The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Vegetation

The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Vegetation

Artist	Michelangelo
Year	1511
Type	Fresco
Dimensions	280 cm × 570 cm (110 in × 220 in)
Location	Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Vegetation, (sometimes The Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Plants^[1] or The Creation of the Sun and the Moon) is one of the frescoes from Michelangelo's nine Book of Genesis scenes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It is the second scene in the chronological sequence on the ceiling, depicting the third and fourth day of the Creation narrative. On the left, God is depicted from behind, extending his arm towards a bush, alluding to the plant world. On the right, God points and divides the sun and moon in the heavens (or hurls them into orbit). The faint moon is on the right side, touched by the God's left hand. The God's face expresses the stupendous force needed for the creation of the abode of living beings. The abstract patterns of drapery emphasize the motion of both figures of God.

The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Planets is featured on the postage stamps of Vatican City (issue of 1994) and India (issue of 1975).

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  The painting before the restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sistine Chapel ceiling - Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Planets.

Decoration of the Sistine Chapel Key: 1 Pietro Perugino 2 Sandro Botticelli 3 Cosimo Rosselli 4 Domenico Ghirlandaio 5 Biagio d'Antonio 6 Piero di Cosimo 7 Luca Signorelli 8 Bartolomeo della Gatta 9 Michelangelo 10 Raphael Life of Moses Moses Leaving to Egypt 1 The Trials of Moses 2 The Crossing of the Red Sea 3/4/5 The Descent from Mount Sinai 3/6 The Punishment of the Rebels 2 The Testament and Death of Moses 7/8 Life of Christ The Baptism of Christ 1 The Temptations of Christ 2 The Vocation of the Apostles 4 The Sermon on the Mount 3 The Delivery of the Keys 1 The Last Supper 3 Ceiling 9 (Gallery) Scenes from Genesis The Separation of Light from Darkness The Creation of the Sun, Moon and Vegetation The Separation of Land and Water The Creation of Adam The Creation of Eve The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden The Sacrifice of Noah The Flood The Drunkenness of Noah Prophets Jonah Jeremiah Ezekiel Joel Zechariah Isaiah Daniel Sibyls Persian Sibyl Erythraean Sibyl Delphic Sibyl Cumaean Sibyl Libyan Sibyl Altar wall The Last Judgment 9 Tapestries The Lives of Saints Peter and Paul 10 Pope Sixtus IV Art patronage of Julius II Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes