The Creation of Adam

Nearly touching but not quite, two hands stretch across a small gap of empty space, and that gap has become one of the most talked about moments in all of art. Painted by Michelangelo around 1512, "The Creation of Adam" spreads across the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. It captures the instant just before God gives life to Adam, the first man. Michelangelo spent about four years on the larger ceiling project, working while lying on his back atop tall scaffolding, a physical ordeal that must have tested even his patience.

The two figures could hardly feel more different. Adam sprawls on the left, loose and heavy, his body waiting to be woken. God rushes in from the right, carried by a swirl of angels and wrapped in a great billowing red cloak. That red shape behind him has fascinated people for years, since it bears a striking resemblance to a cross section of the human brain. Michelangelo studied anatomy by dissecting bodies, so some believe he slipped in a hidden nod to reason and the human mind. Whether that was his plan or a happy accident, the fresco stands as a shining example of the Italian Renaissance and its deep admiration for the human form.