There was a very interesting article in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings several years ago which presented a "medical interpretation" of Michaelangelo's The Creation of Adam.
A man of many talents, Michelangelo’s proficiency in anatomical dissection is reflected in his artwork... we see a postpartum uterus and adjacent anatomy, justifying our interpretation that Michelangelo was depicting something far more fundamental: the birth of mankind.Details of the interpretation at the link, including a comparison of God's "oval" to 16th century depictions of the uterus. Michaelangelo had extensive experience in dissecting and depicting the human body organs.
There are, of course, numerous other depictions of Adam in paintings and sculpture that depict him with a navel that theoretically should not exist.
I once read an interesting suggestion that in the painting above, God and the surrounding angels and cloth form a shape decidedly suggestive of the human brain, complete with the brain stem. As you mentioned, Michelangelo had extensive experience in dissection and therefore would have known what a brain looked like, even as to the inner structures. Sadly I can't remember the source, or I would provide it. The implication being, of course, that humankind was 'created' by our own intellect. It is, after all, what separates us from other animals.
ReplyDeleteHere you go -
Deletehttps://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/michelangelos-secret-message-in-the-sistine-chapel-a-juxtaposition-of-god-and-the-human-brain/
Or, "God" was created in the Human Brain.
DeleteMaybe God likes belly buttons and gave him one?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Alfred, God doesn't play dice so maybe this was his idea of fun.
DeleteUmmm, he also depicts God as a man with a beard. ??artistic license
ReplyDelete