Summary:
Discusses two pieces of work done by Michelangelo, his marble sculpture of the Pietà and the Sistine Chapel painting The Creation of Adam. Explores how Neoplatonic ideas influenced him.
The art of Michelangelo can be characterized as having a neo-platonic influence. This idea is that of the combination of classic Greek philosophy, such as Plato and Aristotle, with the Christian beliefs. Michelangelo takes religious events and subject matter, such as the dead Christ with the Virgin and the Creation of Adam, and presents it in a way that is suggestive of how truth and beauty of the spiritual world can be revealed via the physical world.
One example of this influence is seen in Michelangelo's marble sculpture of the Pietà. Here we see the Christian subject matter of the Virgin Mother and her Son but with classical influences. Michelangelo uses the Greek drapery to gently fold over the Virgin's body in an elegant manner. Also, the serene atmosphere and control of emotions are reminiscent of the Greek Hellenistic period. In this sculpture, Michelangelo expresses the beauty of the soul and ideas of spirituality through physical means of soft drapery and tranquil emotions. The realism of the death of Christ is seen in the realistic way his body is sculpted, in an elegant, classical sway. The Neoplatonism here is clearly seen in the combination of all the elements.
A later model for the influence of Neo-Platonism in Michelangelo's work is illustrated in the Sistine Chapel painting The Creation of Adam. In this composition, God and Adam are almost level with each other. The depiction of God and mortal together is a definite reflection of Greek idea; the Greeks were the first to display humans at the level of the Gods in the Parthenon temple frieze of the Pantheotic Procession. Because they viewed "man as the measure of all things", man could be created in God's likeness. This is evident in The Creation of Adam, but we do see the Christian idea that God is the supreme ruler. Appearing to be descending from the heavens, and coupled with the Virgin and the Christ child, God takes on a different role than that of the mortal Adam, who is earthly and weighty. Neoplatonism can be seen here in the grouping of the Christian subject matter with classical elements. The ideal, spiritual beauty that Plato hypothesized can be seen through Aristotle's idea that beauty and perfection are available in the physical world. The composition of the painting is also a new twist on classical ideas. Adam and Christ appear in a turned contrapossto and show the boldness of the human figure as did Greek figures but spiritually affected.
Michelangelo's work, a cornerstone of Renaissance artistry, is a brilliant example of the effects of Neoplatonism on artwork. He was able to take Christian subject matter and depictions of God and use them as a means of showing Aristotle and Plato's theories'. Truth, beauty and perfection that pertain to the spiritual world are revealed through physical means such as the classic Greek body and the idea of mean being compared to God. The excellence of the soul is seen through excellence of the body and presentation of emotions.
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