By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE
Published: 05:50 EST, 11 December 2024 | Updated: 07:00 EST, 11 December 2024
With its profound portrayal of redemption and damnation, there's no doubt 'The Last Judgement' is one of the most stunning paintings in the world to behold.
Measuring 45 feet by 40 feet, it was painted onto the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City by Italian artist Michelangelo between 1536 and 1541.
The masterpiece shows several semi naked male figures rising to Heaven or descending into Hell on the day of the Last Judgement.
Now, nearly 500 years on, a researcher claims to have found a key biblical figure in the beautiful fresco, who until now was 'missing'.
Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus Christ's most dedicated followers, makes a subtle appearance in the painting, according to Italian art expert and author Sara Penco.
Allegedly a witness to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, Mary Magdalene is depicted with blonde hair, kissing Jesus Christ's cross, the expert says.
So, can you find her in 'The Last Judgement'?
It follows a recent study revealing that a woman in another one of his Sistine Chapel paintings, 'The Flood', was painted with symptoms of breast cancer.
'The Last Judgement' shows several semi naked male figures rising to Heaven or descending into Hell on the day of the Last Judgement. Measuring about 45 feet by 40 feet, the beautiful fresco covers the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City
The historical figure, allegedly a witness to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, is depicted with blonde hair and kissing the cross - but can you spot her?
If you're struggling with your search, look carefully at the far right of the painting and you'll see a blonde woman wearing a yellow robe and kissing a cross.
That's Mary Magdalene, according to Ms Penco, who outlines the discovery in her new book, 'Mary Magdalene in Michelangelo’s Judgement'.
'I am firmly convinced that this is Mary Magdalene,' she told a media conference in Rome on Tuesday, as reported by The Telegraph.
'The intimacy with the cross, the yellow dress and the blonde hair but also the whole context in which Michelangelo places this figure to underscore her importance.'
Ms Penco claims that the muscular, near-naked male holding the cross is Jesus Christ.
It's not, as previously assumed, Simon of Cyrene, the man who was made by the Romans to carry Jesus' cross on the way to his crucifixion.
That suggests there are two portrayals of Jesus in 'The Last Judgement' – one at the right with Mary Magdalene and one at the centre.
The one at the centre shows Christ surrounded by many prominent saints, with the glow of light around him and his mother, Mary the Virgin, close by.
Allegedly a witness to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, Mary Magdalene depicted with blonde hair, kissing Jesus Christ's cross
Ms Penco is not contesting the fact that the revered figure at the centre of 'The Last Judgement' is Jesus Christ. Instead, she thinks this is just one of two portrayals of Jesus in the painting
'Christ the judge' in the centre of the painting is surrounded by prominent saints, with the glow of light around him and his mother, Mary the Virgin, next to him
'Christ the redeemer' to the very right of the painting is holding the cross, which is being kissed by Mary Magdalene
Who was Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene holds a special place in Christian tradition as a beloved disciple of Jesus Christ.
She is remembered for her pivotal role in the Gospel narratives as a witness to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
According to the Gospels, she was healed by Jesus from possession by seven demons (Luke 8:2), marking the start of her conversion.
Source: St Edmund's Catholic Academy
While their faces look different, they both have their right arm in a similar position and the same lightly-coloured locks of hair.
They're also both clean-shaven, deviating from traditional depictions of Jesus with a beard, which thought to be inspired by an ancient Greek statue of Apollo.
Although it may seem odd to have the same figure twice in one painting, they're differentiated as 'Christ the judge' and 'Christ the redeemer', Ms Penco claims.
'Michelangelo was an expert painter, he was very cultured, he was someone who knew the dynamics of the church very well, he knew the gospels and he could not have forgotten her,' she added.
'The Last Judgement' is thought to contain around 300 figures, so even 500 years since it was finished there's still debate surrounding their identity.
But Professor Yvonne Dohna Schlobitten at Gregorian University in Rome agrees with Ms Penco's new interpretation.
'With great intuition, Sara Penco has discovered something that defines the being of art,' she says in the book’s forward.
'We can clearly see how iconography and theology are linked in Penco’s reasoning to form a vision.
Michelangelo (1475-1564) is depicted in this portrait by Daniele da Volterra, c. 1545
The Last Judgment at the end of the Sistine Chapel
'The Last Judgement': One of Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces
'The Last Judgement' is widely regarded as one of Michelangelo’s greatest masterpieces.
Measuring 45 feet by 40 feet, it was painted onto the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City by Italian artist Michelangelo between 1536 and 1541.
The masterpiece shows several semi naked male figures rising to Heaven or descending into Hell on the day of the Last Judgement.
Inspired by Dante’s The Divine Comedy, the fresco was commissioned in 1534 by Pope Clement VII and completed under Pope Paul III.
'The woman kissing the cross has an important role, even if she appears hidden on the edges of the image.'
Another interesting detail in the painting is the depiction of the mythological figure Minos towards the bottom, who supervises the admission of the Damned into Hell.
Minos bears a resemblance to Biagio da Cesena (1463-1544), a priest and contemporary critic of Michelangelo.
While it was being painted, Biagio is said to have complained about 'The Last Judgment', calling it 'disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully'.
Michelangelo reacted by giving Minos Biagio's face with donkey ears (indicating foolishness) and a snake biting on his penis.
When when Biagio complained to Pope Paul III, the latter allegedly joked that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell and the portrait would have to remain.
Admittedly, at the time he worked on it, Michelangelo was condemned by Cardinal Oliviero Carafa, who accused the artist of immorality and obscenity as the genitals of several figures could be seen.
Senior cardinals – including the master of ceremonies of the then Pope – called for the offending articles to be painted over with fig leaves as they were more typical of 'public baths than a Christian chapel'.
The Pope refused, but 24 years after Michelangelo died fig leaves were painted onto the fresco by one of his own students, Daniele Da Volterra.
In the bottom right of the painting is Minos, the mythological figure who supervises the admission of the Damned into Hell. Here, Minos bears a resemblance to Biagio da Cesena (1463-1544), a priest and contemporary critic of Michelangelo
A study published by experts at the University of Paris-Saclay last month identified signs of breast cancer in a woman featured in another of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco, 'The Flood'
Italian historian Elena Lazzarini at Pisa University, previously said that the fresco was inspired by Michelangelo's visits to the gay saunas and brothels of Rome in the early 1500s.
Mrs Lazzarini said: 'The very virile male bodies you can see in the fresco have the build of labourers and manual workers of the day, very muscle bound and well built.
'Michelangelo and several of his artist contemporaries would visit these brothels and saunas and you can see how they modelled their figures on the bodies of the men they found in there, including their pained expressions.
'For example in the fresco you can see one poor soul being dragged down to Hell by his testicles whilst among those that are going to Heaven there is a lot of kissing and hugging, certainly of a homosexual nature.'
A study published by experts at the University of Paris-Saclay last month identified signs of breast cancer in a woman featured in another of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco, 'The Flood'.
This includes a deformed nipple and a slight bulge in her breast, which is 'consistent with a lump'.
The researchers believe the representation of breast cancer may have been a message on the inevitability of death.
Painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512 (predating 'The Last Judgement'),'The Flood' portrays God flooding Earth as a punishment for humanity's immorality.
### WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE RENAISSANCE MASTER MICHELANGELO?
Michelangelo Buonarroti, who lived from 1475 to 1564, was the first artist recognised by contemporaries as a genius, according to the National Gallery in London.
He was a painter, on panel and in fresco, as well as a sculptor, architect and writer of sonnets.
He was the only artist of whom it was claimed in his lifetime that he surpassed Antiquity.
He was born in Caprese in the 1470s and trained first as a painter with Ghirlandaio, and then as a sculptor under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici.
In 1496, already known as sculptor, he went to Rome, where he carved the 'Pietà' for St Peter's.
Back in Florence in 1501 he began work on many sculptural and painterly projects most of which were left unfinished.
In 1505. he was summoned to Rome to begin work on a sculpted tomb for Pope Julius II, a project that dogged him until 1545.
From 1508 to 1512 he painted the vault of the Sistine Chapel with scenes from the Old Testament, from the Creation to the Story of Noah.
Immediately celebrated, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, with its innumerable figures in complex, twisting poses and its exuberant use of colour, is the chief source of the Mannerist style.
Although he always considered himself a Florentine, Michelangelo lived most of his life in Rome, where he died at age 88.