Research project Michelangelo's The Last Judgment and the Celebration of Tenabrae in the Sistine Chapel
This study will reinterpret Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment (1535-1541) in the Sistine Chapel.
The painting has several unique features that have been the subject of different interpretations. Its size is colossal and, furthermore, in the lack of any framework or clear articulation of space, the many figures mostly appear as free floating, whirling against the dark blue background. Neither does the composition have the usual differentiation of the blessed on one side and the damned on the other. Instead it seems to be divided into horizontal zones, with symbols of the Passion above, the return of Christ in the middle and, at the bottom, the dead rising out of their graves and the trip across the river of Hades. An unusual detail in this context is the small cave right above the altar, which cannot be found in comparable representations of the motif. In this study these particular features are understood as a result of the liturgical context within which the painting belongs. Above all, it is understood in relation to the celebration of tenebrae during Easter in the Sistine chapel. Furthermore, the question of how the painting was used and rearranged during other parts of the liturgical year will be addressed, as well as the relation between The Last Judgment and other works of art in the chapel. Finally it is of interest to investigate the painting’s position within autonomous aesthetics.
Project description
The project had its origin in a poem by Gunnar Wennerberg, which vividly describes the suggestive interaction between the artwork, the rite and the music performed during a visit to the chapel 1852. A key issue was whether this relationship goes back to the 16th century and was a formative factor in the design of Michelangelo's painting. To this question was from the outset also added a question of the autonomous aesthetics and art history's relation to the painting: Why has this and similar connections between art and music, not been a topic for modern scholarship? Over time, the main issues of the project have been extended to include Michelangelo's oeuvre as a whole: What is the relationship between his art and the contemporary soundscapes they may have been created for and how has art history dealt with these issues?
The project's original question has been answered affirmatively: There seems to be an original and strong relationship between Michelangelo's painting and the celebration of Tenebrae in the Sistine Chapel. The ritual was well established in the chapel when Michelangelo began painting and emerge as one of the most important events of the ecclesiastical year. The psalm Miserere was sung during the celebrations and a modern and controversial version of the hymn was composed by the master of the chapel, Costanzo Festa, in the late 1510's. This composition has been the basis also for the later versions, such as Gregorio Allegri's famous piece from the middle of the seventeenth century that Wennerberg heard when he visited the chapel. Costanzo Festa and Michelangelo were in touch with each other when he began the assignment to paint the Last Judgment in 1535. Among other things, Festa set to music one of the artist's sonnets. The lightning ceremony and gradual darkening of the chapel associated with the celebration of Tenebrae stand in a clear and specific relation to how the painting is perceived; not only as a single cohesive, gigantic piece but gradually becoming more fragmented and broken down into rather loosely connected narratives. Temporal decorations of the chapel, such as garments and tapestries, also play an important part in how the fresco was displayed.
In other of Michelangelo's work there is a clear relationship with music and/or soundscapes as well. The survey points to those also in relation to the Medici Chapel in Florence and the monument of Julius II in Rome (San Pietro in Vincoli). Both of these works seem to originate in close collaboration with eternal prayers, requiems and hymns. The artistic creation is in many respects influenced by these basic conditions, particularly with regard to the overall compositions but also in some specific details.
The fact that art history has been so silent about these relationships are explained by several factors. The idea has flourished that visual arts of excellence stands and speaks for itself, without the support of the other arts, expressive lighting, performance of music or other ephemeral contexts. This idea is formulated for example by Gunnar Wennerberg in the above mentioned poem about Michelangelo's Last Judgment. In addition, practical factors play a part, such as older generations difficulty of travelling and heavy reliance on photographs, which freed the artworks from their original contexts, not least the auditory. Studies of historical soundscape also has in general been very rare until the present day.
A couple of issues for further research have arisen from the project. One concerns the relationship between the visual arts and soundscapes of the early modern period. On one hand the actual relations between works of art and the sound-generating practices of their ambiences and, on the other, what the outcome would be if we understood images as representations of soundscapes rather than as illustrations of texts. It is possible that such studies will become more frequent, now that we live in a multi-media, rather than a primarily text-based, media landscape.
The two most important publications related to the project is a peer-reviewed article in Konsthistorisk tidskrift /Journal of Art History from 2011 (Siting Michelangelo's Last Judgment in a Multimedia Context: Art, Music and Ceremony in the Sistine Chapel) and a yet unpublished manuscript (The Michelangelo Soundscape: Essay on the Silences of Art History). The article presents in detail the relationship between Michelangelo's painting, the celebration of Tenebrae in the Sistine Chapel and Costanzo Festas setting to music of the psalm Miserere. In the book manuscript all of Michelangelo's works are studied from an intertextual perspective, focusing on spectatorship, site specificity and soundscapes. The historiographical perspective is also central in this study. A rough draft has been completed but some polishing remains before publication.
Otherwise, results of the project have been presented in the form of some articles, published or in press, conference and seminar participation in Stockholm, Geneva, Rome (two occasions), Paris and Copenhagen (forthcoming). A number of lectures have been held around the theme. A feature on Swedish Radio has also presented the research results, which in turn generated a number of inquiries from the genreal public.
Project members
Project managers
Peter Gillgren
Professor
