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This chapter is about the shape of the body and the relationship between the body and space. The illustrations in this chapter show how to draw the viewer into the limited space of the image through a clever perspective, and also show a tighter structure of the body. The most interesting work in this chapter is The Last Judgement, another major work by Michelangelo in the same church, 25 years after he completed the zenith painting in the Sistine Chapel. The painter was 61 years old and spent nearly six years from late 1535 to the end of October 1541 painting hundreds of life-size nudes on the large wall behind the altar, which is nearly 200 square meters. This painting has traditionally been called an encyclopedia of human anatomy by art historians. Michelangelo’s study of human anatomy was so sophisticated that he personally dissected dozens of cadavers, studying the muscles and bones of the human body in detail and to such an extent that it seriously affected his appetite. The old man sitting at the bottom right of Jesus in the center of this painting holds a human skin in his hand, and the face on the skin is the author’s own. The author painted it on purpose.

The Last Judgement” is a magnificent painting that reflects the painter’s humanist ideology, in which he wants to punish all evils with justice, and “the end” means the total collapse of human tragedy. With superhuman courage, the painter uses nude images to show all of them, which once again confirms that he dares to affirm the meaning of man. The Christ in the painting is presented as a vengeful God who saved the earthly world, but it rejected him. Christ, who judges the earthly world, has no mercy, only justice, majesty and supreme power. Next to Jesus is the Virgin Mary, who did not dare to face the tragic “end of the world”, which was too terrible for this good woman. The fresco has a strong artistic impact, with the naked body against the gray-blue tones of the sky, giving the scene a dramatic tension.

This is a grand and magnificent picture, at first glance, it seems to have a sense of chaos, but on closer inspection, it is an orderly combination of figures. The artist has created more than two hundred life-size, Rex-like giants. With Jesus as the visual center, the whole painting forms a visual symmetry and harmony, and the combination of figures forms a swirl, as if a crowd of people is swept up in a cloak. Some of these figures have names, and some refer to a certain social class in general. With superhuman courage, the artist uses nude figures to represent them all, coming and going naked to face God. The artist’s ruthless exposure and scourging of the reality of evil and his judgement of the dark society and corrupt rulers are a demonstration of justice. The characters and episodes in his paintings are entirely the people and events, good and evil, truth and beauty of the social life in which the painter lived and experienced. The Last Judgement, which is so large in scale that it fills the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel, depicts more than 400 figures. They are based on real and historical figures. In 1534, Pope Clemens VII commissioned Michelangelo to paint the frescoes for the altar of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was going through a crisis of spirituality and faith at the time, and he chose the theme of “The Last Judgment” to show the great suffering he endured. Simpler in conception than previous frescoes, The Last Judgement depicts the moment of Christ’s coming, when he will judge the living and the dead, and those whom he absolves of their sins will be given eternal life.

THE BOOK: BOOD OF ART