DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.51585#0059
MICHAEL ANGELO.
55
nouncing the sentence of condemnation, “ Depart
from me, ye accursed, into everlasting fireand by
his side the Virgin Mary: around them, on each
side, the apostles, the patriarchs, the prophets, and
a company of saints and martyrs : above these are
groups of angels bearing the cross, the crown of
thorns, and other instruments of the passion of our
Lord; and farther down another group of angels
holding the book of life, and sounding the awful
trumpets which call up the dead to judgment. Be-
low, on one side, the resurrection and ascent of the
blessed; and on the other, demons drag down the
condemned to everlasting fire. The number of
figures is at least two hundred. Those who wish
to form a correct idea of the composition and ar-
rangement should consult the engravings : several
of different sizes and different degrees of excellence
are in the British Museum.
There can be no doubt that Michael Angelo’s
Last Judgment is the grandest picture that ever
was painted—the greatest effort of human skill, as
a creation of art; yet is it full of faults in taste and
sentiment; and the greatest fault of all is in the
conception of the principal personage, the Messiah
as judge. The figure, expression, attitude, are all
unworthy—one might almost say vulgar in the
worst sense ; for is there not both profaneness and
vulgarity in representing the merciful Redeemer
of mankind, even when he “ comes to judgment,”
d 2
55
nouncing the sentence of condemnation, “ Depart
from me, ye accursed, into everlasting fireand by
his side the Virgin Mary: around them, on each
side, the apostles, the patriarchs, the prophets, and
a company of saints and martyrs : above these are
groups of angels bearing the cross, the crown of
thorns, and other instruments of the passion of our
Lord; and farther down another group of angels
holding the book of life, and sounding the awful
trumpets which call up the dead to judgment. Be-
low, on one side, the resurrection and ascent of the
blessed; and on the other, demons drag down the
condemned to everlasting fire. The number of
figures is at least two hundred. Those who wish
to form a correct idea of the composition and ar-
rangement should consult the engravings : several
of different sizes and different degrees of excellence
are in the British Museum.
There can be no doubt that Michael Angelo’s
Last Judgment is the grandest picture that ever
was painted—the greatest effort of human skill, as
a creation of art; yet is it full of faults in taste and
sentiment; and the greatest fault of all is in the
conception of the principal personage, the Messiah
as judge. The figure, expression, attitude, are all
unworthy—one might almost say vulgar in the
worst sense ; for is there not both profaneness and
vulgarity in representing the merciful Redeemer
of mankind, even when he “ comes to judgment,”
d 2