Michelangelo further enhances this message in his Last Judgment, depicting a skull in the blues of the fresco, glaring down from over the altar at the Pope and congregation. It is possible that he painted the ceiling as he did in order to remind everyone who visits the Chapel of the historical/religious roots of Christianity. “It has been conjectured … that the artist’s image of God reflects his personal feelings, that he translated pagan into Christian iconography, and even that Julius II served as the model for God the Father…” (Camesasca 192-193). To further remind the viewer of his link to Julius II, Michelangelo decorated the ceiling with images of oak leaves and acorns that represent Sixtus IV and Julius II, who “were from the della Rovere clan, whose name means ‘of the oak tree’” (Blech and Doliner 29).
There are nine panels going up the center beginning at the altar comprising the Biblical storie: 1. The Separation of Light from Darkness (Gen. 1:1-5), 2. The Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Planets (Gen. 1:11-19), 3. The Separation of Land from Sea (Gen. 1:9-10), 4. The Creation of Adam (Gen. 1:26-27), 5. The Creation of Eve (Gen. 12:18-25), 6. The Original Sin and Banishment from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-13, 22-24), 7. The Sacrifice of Noah (Gen. 8:15-20), 8. The Flood (Gen. 6:5-8, 20), and one of the first panels painted since its location over the door makes it less obvious should anything go wrong, and 9. The Drunkenness of Noah (Gen. 9:20-27). There are two ways to approach a “reading” of the ceiling, and both result in fundamentally different interpretations of the latent message of the ceiling fresco. Reading it from the altar to the door suggests the failure of the Christian church as an autonomous religion separate from Judaism. Reading it from the door to the altar gives a message of hope for the Christian church. Both readings are equally valid depending on the vantage point of the reader, but I favor the first reading, because that is the direction of the figures.
The first panel of this reading is the Separation of Light from Darkness, taken from Genesis 1:1-5, in which God, after separating heaven from earth, then separates earth from light and dark. Symbolically, this can be interpreted as the separation of Christianity from Judaism, hence its significant location over the altar of the Sistine Chapel. In this way, the painting initiates Michelangelo’s commentary on the politics of the Christian church.
The second panel is the Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, derived from Genesis 1:11-19. Michelangelo takes some liberty with this passage in order to acknowledge the new astronomical developments of the Renaissance revolving around heliocentrism. This panel shows God from both angles. On the right side of the panel, Michelangelo shows God in the act of creating the sun and the moon, “the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night” (Jewish Study Bible Gen. 1:16). God is looking at and pointing to the sun, with an arm extended behind him pointing to the moon. This suggests the importance of the sun, an image associated with Christ, over the moon, again enhancing the message of the first panel, and the “triumph” of the Christian church over the Jewish. To the left of the panel, Michelangelo shows God reaching over a bush, suggesting the creation of vegetation; however, he shows God’s vulnerability in showing not only his back, but his bare ass as well. Already the ceiling is suggesting that the stability of the church is equally susceptible. “God is already, at this earliest moment in his story, a mix of strength and weakness, resolve and regret” (Miles 29). This could also be a rude insult to Julius, slipped in to help Michelangelo “release his pent-up frustration” (Blech 30).
The third panel is the Separation of Land from Sea, from Genesis 1:9-10. This is the last panel Michelangelo paints relating to the creation of the earth, yet it does not exactly depict the separation of land from sea as much as it shows God imposing his power over the land, which could metaphorically suggest the imposition of power of the Church over the people.
The fourth panel is among the most famous segments from the ceiling fresco, the Creation of Adam from Genesis 1:26-27. This panel shows God, supported by his cherubim, reaching, almost straining, to touch Adam, who appears to be returning the touch with only half interest. He does not fully extend his hand to reach God, and maintains a stiff pose with no real interest in making contact with God. Often, this is interpreted as the lifeless Adam just before God breathes life into him. This is the central panel of the ceiling, and the turning point of the story. With the creation of Adam, God is placing a lot of the task of fulfilling his duties onto his human race. Regardless of whether or not he created Adam to be a friend or to be subservient, he nonetheless created a sentient being capable of making his own decisions. From this point on, humanity faces a downfall. Or, to follow our reading of it, this marks the point when the Christian church puts its faith in the Pope to be its leader. With Adam representing the Pope, this suggests that the papacy has not always functioned with the church’s best interests in heart. Also, with the suggestion that Julius served as a model for God, it could be interpreted as Michelangelo’s own ambivalence toward Julius, possibly stemming from his frustration at not being able to complete the tomb project.