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Sunday, February 08, 2009

Virtual tour of Sistine Chapel - Smarthistory

AP Art History students - please use this post to comment on the videos you watched from Smarthistory's website that are the virtual tours of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the wall of The Last Judgment. Here is the link to the Sistine Chapel Ceiling and for The Last Judgment. Can't wait to hear what you have to say!!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

These videos were very interesting. I like the one about the Sistine Chapel, because it tells of the way he was put up to painting the ceiling. He really didn't want to, but the finish product was amazing.
I like the way that it's not many scenes, but that is one big story. The false molding is also very amazing. For someone who wasn't great at painting, he did a wonderful job at copying a real thing in such a realistic way.
He does incorporate his sculptor backgrond in his painting. He paints people with these very natural poses that I haven't seen anyone esle ever use. People believe that it was the 'Old Testament' that was painted on the ceiling. 'The Creation' that is on the ceiling is not in the Bible, because in Bible, God and Adam never touch.
The 'Last Judgement' has alot of nudity in it. The message of the 'Last Judgement' is "Do not sin or you will burn in hell" and this meaning cause termoil throughtout the world.
The 'Last Judgement' has alot more rage behind it than the ceiling. He used this painting to show divinity. The picture of St. Bartolomue is the most graphic scene in this painting.
They say that all the nudity is not acceptable for the pope, but Michelangelo didn't care.

Anonymous said...

The recreation of the Sistine Chapel was really neat. It was interesting being able to see the paintings up close. I found it very interesting the Michelangelo took into account the way the light was coming into the room, and accounted for that. His choices for the scenes were interesting. I like that he mixed scenes from the bible with scenes from ancient stories.
The Last Judgment was a very interesting piece to look at and compare to the Chapel ceiling. You can certainly see the changes in style and content that Michelangelo used. It is much less hopeful that the ceiling. I really liked the theory that his face was in the skin of St. Bartholomew. The Damned man was such an emotional figure that it was impossible not to feel for him.

-Abby Jordan

Anonymous said...

Both recreations were really amazing, a bit boring I must admit b/c I felt like they just kept going on and on but amazing nonwtheless. The Last Judgement one was really good and I really liked the interacting on both. I still find it incredible that Michelangelo painted such a masterpiece even though he claimed that he wasn't a painter and to think of what he could have done if he had been a painter is mind blowing. You are also able to notice the differnece between the two b/c they were done in different times and with the whole interarction thing you're able to see it more and acknowledge his geniuos ways, and I just think that he was crazy wicked and the best there was.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed the Last Judgment piece because the video really goes into depth about the Popes who commissioned the piece, and the amount of time after the Ceiling that this was painted. I really enjoyed learning about the turmoil that was going on during the time of the painting, and hearing about how the Catholic Church was being attacked. It's so interesting! This piece served to make churchgoers understand that they would be punished if they disobeyed.
I loved the way the Sistine Chapel was so detailed, even though it was a technological recreation. I really enjoyed learning background about Michelangelo and the fact that he was a sculptor and not a painter. The Sistine Chapel Ceiling video was my favorite because of the informative sub-details, and the way that the video really went in depth about Michelangelo.

Anonymous said...

i like how they explain that in order reach the chapel's ceiling, Michelangelo designed his own scaffold and they also helpme see the real; rage behind it like to me i see it (since i saw it in closer view when they would zoom in) that god created a perfect earth and that humanity fell into disgrace and was punished by death, and by separation from God.

Anonymous said...

I really like the fact that in the video it describes how Michelangelo went about painting the ceiling and how much time and effort he went through trying to accomplish that task. I was just amazed by the ceiling but the figures he painted on the ceiling were just amazing too because the way their posed I have never seen before so its interesting how he painted it so in depth without any confusion and questions.

Anonymous said...

Its amazing how Michelangelo could even accomplish such a task, and not only finish, but completely put all other artists to shame, especially his rivals, with their own small paintings and frescos. These videos were extremely helpful and entertaining. The narrators were exremely educated and actually made you believe in Michelangelo's painting/fresco, as if you really needed anymore hints as to why its so great. What is great mostly of the Sistine Chapel video is its ability to allow you to move around and see each painting into better detail, giving that sense of you actually being there. The sub-detail in the history of how these paintings in the chapel came to be was the most enlightening and allowed one to realize just how Michelangelo felt about painting and his works.
-kelcey d. 6th.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoy how the video describes how Michelangelo painted the chapel. How he was able to complete the job over a four year period and was very picky about what apprentices he let him with small details. However Michelangelo painted the entire ceiling by himself and was able to incorporate his own ideas with the request of Pope Julius II. It is rather interesting the Michelangelo consider hiimself as a sculptor, but was commission to paint the Sistiene Chapel. He called the job a great horrible task, since it gave him great fame, however I was again a huge project to take on. The video gave great insight on how Michelangelo was able to paint the ceilling while standing with a bent neck. Since the Sistine Chapel tells a story and not multiple pieces, its follow is very dramatic.

~Desiree' D. Daniels
Art History
02/27/09

Anonymous said...

The videos of both the Last Judgment and the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel were both an enjoyment and a learning experience. I like the way that the representatives went in depth about the pieces, though I disliked the way that the guy kept on interrupting the girl in trying to get his point across. It can be seen that the figures on the ceiling replicates the three-dimensionality as well as the idealization of perfection, similar to the sculptural pieces that he created. The pieces on the ceiling are so magnificently beautiful that it brings amazement that they were created by an amateur. This simple fact led me to theorize that Michelangelo either had been a professional artist before he became a sculptor, or that when he fired his apprentices, a painter friend of his helped him paint the ceiling. This can also be a correct assumption since 25 years later when he created the Last Judgment, the figures were handled in a completely different way. There is no way that an amateur artist is going to abandon the aesthetics of his original work of such great caliber and wonder, but my theory could also be incorrect. If Michelangelo truly is the sole creator of both the Last Judgment as well as the ceiling, he is a genius of work and art. The illusion of the architectural pieces on the ceiling are amazing – the works of a true professional artistic genius.

-AJ Capleton

Anonymous said...

This particular video describes the development of artistic creations and variations, as well as the drift from the norm in paintings in the mid-nineteenth century, through the early twentieth century. I enjoyed looking at Hunt’s Strayed Sheep, as he used the sheep to represent the followers of Christ, an influence from the representation of Christ as the Good Shepherd and Protector of His flock. Hunt was a part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which wanted to do away with the formulas and guidelines of the English academy on how a painting should be created. The fact that these particular artists differentiated their paintings from the aesthetics of the artists of this time-period is nothing new. Artists throughout the Renaissance have always put a twist on paintings to create their own style and techniques, making it distinct to them. Monet on the other hand, with Boulevard des Capucines, created a piece in which was not particularly similar to any paintings prior to its creation. The three artists depicted nature its natural essence, not how it is suppose to be ideally depicted. I also liked the Potato Eaters by Van Gogh. I like his use of colors and his Caravaggistic characteristic of chiaroscuro, using light and dark colors, as well as the highlights and shadows that the single light source creates.

Anonymous said...

I think these videos do help in getting the scale and an idea of the setting down, but it also has some issues in my opinion. It doesn’t convey the lighting at all, which is a major part of the setting. Michelangelo certainly considered the lighting of the Sistine Chapel carefully when he painted it, so by stripping away the lighting and replacing it with the omnipresent, sources less lighting of Second Life, much of its impact is lessened. I also felt that the second life video didn't care the awe inspiring sense of the Sistine Chapel that visiting it, or even seeing a really good photograph can give, and this may likely be due the drawbacks in Second Life's graphics rendering/lighting engines.

I wonder if it says anything about me that the first thing I think about is not the art itself, but the technology used to show it.

I found Michelangelo's works to be impressive, and I think what was most striking for me was the solidity and power of his figures, which is evident in both the Sistine Chapel, and in his sculptural works. All of his figures represent the epitome of human power. I’m also greatly impressed by Michelangelo’s usage of Trompe-l'oeil in painting the fictive architectural aspects of the ceiling.

Anonymous said...

The intricacy and detail used in the rendering of Michelangelo's Last Judgement amazes me. The metaphorical and literal interpretations that can be drawn from this one work of art are so numerous. One fascinating thing that I saw in the painting of the Last Judgment was the use of real people in the modeling of figures for instance the man in the bottom right corner who is being devoured by a snake was actually a man who offended Michelangelo and his work. Michelangelo uses the skin of a martyred saint to represent his face on, and also, in some respects, to represent himself and his uncertainty about his fate. I also loved the fact that this piece does not celebrate the human figure, but rather puts it into perspective with Christ revelaing our ultimate insignificance. Michelangelo in a way sacrifices the beauty of the human form to deliver the message of salvation or damnation that is the result of the ultimately impure human soul. The intellectual nuances of the Last Judgment are so interesting, and that would have to be my favorite part of this piece.

Anonymous said...

It was very interesting to see how Michelangelo arranged the paintings depicting Bible stories. on the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was able to create the illusion of marble architecture, which established the framework for the figures on the vault of the chapel. The view from the video is much better and more detailed than the image from the book. My favorite piece was The Last Judgment. It showed how powerful the Church was at the time and the beliefs they wished to instill into their worshippers.

-Bianca Medina

Unknown said...

I disagree with Rosaura- I didn't think the videos were boring at all! I loved hearing all the interesting things they had to say about Michelangelo, the time period/background, techniques, and the meanings behind each section.

Impressive would be an understatement. The false molding looks so real! The colors are so vibrant, and the figures are so glorious! Just trying to imagine what it would be like to plan and paint either of these masterpieces is mind blowing! I liked being able to see the orientation of the pieces in the building, it really brought it to life- I wish I could see it in person! Maybe someday. :)