The first time I encountered William Blake's Elohim Creating Adam, it struck me by its eery atmosphere and uneasy mood. It is so different from Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam on Sistine Chapel's ceiling. I was puzzled and tried to figure out why these two pieces are like different stories of the same event. From my own feeling, not from a closer study,
these are what I find:
Michelangelo's:
1. God is going to touch Adam lightly
2. Adam is longing for God's touch
3. Adam sits and is able to stand up the next moment
4. an atmosphere of harmony
5. Adam will be perfected
6. a bright future is expected
7. Adam is going to be transformed
8. a sense of beginning, like a prelude
William's:
1. God is pressing hardly on Adam's head
2. Adam appears to have no choice
3. Adam lies on the ground and is restrained
4. an atmosphere of discord
5. Adam faces endless struggles
6. a disaster is inevitable
7. .Adam must be returned to dust (God's one hand is clutching clay)
8. a sense of ending, the fate of human being is doomed
Almost three hundreds years after Michelangelo's work, William Blake found it difficult to be optimistic about human being. Another two hundreds years later, the situation of the world is even more dreadful.
Interesting analysis. I wonder if the difference between the two artist might be more about optimism and pessimism rather than a sign of the times though. Or it could be that Michaelangelo was hired to paint the chapel ceiling by the church and Blake had no motivation other than his own feelings about the creation of Adam.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis is very interesting! I enjoyed how you expressed your feelings about each painting, in a sequential manner, as you would in a conversation where emotions and thoughts unravel themselves in a distinct order. I wonder if that is how the artists were feeling as they created these works? Were they attempting to have a conversation with the spectators, bringing to them the visual images that crowded their own minds, with a sequential order placed on importance as the spectator viewed the canvas? Like Denise mentioned in her comment, understanding the artist context, motivation and purpose is critical to understanding the underlying meaning behind a painting. Without that, we can only surmise based on our own feelings about the art and the social and cultural context in which we view it.
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