The musty smell of lime plaster fills the air just under the chapel’s ceiling. The artist works quickly on each section of the fresco as he stands on a scaffold platform 68 feet above the floor.
Along the perimeter of the high barrel vault of the Sistine Chapel, Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti paints 12 prophetic figures—seven male and five female. The artist depicts the figures as deep in thought, or reading, writing, and listening to God speaking to them.
Ancient Seers
Michelangelo selected certain male prophets from the Old Testament: Jonah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Zechariah, Isaiah, and Daniel. We are familiar with their stories from the Bible. Jonah feared giving people bad news and tried to run away but was swallowed by a big fish. Jeremiah was said to have cried when he foretold of Jerusalem’s destruction. Ezekiel also prophesied about Jerusalem’s destruction but said Israel would be restored. Joel admonished people to repent. Zechariah prophesied that Jesus would enter Jerusalem. Isaiah told of Jesus’s suffering. Daniel was known to interpret dreams and survived when thrown in a lion’s den.
Balanced Composition
It was said that Michelangelo would not allow assistants to work on the ceiling with him because they did not have sufficient skill, so he did all the work. It took four years and was completed in 1512. Each powerful figure is shown within a painted marble enclosure. Aware of the height a figure was to be seen from, he used the technique of “di sotto in sù” (“seen from below”), which changes the way the figures are seen from a distance.
The artist planned the placement of each figure with care. He placed Jeremiah, who prophesied Jesus’s suffering, at the front of the composition and Jonah, whose life foretold Jesus’s resurrection, at the other end. Along the long ends, each prophet is set across from a sibyl. The figures are seated on monumental thrones as they read manuscripts, books, or scrolls. Each figure has his or her name in Latin, below on a painted plaque.
Some are portrayed as young and vigorous; others have white hair and wrinkles yet are strongly built. Males and females alike have well-muscled bodies. Their robes and gowns are full and colorful and shown in depth. The artist’s strong realistic painting technique shows shadows as the robes whip, swirl, and fold around the figures.
The figures appear alert and anxious as they absorb the message, yet what they read animates them. Perhaps they are concerned about mankind because they have been told what will happen. They ponder, consider, and mull over what they must tell mankind. They twist and turn while pondering God’s messages.
The figures respond to voices, as shown in the image of Ezekiel. As if aware of God speaking to him, he lifts his head and looks out. An invisible breeze ruffles his cloak as he sits up, alert.
Message of Hope
At the darkest hour when evil infects all aspects of life, prophets urge people to adjust their moral compass, embrace virtue, and repent of their sins. When prophets give dire warnings for people to change their ways, they do indeed make people very uncomfortable. Eugene H. Peterson said, “The task of the prophet is not to smooth things over but to make things right.”For millennia, people have awaited the Chosen One who will free mankind from the forces of evil. Those who turn to goodness can rest easy when looking up at the majestic figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Their message gives hope that the best is yet to come.
