Creation of Adam

The Creation of Adam is a fresco painting by Michelangelo. This painting

can be found on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Painted between 1508 and 1512,
this artwork illustrates a story from the Book of Genesis in which God gives life to
the first man, Adam.
Michelangelo's Creation of Adam dates to 1508 when Pope Julius II della
Rovere summoned Michelangelo, who was busy chipping away at the statue of the
David in Florence, to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic
Chapel in Vatican City. Although Michelangelo was not as fond of painting as he
was of sculpting, he nonetheless accepted the challenge and headed to Rome where
he produced one of the greatest artistic accomplishments of human
civilization. The Creation of Adam is a fresco, which consists of fresh, moist
plaster with pigments dissolved in water, and measures approximately 280 x 570
cm.
The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the frescoes that decorate the
interior which is painted by some of the most famous artists of the High
Renaissance, including Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Pietro
Perugino. These frescoes depict a series of scenes from the Book of Genesis,
including the "birth" of Adam by Michelangelo, which is a representation of
Genesis 1, verse 26. This Old Testament verse reads Then God said, "Let us make
humankind in our image, according to our likeness".
 The Mona Lisa
by Leonardo Da Vinci

Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, is the wife of Francesco del Giocondo. This painting is
painted as oil on wood. The original painting size is 77 x 53 cm (30 x 20 7/8 in) and is owned by the
Government of France and is on the wall in the Louvre in Paris, France.

This figure of a woman, dressed in the Florentine fashion of her day and seated in a visionary,
mountainous landscape, is a remarkable instance of Leonardo's sfumato technique of soft, heavily
shaded modeling. The Mona Lisa's enigmatic expression, which seems both alluring and aloof, has given
the portrait universal fame.

The Mona Lisa's famous smile represents the sitter in the same way that the juniper branches
represent Ginevra Benci and the ermine represents Cecilia Gallerani in their portraits, in Washington
and Krakow respectively. It is a visual representation of the idea of happiness suggested by the word
"gioconda" in Italian. Leonardo made this notion of happiness the central motif of the portrait: it is this
notion that makes the work such an ideal. The nature of the landscape also plays a role. The middle
distance, on the same level as the sitter's chest, is in warm colors. Men live in this space: there are a
winding road and a bridge. This space represents the transition between the space of the sitter and the
far distance, where the landscape becomes a wild and uninhabited space of rocks and water which
stretches to the horizon, which Leonardo has cleverly drawn at the level of the sitter's eyes.
 The Last Supper
by Leonardo Da Vinci

In 1495, Leonardo da Vinci began what would become one of history's most influential works of
art - The Last Supper

The Last Supper is Leonardo's visual interpretation of an event chronicled in all four of the
Gospels (books in the Christian New Testament). The evening before Christ was betrayed by one
of his disciples, he gathered them together to eat, tell them he knew what was coming and wash
their feet (a gesture symbolizing that all were equal under the eyes of the Lord). As they ate and
drank together, Christ gave the disciples explicit instructions on how to eat and drink in the
future, in remembrance of him. It was the first celebration of the Eucharist, a ritual still
performed.

Specifically, The Last Supper depicts the next few seconds in this story after Christ dropped the
bombshell that one disciple would betray him before sunrise, and all twelve have reacted to the
news with different degrees of horror, anger, and shock.

Leonardo hadn't worked on such a large painting and had no experience in the standard mural
medium of fresco. The painting was made using experimental pigments directly on the dry
plaster wall and unlike frescos, where the pigments are mixed with the wet plaster, it has not
stood the test of time well. Even before it was finished there were problems with the paint
flaking from the wall and Leonardo had to repair it. Over the years it has crumbled, been
vandalized bombed and restored. Today we are probably looking at very little of the original.
 Madonna and Child
Duccio di Buoninsegna

Images of the Madonna and Child—a title that typically denotes a visual

representation of the Virgin Mary and her infant son, Jesus—are among painting's
most praised motifs. Originally an ancient devotional practice stemming from biblical
beliefs, artistically representing these figures has become a central theme in the canon
of art history.

Given its longevity, it is no wonder that the tradition has evolved over time,
culminating in a host of works that range from divine icons to down-to-earth
portrayals. Only by observing the motif's role throughout history is one able to fully
grasp its significance—both in Christian art and beyond.