Ignudi (decorative nude figures)
by MICHELANGELO

As part of the decorative scheme of the ceiling, above each of the thrones of the sibyls and prophets (except Zechariah and Jonah) are two figures of ignudi, sitting on plinths and bearing garlands of oak leaves and acorns, and of medallions painted to resemble bronze, with episodes drawn from the books of Genesis, Samuel, Kings, and Maccabees. Although it is within the painted architectural structure, their prominent position - contiguous to the nine prophetic visions - means that they cannot be considered as ornamental elements, and suggests that their function is more than the merely heraldic one attributed to them by Vasari. They seem rather to have been conceived as angelic figures in the special acceptation of "intermediary spirits between men and the Godhead" suggested by Charles de Tolnay.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

748*1176
True Color
165 Kb



Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

734*1240
True Color
174 Kb



Ignudo (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

856*990
True Color
162 Kb



Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

340*441
True Color
26 Kb



Ignudo (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

774*1050
True Color
130 Kb



Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

314*478
True Color
32 Kb



Ignudo (detail)
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

788*1050
True Color
129 Kb



Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

658*1000
True Color
100 Kb



Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

756*1180
True Color
148 Kb



Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

753*1000
True Color
111 Kb



Ignudo
1509
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

601*1000
True Color
89 Kb



Ignudo
1509-10
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

751*1170
True Color
133 Kb



Ignudo
1509-10
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

668*1000
True Color
101 Kb



Ignudo
1509-10
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

789*1000
True Color
130 Kb



Ignudo
1509-10
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

761*1000
True Color
125 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

862*1040
True Color
136 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

713*900
True Color
92 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

754*1170
True Color
144 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

757*1160
True Color
152 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

582*750
True Color
72 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

710*970
True Color
115 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

552*750
True Color
63 Kb



Ignudo
1511
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

520*800
True Color
70 Kb




Summary of works by Michelangelo
All genres
Sculptures | Paintings | Sistine Chapel | Drawings | Architecture
Sculptures
-1501 | 1502- | David | Julius II's Tomb | Medici Tomb | Pietŕs
Paintings
Easel paintings | Frescoes in Pauline Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Division of the ceiling | Genesis | Prophets | Sibyls | Ignudi
Spandrels | Lunettes | Triangles | Medallions
Last Judgment
Architecture
until 1530 | after 1530