Primary sourcePainting1508-1512

The Creation of Adam

Michelangelo · 1508-1512

The most famous panel of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, showing God giving life to Adam, painted by Michelangelo.

Michelangelo painted this panel as part of his Sistine Chapel ceiling, his most reproduced single image.

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Fresco painting of the Creation of Adam. On the left, a nude, muscular man reclines on a hillside with his left arm draped over his knee, reaching his right hand toward a bearded figure in a flowing robe. The bearded figure floats in a red cloak surrounded by angelic figures, extending his finger toward Adam's, with a small gap between the fingertips. — Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, 1508-1512. Sistine Chapel ceiling, Vatican Museums.

About this source

What it is

This fresco panel, painted by Michelangelo as part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512, shows God reaching out to give life to Adam, the first man, following the Genesis creation story. It is housed in the Vatican Museums as part of the larger ceiling.

Why it matters

Chronologically the fourth panel in the Genesis series, it has become one of the most reproduced religious images ever made. The small gap between God's and Adam's fingers has been read by some scholars as a symbol of the distance between divine perfection and humanity.

Look closer

Why do you think the two fingers do not quite touch?
What might the other figures surrounding God represent, and why is their identity still debated?
How does showing Adam nude and God clothed in a swirling cloak affect the meaning of the scene?

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