Michelangelo, Last Judgement, details 50
Artist: Michelangelo- Sistine Chapel
between 1537 and 1541
In the lowest right-hand corner of The Last Judgment, Michelangelo depicted Minos, a judge of the dead in classical mythology. Dante placed Minos at the entrance to Hell, where he assigns condemned souls to their punishment. Michelangelo adopted this figure and portrayed him with donkey ears and a serpent coiled around his body. According to a tradition recorded by Giorgio Vasari, the face resembles Biagio da Cesena, a papal official who criticized the nudity of the fresco. The story illustrates the controversy surrounding Michelangelo's work when it was unveiled in 1541.
Scripture teaches that final judgment belongs to God and that Christ has been appointed to judge humanity. Acts 17:31 declares that God has established a day of judgment through the man he raised from the dead. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the final judgment before the great white throne. Minos, however, is not a biblical character, and the serpent wrapped around his body does not represent a procedure described in Scripture. Michelangelo borrowed this imagery from classical mythology and Dante to give visible form to the terrifying consequences of condemnation.
Michelangelo presents Minos as a grotesque figure, sharply contrasting him with the idealized bodies of the saints surrounding Christ. His donkey ears suggest ridicule, while the serpent encircling his body reinforces the horror of his surroundings. The figure occupies the extreme lower-right corner, where the movement of the condemned reaches its final destination. The traditional identification of Minos with Michelangelo's critic Biagio da Cesena adds a personal and satirical dimension to the composition. Through this disturbing image, Michelangelo brings the drama of judgment to its darkest conclusion.
