IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences

Abstract

The Last Judgment is one of the most common themes in
both Byzantine iconography and in the Western one, being met in: the nave, the
narthex, the exonartex or on the exterior, on the wall facing the sunrise or sunset.
In our country, where the Byzantine model is respected, the most significant
scene was painted on the western façade of the Voronet church of Moldavia in
1547 by a painter called Marcu. Shortly before, namely in 1541, a
different Last Judgment had been completed in a different way, by the great
Renaissance artist Michelangelo on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.It is,
perhaps, the most famous representation of this scene in Western art. This
article aims to present the two works created during the same period but in two
different ways, each with its elements of originality. Considered a
masterpiece of Romanian medieval art, the Voronet scene enrols in a special
program as compared to other representations from our country or from other
areas with Byzantine tradition, contributing to the formation of a specific
Moldavian style. Apart from the religious significance, which underlies its
development, specialists in the field concluded that there is here a political
influence. One may add the high craftsmanship which gave value and
durability to the composition. Michelangelo's Judgment was executed by
order of Pope Paul III. It breaks out from the patterns before, being
considered an extraordinary work both in regard to the arrangement of figures
and from the compositional point of view. The painter uses here bold
foreshortenings, conferring dramatic load on the scene, at the same time
demonstrating a sound knowledge of the anatomy of the human body.