Viet Tran

Week 3 Annotated Bibliography

Michelangelo. The Last Judgment. 1537-41.
1. Barnes, Bernadine. Metaphorical Painting: Michelangelo, Dante, and
the Last
Judgment. Art Bulletin, 77 (1995): 64-81.

This article breaks down each section of the painting and

analyzes the metaphorical references of that Michelangelo has
portrayed. He uses quotes from Dantes Inferno and alludes to it,
which he expresses on the faces of the people depicted in the
scenes. Being raised Catholic; I thought it was interesting that
this article, as well as the painting draws upon the idea of hell.
The author suggests that Michelangelo does not believe in hell, a
place that has been instilled upon my brain as an extremely
tangible location.

2. Hall, Marcia. Michelangelos Last Judgment: Resurrection of the

Body and Predestination. Art Bulletin (1976): 85-92.

I thought that this article was interesting because it talks about

the resurrection of bodies, not of Christ, but of normal humans.
As a Christian, I was taught that as we die, our bodies return to
the earth and our souls will either go to heaven or hell. This
author states that Michelangelos work of art suggests otherwise.
According to this article, Paul says that bodily resurrection is
indispensable because Christs boy was resurrected, however,
this idea was repugnant to the Hellenic mind.

3. Khan Academy. Michelangelo, Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel

Ceiling, fresco, 1534-1541 (Vatican City, Rome) Speakers: Dr. Beth
Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissancereformation/high-ren-florence-rome/michelangelo/v/michelangelo-lastjudgment-sistine-chapel-ceiling-1628-1629

This video gives a great description of what Michelangelo

portrayed in his painting by two doctors of art. They describe
that Christ is in the center and on either side of him are saints
and Old Testament figures, but below Christ are the separation of
the blessed and the damned. We see Christ as a powerful judge
whos facing towards the damned, smiting them. He seems to be

pointing at his wounds inflicted by the sins of the damned. They

also describe a couple being pulled up by angels with rosary
beads. This shows the power of their faith, which at the hour of
judgment is saving them from eternal damnation.
4. Barnes, Bernadine Ann. Michelangelo's Last Judgment : The
Renaissance Response. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed June 19, 2015).

This book describes the history of how the painting came to be

as well as describes that the painting is about reward for being
good on earth and damnation for being bad. It describes the
painting as not only a historical depiction of what has already
came and passed, but also as a warning that it will happen. Not
only to the people in the painting, but also to the ones viewing it.
This book also describes the history of what was happening at
the time and how it influenced Michelangelos painting. It also
describes the critics and how they viewed the painting.

5. OMalley, John. The Council of Trent (1545-63) and Michelangelos

Last Judgment (1541) Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society, 156 (2012): 388-398.

I chose this article because it has some great history about the
early beginnings of the painting such as Pope Clement VII was
the one who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the
resurrection for the chapel. Clement died before Michelangelo
could bgin the project, but his successor, Pope Paul III renewed
the commission. The painting was not exactly what was seen in
1541, when it displayed even more flesh, including full frontal
nudity of some figures. For this, it was heavily criticized. Critics
also talked about the configuration of some of the figures with
them being rather suggestive.