The Creation of Adam is part of the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, painted around 1511 by Michelangelo. It illustrates the Biblical story from the Book of Genesis in which God the Father breathes life into Adam, the first man. It was among the last frescoes to be finished as work on that most famous ceiling was completed.
Mp>In the fresco, God is depicted as an elderly bearded man wrapped in a swirling cloak. Adam, located on the lower left, is completely naked. God has his right arm outstretched to impart the spark of life from his own finger into that of Adam, whose left arm is also extended in a pose mirroring God's. The mirroring poses also underlines that man is created in god’s image. Adam's finger and God's finger are not touching thus giving the appearance of God, the giver of life, reaching out to Adam with Adam receiving.
There has been extensive speculation about the meaning of The Creation of Adam's highly original composition. For many of these, Michelangelo's well-documented expertise in human anatomy has been the starting point. Among the theories, it has been noated that the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain, with the frontal lobe, optic chiasm, brain stem, pituitary gland, and the major sulci of the cerebrum. I has also been noted that the red cloth around God has the shape of a human uterus and that the scarf hanging out, coloured green, could be a newly cut umbilical cord.
Mp>The Creation of Adam is among the most well-known artworks of all time. It has numerous references in popular culture including the Original movie poster for E.T. with the Extra-Terrestrial depicting ET's hand touching that of a boy, appearances on Familiy guy, the Simpsons, Arrested development, Bruce almighty and latest it is seen cracking in the trailer of the movie 2012.
