StumbleUpon sent my collection of interesting sites this morning and one of them was this virtual view of the famous Sistine Chapel. Looking at it and remembering a visit during my youthful Grand Tour, I was struck by the notion that much of European religious art… even most of it… is just plain creepy.
I took more than my share of art history courses while at university, studying and appreciating the genius and craftsmanship that went into thousands of masterworks. I became aware of the contributions made by superstars like Michelangelo, the revivals of antique styles during the Renaissance, the sophisticated studies of human anatomy by dissection. Very impressive, all of it.
But this morning, the creepiness of it is what jumped out at me. The writhing swarms of naked bodies, the martyrdoms, the blood, gore and misery. I thought of the first contacts between Europeans and American inhabitants… the new guys parading their icons of a tortured figure nailed onto sticks… what would you think? Biker gangs with skull jackets seem tame in comparison… and in terms of violence, biker gangs ARE tame in comparison.