On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, together with eight other frescoes, there is a particularly famous work of art, a pictorial guide to the evangelical message. This fourth panel tells the story of the creation of Adam, a pivotal event in the book of Genesis that was supposed to spark life and mark the beginning of humanity. Although this scene was a popular choice for artists wishing to contribute their part to the already vast heritage of Renaissance religious art, Michelangelo's Creation of Adam remains among the best-known interpretations. In fact, artists liked to include religious symbolism in their art, and Michelangelo was no exception. Through the use of various symbolic motifs, Michelangelo shows us his perception of a perfect birth and introduces the notion of terribleness: the expression of the power of God as a central theme in the iconography of the entire vault of the Sistine Chapel, but especially in the his depiction of the Creation of Adam. Sixteenth-century contemporaries liked to describe terribleness as the quality of inspiring terror, awe, or a sense of the sublime through art. To begin with, it is important to note that the word terribleness, before Michelangelo, was not part of the artistic language. The first person to describe his frescoes as terrible was Giorgio Vasari, an Italian painter and writer who wrote a collection of artist biographies. Vasari implies that artists, just like God, possess the Divino Manu, divine hands, capable of creating as well as destroying. Michelangelo would therefore be the counterpart of an angry God who instills terror, as he himself instills terror through his art. It should be noted that in the context of the Sistine Chapel painting, Michelangelo's inspiration for creating such art came from his own vengeful anger against Pope Julius II, who imitated God himself through his furious outbursts. As an act of defiance, Michelangelo should have transposed the Pope's anger onto the figure of God to mock him. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Creation of Adam is a prime example of the peremptory will and power of God the Father, expressed through gestures, expressions, and even proportions of the characters' bodies. The Creator seems to fly through the painting, his every gesture is an order, every moment is an explosion of power that culminates in this scene of the Creation of Adam, further underlining the concept of terribleness. Adam, brought to life by God the Creator, leans on one elbow, his uncertain gaze meets God's resolute gaze in a silent exchange of will and power. The tiny gap that separates the indexes of God and Adam symbolizes the materialization of the difference between the nature of the terrestrial universe and the divine world. This space, however small in the painting, remains symbolically immeasurable and can never be filled or crossed. We can also see a stark contrast between the hands of Adam and those of God, the former rather limp and the latter imparting true vigor and vitality. The command in the finger demonstrates that the gift of life remains the founding act of religion that only God can possess. Through his outstretched arm, God communicates his spiritual and physical energy to his creation. The passage of the spark of life from the Creator to Creation marks an important turning point in Genesis and all the scenes following this depiction of the Creation of Adam seem to be the consequence of this fatal act, from the creation of Eve to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden to the Universal Flood. These scenes are all the result of God's wrath, in which the/1483492