The Creation of Adam

Michelangelo's fresco frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in Rome are among his most important creations.

The special feature of this is that the image of God is created in the form of a normal mature human figure, which is not depicted by many Christian artists.

The painting depicts God with angels pointing to Adam and Adam reaching out to God.

Here the old form of God and the youth of Adam are beautifully depicted in giving life to man. The energy and vitality that can be seen in his sculptures can also be seen in this painting.

God is depicted as an elderly white-bearded man, wrapped in a swirling cloak while Adam, on the lower left, is completely naked. God's right arm is outstretched to impart the spark of life from his own finger into that of Adam, whose left arm is extended in a pose mirroring God's, a reminder that God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness"   The inspiration for Michelangelo's treatment of the subject may come from a medieval hymn, "Veni Creator Spiritus", which asks the 'finger of the paternal right hand'  to give the faithful speech.  The two index fingers, however, are separated by a small gap and some scholars think that it represents the unattainability of divine perfection by man.