The Separation of Light from Darkness

The first act of Creation

The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, tells the story of Genesis in nine central panels. Above the altar is the first of them: God separating light from darkness, the opening act of Creation.

Michelangelo painted the ceiling sections in reverse order of the story, and this panel was among the last he completed, around 1511 to 1512.

God twisting in space

God appears alone, seen from below, his body twisting as he pushes apart the light and the dark with his raised arms. His face is almost hidden. The figure is painted with great speed and freedom.

Nude youths at the corners

Around the panel sit four nude young men, the ignudi, holding garlands of oak leaves and acorns, the emblem of Pope Julius II’s family, the della Rovere.

Each youth has a different pose, twisting and turning, a display of Michelangelo’s mastery of the human body.

Bronze-coloured medallions

Between the ignudi hang painted medallions imitating bronze, with scenes from the Old Testament.

Questions about The Separation of Light from Darkness

Where is it?

On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, above the altar.

When was it painted?

Around 1511 to 1512, one of the last ceiling panels.

Who are the nude figures?

The ignudi, decorative nude youths holding oak garlands.

What technique was used?

Fresco, painted on wet plaster.

Sources and image credit

• Vatican Museums: Sistine Chapel
• Wikimedia Commons: Separation of Light from Darkness

Public-domain reproduction of The Separation of Light from Darkness, via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.