The Creation of Adam Representing the Early Modern Period Through Humanism Ideas (Essay Example)

The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is a significant part of the painting on the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel that shows humans relationship with God during the early modern period while also being a window into events that took place and led up to the early modern period. The Creation of Adam can be understood through representing the age of exploration, protestant reformation, the scientific revolution, the rise of Calvinism, and the bourgeoisie class, because of ideas of humanism, curiosity, seeking of knowledge, rejection of paternal figures, and the importance of intellect and the human brain that rooted from the renaissance humanism movement, which was the start of a  transition from the god-centered, feudal middle ages to the fact-based, knowledge-seeking early modern period. 

The Creation of Adam can be understood as representing the age of exploration through the ideas of humanism, curiosity, and the seeking of knowledge. The age of exploration was rooted out of curiosity and was a time where Europeans wanted to explore the world and seek out new things, which is represented in The Creation of Adam by the distance between God and Adam’s hands through the idea that God is leaving humans (Adam) to make something of ourselves.  Many people partook in the age of exploration to make something of themselves whether it be to get rich, find land, or discover something new. A big theme behind Vermeer’s Hat is the age of exploration. 

In Vermeer’s Hat, the age of exploration is the backbone of the book and is portrayed in many instances. One instance of the age of exploration being shown in Vermeer’s Hat can be seen through the View of Delft painting. In the View of Delft, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) can be seen in the background. The VOC plays a vital role in Vermeer’s Hat while also playing a vital role throughout history. The VOC being displayed in the View of Delft shows how rooted the VOC is throughout Europe in order for European countries to get rich and to find and learn new things through trade and the Age of Exploration. Some things that were part of the age of exploration represented in Vermeer’s Hat are china coming from China, beaver pelts coming from North America, spices from the Spice Islands, silver from Bolivia. The beaver trade that was a byproduct of the age of exploration can be seen in the Officer and Laughing Girl on the officer’s hat that is most likely made out of a beaver pelt. Another thing shown in the Officer and Laughing Girl is a map on the wall. The map is a direct representation of curiosity and the age of exploration as it shows that Europeans are trying to understand and figure out the world. In The Card Players painting, there is china from China, which signified one’s wealth and success in Europe and the Netherlands at the time. The age of exploration is also tied to Calvinism and the protestant reformation as humans at the time were questioning the old traditions and started seeking more knowledge through exploration and a direct relationship to God. 

The Creation of Adam can be understood as representing the protestant reformation and the rise of Calvinism through new ideas of not needing a father figure between people and God. The Creation of Adam clearly depicts a direct relationship between people and God as there is no middle man between Adam and God. The idea of not needing a paternal figure between people and God also was apparent in Vermeer’s Hat. Vermeer’s Hat has multiple instances where Calvinism, the religion that rejects paternal figures between people and God, states people are predetermined to go to heaven and that people are fools if they think they can change God’s mind is shown to be the main religion in Europe and the Netherlands. In View of Delft, there is a church and steeple in the background that used to be a Catholic church but has then switched to Calvinism, which represents the larger idea of Calvinism taking over Europe throughout the early modern period. Calvinism taking over throughout Europe led to the rise of the bourgeoisie class and the fall of feudalism. 

Calvinism led to the rise of the Bourgeoisie class through the idea that if people were successful in their business and made money to put back into their businesses they would be the ones to go to heaven. The rise of Calvinism throughout the Netherlands and Europe is depicted in the painting Woman Holding a Balance in multiple ways. One way that Woman Holding a Balance shows the rise of Calvinism and the bourgeoisie throughout Europe is the fact that the woman is gaging how much her family and herself are worth through the weight of coins that they have, which is a perfect representation of how Calvinists view ones moral value as how much money they have. Another way that the Woman Holding a Balance portrays Calvinism is through the painting in the background, which shows Christ judging the people and judging her through their amount of wealth. The women’s hand in the painting is reaching out with coins to seek the connection between God through just like how Adam is reaching out to God to receive a connection as well. The last way that the Woman Holding a Balance shows Calvinism is the fact that money is the center of the painting just like how money, wealth, and business success are the center of determining whether someone is going to heaven or not.

The Creation of Adam can also be understood as representing the Scientific Revolution, which was started from the idea of humanism, curiosity, and the importance of intellect and the human brain created by the renaissance humanism movement. The brain-like shape of God in The Creation of Adam relates to the Scientific Revolution and the roots of humanism by showing people that their relationship with God is directly and solely through their brains and intellect. The idea that people’s relationship through God is through their brains and intellect also denounced the importance of priests, which in part fueled Calvinism even more. The same relationship of humanism and the importance of intellect and the human brain between the Scientific Revolution and The Creation of Adam can be seen in Vermeer’s painting The Geographer. Timothy Brook states that The Geographer depicts Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, who is a Dutch reformed Calvinist and the father of biology,  thinking while making a map. This painting represents the Scientific Revolution perfectly as people such as Anthony van Leeuwenhoek are now starting to explore their curiosities about maps, the world around them, and other forms of knowledge. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek’s hands are the center of the painting just like the women in The Women Holding a Balance, which again shows the importance of people trying to reach their connection with God through knowledge and success. 

The Creation of Adam represents the protestant reformation, age of exploration, the scientific revolution, the rise of Calvinism, and the bourgeoisie class, which were all events that left humans with ideas of working hard, switching their religions, curiosity, and seeking knowledge that transitioned Europeans from the feudal middle ages that were centered around God to the early modern period that was centered around working, learning new things, and discovering new things. The ideas of humanism, curiosity, and seeking of knowledge later led to events such as The Enlightenment, Imperialism, and Nationalism, by the growing themes of looking for knowledge, wealth, and power. Finally, the idea of humans being left to make something of ourselves, and the idea of humans being connected to God through our brains were fundamental ideas that represent the age of exploration, protestant reformation, the scientific revolution, the rise of Calvinism, and the bourgeoisie class through the fundamental ideas created by the renaissance humanism movement of humanism, curiosity, seeking of knowledge, rejection of paternal figures, and the importance of intellect and the human brain.