Separation of Light from Darkness
Michelangelo·1512
Historical Context
Michelangelo's Separation of Light from Darkness from 1512 is the last panel he painted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, at the very beginning of the Genesis narrative but executed at the physical end of his four-year campaign working backwards across the vault. God the Father twists in a full-body torsion that demonstrates Michelangelo's mature understanding of the figura serpentinata — the spiraling figure that animates space three-dimensionally — while the swirling void of pre-creation surrounds him. The panel is painted with extraordinary economy and speed compared to the early ceiling panels, reflecting his confidence after years on the scaffold. The divine act of separating light from darkness, the most abstract episode in Genesis, allowed him to paint pure energy and force without recourse to the human narrative that grounds the other scenes.
Technical Analysis
The single colossal figure of God dramatically twisting to separate light from darkness is painted with extraordinary freedom, the broad, sure brushstrokes reflecting Michelangelo's total command of buon fresco technique.
