In 1473-1481, a church was built in the Vatican, named after Pope Sixtus IV, the Sistine Chapel. In 1508, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the vault of the chapel. For 4 years, the master worked on the creation of frescoes depicting 9 biblical subjects on the creation of the World, the creation of Adam and Eve, their fall and expulsion from Paradise, as well as events related to the Flood. And only centuries later it became clear that Michelangelo's frescoes are not just masterpieces of painting. As Professor Silvio Goren (the restorer who was engaged in their preservation and restoration) noted in his book, information about the nature of man is encrypted in these creations, which in the 16th century were considered heresy. The brilliant master wanted to pass them on to posterity without incurring the wrath of the all-powerful Catholic Church.
Creation of Adam (censored, Zen rules), vault of the Sistine Chapel.
How the work was carried out
The artist did all the painting himself, involving assistants only for preparatory work. He worked lying or standing with his head thrown back, using a special scaffold-scaffold. Being in an uncomfortable position for many hours was a painful ordeal, which could not but affect the health of the master. He suffered from arthritis, scoliosis. He could read only by lifting what was written above his head.
Michelangelo painted the ceiling, starting from the entrance to the chapel (from the last scene), gradually approaching the altar.
Michelangelo Buonarroti.
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Fresco "Creation of Adam"
In the very center of the vault, there is a fresco dedicated to the moment when God must touch Adam's hand to give him his soul. God is a gray-bearded old man, depicted against the background of a red cloak. In 1990, the American physician Frank Meshberger drew attention to the fact that the cloak in outline resembles the human brain in such a foreshortening, as if looking at it from below. At the same time, from the details of the picture, an image of the frontal and temporal convolutions of the brain, as well as the furrows between its lobes, clearly emerged.
Outlines of the brain.
3 - Furrows. 4 - Varoliev Bridge. 5 - Pituitary gland. 6 - Two vertebral arteries. 7 - Middle and frontal gyrus. 8 - Supra-marginal gyrus. 9 - Angular gyrus.
Michelangelo studied anatomy in his youth, secretly visiting the deceased monastery of Santo Spirito in Florence. While dissecting bodies, he made anatomical sketches. At the time, it was considered "an outrage over the body of the deceased," and deserved to be executed.
Michelangelo was a devout man, but possessing a brilliant mind and knowledge, he could not accept the dogmas imposed by the Catholic Church. Placing a hidden image of the brain in this picture, the artist wanted to show that God endows a person not only with a soul, but also with reason. In this way, the master protested against the pressure of the Church on the consciousness and will of people.
Creation of the world, fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Image of God separating Light from Dark
Modern experts have noticed that the fresco dedicated to the moment of the creation of the World, anatomically incorrectly depicts the throat and chest of God separating Light from Darkness. It seems that these areas are specially highlighted and highlighted. Scientists have come to the conclusion that there is a hidden image of various parts of the brain: the legs, temporal lobe, hemispheres, cerebellum, and also the spinal cord (in the form of a plait made of clothes on the chest). According to Dr. R. Douglas Fields from the University of Maryland, placing his secret message in the picture of the separation of Light and Darkness, the artist hinted at a conflict between Science and Faith.
An image of God separating light from darkness.
Michelangelo used two techniques to encrypt classified information. One of them is a “double” (or “ambiguous”) depiction of plots. The second technique is the creation of "inverted images", the hidden meaning of which can be understood only by examining the picture from the side or mentally turning it upside down. He hoped that in the future, people with knowledge of medicine and biology would be able to decipher these hidden messages and understand his idea of the perfection of a man with a mind.
Throat of God with a classified image of the human brain.
Michelangelo was not the only artist who tried using available means to encrypt his messages to descendants. For example, Leonardo da Vinci did the same. Hoping that a sophisticated mind would be able to unravel its secrets, the genius inventor sometimes wrote his notes backwards. So he tried to hide their meaning from those people who could turn his ideas into evil for humanity.