SistineA comment by SignaVeritae on my recent post: “What Defines Art?” has wrought my decision to write a post concerning nature of Michelangelo and his artwork. First of all, I myself have difficultly understanding why Michelangelo painted his nudes in the Sistine Chapel, but alas, it is painted, and has been apart of the Church since the Renaissance. Signa makes mention that Michelangelo was a heretic. This statement has partial truth to it. Namely, some Vatican officials at the time of the painting decided to label Michelangelo a ‘heretic’ for his actions. Now, once again I shall look up the definition of a word, this time: “Heretic.” The Webster’s dictionary identifies the word as:

1: a dissenter from established religious dogma; especially : a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church who disavows a revealed truth
2: one who dissents from an accepted belief or doctrine

Michelangelo wasn’t a man who refuted a teaching of the Church, and joined a sect such as the Arians, Calvanists, etc… So we cannot label him as a heretic. An article on Howstuffworks explains Michelangelo’s conflict with Politics and Religion. I would like to quote a paragraph from the article:

The massive fresco, full of ghastly figures and nudity, reflected the traumatic events that had rocked the church in the previous years. Its graphic and threatening subject matter was the source of scandal and violent criticism. Vatican officials, shocked by the fresco’s nudity, labeled Michelangelo a heretic, and contemporaries petitioned for its destruction.
But the artist received and took refuge in the support of Paul III and his successor, Pope Julius III. The fresco remained unchanged until January 1564. But approximately one month before Michelangelo’s death, the assembly of the Council of Trent voted to “amend” the masterpiece by painting cloth over the “offending” (naked genitalia) sections.

So clearly, we can see that he was under the protection of the Pope, and the Pope DOES NOT protect heretics. It is fine with me for someone to critique the artist’s works, as I do so myself, (Since his nudes conflict with modest and the like.) But I would recommend doing a bit of research before making such a bold statement, as to call someone a heretic.

I recently watched a movie regarding the painting of the Sistine Chapel, and the relationship between Pope Julius II and Michelangelo, “The Agony and the Ecstasy,” starring Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison. The movie did NOT do Pope Julius or Michelangelo any justice. It portrayed the Pope as a man who was bent on having his will imposed upon the artist, and Michelangelo was portrayed as a ‘enlightened’ individual. Sort of like how the characters in Kingdom of Heaven are portrayed as ‘in-the-right’ because they refuse to listen to the Church’s Teaching Authority. It is very important to do some research into what we see, read, and say. For there are many confusing and twisted interpretations of history we must watch out for, which are meant to be misguide and confuse the average person on the basis of Church History, mainly on the Crusades and the Vatican.

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