Michelangelo portrayed himself as God in the Sistine Chapel: art historian’s version

The joke of the master of the Renaissance caused heated discussions in the art community

Art historian Adriano Marinazzo studied Michelangelo’s sketches and put forward a new theory: on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the artist secretly depicted himself in the image of God, who stretches out his hand to Adam. “Michelangelo thought he was the messiah of art, so that makes sense,” said William and Mayor College’s Muscarell Museum of Art curator, who is known for interesting theories surrounding the Renaissance master.

As evidence, Adriano Marinazzo cites a little-known self-portrait that the legendary Italian master painted on a sonnet for one of his friends. Michelangelo depicted himself with his arm outstretched, just like in the famous fresco in the Vatican. So, perhaps, this sketch was not just a gift, but a sketch. “Michelangelo had a big ego, so all of his art is autobiographical,” the art critic believes.

Colleagues consider Marinazzo’s theory quite probable, despite the fact that the mentioned self-portrait is rather conditional. However, the divine profile on the Sistine Chapel is similar to the more famous and accurate portraits of the master. The art critic’s version is being vigorously discussed in the art community.

By the way, two years ago, Adriano Marinazzo found another self-portrait of Michelangelo – carved on the stone of the facade of the Florentine Palazzo Vecchio. The art critic is sure that it was made by the artist himself. And before there was an assumption that the profile on the facade of the Palazzo Vecchio was created by the famous master on a dare.

According to another version, the artist depicted a famous Florentine bore who somehow stuck with Michelangelo with a long conversation, and the sculptor decided to occupy himself with at least something, fighting boredom. They even say that the artist cut out the profile blindly, putting his hands behind his back, while the interlocutor told his tedious story. So, a couple of years ago, Marinazzo found new evidence supporting the theory that this is a self-portrait of Michelangelo.

The art critic found a drawing in the Louvre, where the master depicted himself in the same way as in the image, on which the name “Nerd” was fixed. According to Marinazzo, Michelangelo carved the profile in 1504, when he was in Florence, preparing to paint the fresco “Battle of Cascine” and watching the installation of “David” in the square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. On the drawing stored in the Louvre there is an author’s postscript: “Who could say that it was my hand?”. Both studies of the art historian prove that Michelangelo was a fair joker.