The Creation of Adam
The object
the pink-and-red drape encircling God and the supporting angels
The story
In 1990 the physician Frank Lynn Meshberger published an anatomical reading: the swirling pink cloak that surrounds God and the cluster of angels traces a precise sagittal cross-section of the human brain. Brain stem, pituitary, optic chiasm, cerebellum can be matched to features in the drapery. Michelangelo had performed cadaver dissections, under Medici protection. What passes from God to Adam is not body. It is the mind to think with. Now at Sistine Chapel, Vatican City @vaticanmuseums
The reel
The painting
