to rotate it one turn to the left, you will notice that it looks like a heart with its ventricles. “

And as per the  Reverend  own words :”It is here that Michelangelo is making the theological point that is so important for all young women and men to know : Woman (Eve) is meant to be kept in the mind and heart of God and Man (Adam) is only capable of truly seeing her through the mind and heart of God.”

In his Letter to Artists, St. Pope John Paul II cites the famous and mysterious phrase of Dostoyevsky:” Beauty will save the world.” Does this mean that the beauty that is in the world will save it? Or must we look for a beauty from beyond the world? May be it’s a bit of both. The beauty that is in the world comes from beyond it. It directs us to where it comes from. 

This marvelous Sistine Chapel that serves the crucial religious activity of picking a new pope does witness a special expression of beauty… and while an exterior special chimney in the roof broadcasts the conclave’s results, with white smoke, the interior is bathed in the beauty from beyond…

 It’s all about Christianity… it’s all about saving beauty.