Michelangelo’s Resurrected Christ from the Seattle Art Museum

A-Level: Art

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The sketch was made by Michelangelo in 1535 in Italy, during the Renaissance. Since the Renaissance signaled a rebirth for European art, the artwork reminds me of a rebirth of a Greek nude from ancient times. The drawing has been considered as an early idea for the Christ in the Last Judgment, which fills the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, and which was painted by Michelangelo between 1535 and 1541. In the distant past, during the Michelangelo centenary of 1875, the Italian artist Fabbrichesi (1875) indicated this sheet as a project for the Sistine wall. This drawing is now included in the group of graphic studies for the Resurrection of Christ, which is an in-depth examination that includes fourteen drawings which refer to the subject of the Resurrection and are intertwined with each other. To give an example, one might mention the undeniable and remarkable stylistic coincidences to be found between his work on the Sistine Chapel.
The artwork isn’t very big, merely an 8x11 drawing. However, the power that it displays makes it seem as if it was 10 times as big. Since it was somewhat of a blueprint for the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo had to use religious undertones and a sense of
holiness to it. Yet, it is so simplistic that you almost forget it depicts Jesus ascending into heaven and his disciples looking onward in amazement. I believe Michelangelo makes it so you can’t tell it’s religious because he wants to keep the viewer guessing and use it as a symbol for ancient Greco-Roman Art. What also stands out is the depiction of Christ is the only one with a discernable face. I believe he did this to show how Christ is more important than the other faces in the crowd.
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