The Sistine Chapel

A snapshot taken from Second Life

This week in class I was able to explore the Sistine Chapel in Second Life. My avatar was able to explore the works decorating the walls of the chapel. One work I chose to focus on was the,Baptism of Christ, which I have included a snapshot of from Second Life.The work displays a symmetrical composition with the focal point being on Christ in the center. The symmetrical composition is divided by a river in which Christ is being baptized in. On each side on the crowd of onlookers provides a balance and each person placed side by side demonstrates juxtapose. Adding to the symmetry of the work there are two figures which appear to be preaching to the crowd almost directly across from one another. A dominant shape is placed directly over Christ with a figure in a geometric shape. It is symmetrically balanced with an equal number of angels on each side.

After viewing the work in Second Life I was able to explore more about the Sistine Chapel on the internet. On the website,  http://www.wga.hu/tours/sistina/index_b.html, I was able to find more works by the artist, Pietro Perugino. The website included up close details of the work and I learned the artist, Perugino, was the only artist to leave his signature in the chapel above the depiction of the baptism. I also learned that Perugino produced the largest contribution to the chapel with altar wall paintings and three additional pictures.

While researching the work I learned that it is a fresco and wanted to learn more about what a fresco is and how they are made. I was able to find a video, What is a Fresco? , describing the process and demonstrating how a fresco is made. Learning how this is done gave me a great respect for the artist. When completing a fresco I learned how careful one must be since there is little room for error when working. The video showed me how the paint is absorbed into the plaster of each work and gave me a greater understanding of how each fresco came to be.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Overall, I found this week of classes exploration to be informative and interesting. I found many useful tools through second life which I can use to explore more works of art further.