Ignudo 1509

This is one of Michelangelo’s “Ignudi,” painted as part of the ceiling frescoes in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. These idealized nude male figures surround key scenes from the Old Testament, and reflect the Renaissance fascination with classical antiquity. Painted in the early 16th century, the Ignudi draw on the traditions of ancient Greek sculpture, as well as the Florentine obsession with disegno. They are overtly aesthetic figures, but the placement of male nudes in such a religiously important space reflects a wider tension between the earthly and the divine. The Vatican was, at the time, not only the heart of the Catholic Church but also an important center for artistic patronage and humanistic scholarship. Historical resources, such as papal correspondence and artists’ notebooks, can tell us much more about the meaning and context of these works. We can study these nudes and learn more about the complex dialogue between art, religion, and culture.