Amazing… Michaelangelo Hid an Image of the Human Brain on the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 6:52 AM
This is amazing…
The image was hidden for 500 years.
The hidden image of the human brainstem is in a panel showing God at the beginning of Creation.
Infinite Unknown and Yuba Net reported:
July 19, 2010 – Detailed analysis of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes reveals a secret that’s been hidden for 500 years: an image of the human brainstem in a panel showing God at the beginning of Creation, according to an article in the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.
The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.
“We propose that Michelangelo, a deeply religious man and an accomplished anatomist, intended to enhance the meaning of this iconographically critical panel and possibly document his anatomic accomplishments by concealing this sophisticated neuroanatomic rendering within the image of God,” write medical illustrator Ian Suk, BSc, BMC, and neurosurgeon Rafael Tamargo, MD, of The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore.
Image of Brainstem Concealed in Panel Showing Separation of Light from Darkness:
The “concealed neuroanatomy” is found in Michelangelo’s painting of the Separation of Light from Darkness, one of a series of nine Sistine Chapel panels showing scenes from the Book of Genesis. According to Suk and Tamargo, “anatomically correct ventral [front] depiction” of the brainstem can be seen in God’s neck.
Hat Tip Larwyn
ADVERTISEMENT
-
Featured Story:
Yikes! Dem Presidential Candidate John Wolfe Closes in On Barack Obama in Arkansas (Video)
Published May 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm - 34 Comments
lyle commented:
This isn’t new. And it’s hardly concealed.
It has been remarked upon many times over the years, and the ‘analysis’ by these so-called scientists is the least sophisticated I have ever read..
bg commented:
++
Neurosurgery
[It is reported that Michelangelo concealed an image of the brain in the first of these last 4 panels, namely, the Creation of Adam. Here we present evidence that he concealed another neuronanatomic structure in the final panel of this series, the Separation of Light From Darkness, specifically a ventral view of the brainstem. The Separation of Light From Darkness is an important panel in the Sistine Chapel iconography because it depicts the beginning of Creation and is located directly above the altar.]
==
bg commented:
++
lyle #1
got an old link with a better ‘analysis’??
or perhaps this isn’t the one you were thinking of??
==
lyle commented:
bg,
Thanks for tracking down the newly discovered ventral view of the brain stem, if that’s what it is. The brain image in The Creation of Adam is well known and its symbolism has often been discussed. It’s hard to see what the dubious new discovery in Separation of Light from Darkness might mean. It may be only in the eye of the neuroscientific beholder.
bg commented:
++
you’re welcome..
and i’ve no idea, never heard about any of it until now..
==
lyle commented:
“We propose that Michelangelo, a deeply religious man and an accomplished anatomist, intended to enhance the meaning of this iconographically critical panel and possibly document his anatomic accomplishments by concealing this sophisticated neuroanatomic rendering within the image of God,”
bg,
I should have phrased it differently. The scientific analysis is interesting enough, but the interpretation above is not.
Charles commented:
This may be old news to some, but I’m glad Rightnetwork posted this so those that have never seen this have the chance to see how gifted Michelangelo truly was….
BigAlSouth commented:
This just in! Tom Hanks to star as scientist in new Dan Brown thrilla “The Michaelangelo Code!”
Wanda commented:
So he was saying that belief in religion is all in one’s mind?
JPL17 commented:
#9
Very funny. For a sophomore in high school, maybe.
No Wanda, I think he was saying that the the human brain, by giving humans the ability to be self-aware, curious about the origin of the universe, conscious of the inevitability of their own deaths, and to distinguish between good and evil, is the key factor distinguishing Man from the rest of God’s Creation, and is central to God’s Creation of Man. Not what you said.
Carbon Monoxide commented:
I also think I see where Waldo is….
bobdog commented:
I don’t see him. I can find Lowly Worm, but where’s Waldo?
CoolCzech commented:
I suspect that this “discovery” is a bunch of hooey – an example of the human brain “seeing” a pattern that is not really there, at least not intentionally.
People that read too much into supposed images of the brain in Michelangelo’s art should remember that traditionally it was believed the center of human intelligence was the heart, not the brain. Blood circulation wasn’t even fully understood until the 18th century. I’m not sure when people realized the true import of the brain, but it may very well not have been until after Michelangelo’s day.
Wanda commented:
#10 So you agree, Michaelangelo was saying that belief in religion is all in one’s mind/brain.
For without the human brain no man or woman would be thinking of religion.
Using your logic if there were no humans, then God would not need to exist, because there would be no creature that is “self-aware, curious about the origin of the universe, conscious of the inevitability of their own deaths, and to distinguish between good and evil”.
bg commented:
++
oh, if only some commenters had half
the brain Michelangelo knew & drew..
/sarc art/
==
The Atomic Mom commented:
I didn’t know about this at all. I think it’s great. Thanks Right Network for sharing this!
Craig commented:
Yeah, and my cousin’s uncle saw Jesus on a tortilla..!
arnonerik commented:
“Using your logic if there were no humans, then God would not need to exist, because there would be no creature that is “self-aware,”
No, Wanda,
For anything at all to exist God needs to exist to have created it. You appear to want to bend and distort everything to feed your agnosticism.
bg commented:
++
Wanda #14
JPL17 #10 stated:
[No Wanda, I think he was saying that the the human brain, by giving humans the ability to be self-aware, curious about the origin of the universe, conscious of the inevitability of their own deaths, and to distinguish between good and evil, is the key factor distinguishing Man from the rest of God’s Creation, and is central to God’s Creation of Man. Not what you said.]
again, not what you said..
can you at least comprehend what no means??
==
bg commented:
++
Wanda #14
btw, how man renowned artist/anatomist Animals or Plants are there??
==
bg commented:
++
Craig #17
many people see many things in many things.. does that make the taco any less of a taco, or your cousins uncle’s vision of Jesus in it any less of a vision?? what’s your point anyways??
that a bunch of Neurologists are seeing things, is that it??
well congrats, albeit on a much higher level, that’s more or less what Neurologists do, they see they define what they see, just as your cousins uncle did, difference being they were trained to see what they see, no imagination involved..
==
RedBeard commented:
I like it. Interesting theory, good for discussion over a few beers down a Dirty Dan’s Hog Pen Saloon.
Of course, a cigar might just be a cigar.
Or, in the immortal words of Kipling and Albert the Alligator, “A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.”
Andreas K. commented:
I think it shows what kind of rebel Michelangelo was. Such research could only be performed on dead bodies and was outlawed. Yet he painted a brain into heart of the very organisation that prohibited scientific research and progress for a very long time.
That takes balls.
No imagination?
Ever cut open a human skull and removed the brain?
“by giving humans the ability to be self-aware” uhm… look at the zombies today, out there in the streets and then say that again with a straight face
“conscious of the inevitability of their own deaths” which most people are not
“and to distinguish between good and evil” which are both a matter of perspective, always.
Not to mention that all these points have taken a while to evolve. From the early Homo species to the Homo Sapiens, and even there it took a while.
As for “God’s Creation”. Oh hubris, there you are again. You’re basing this off of one unimportant little planet. We don’t know what else is out there. We barely got to our moon and back, a few times. We know NOTHING about what is out there, and thus we don’t really know much about “God’s Creation” either. We know only what’s happening here, on this planet, and that’s not really impressive, given the size of the universe.
2klbofun commented:
Oh goodie, another “plot” for a Dan Brown novel. . . /sarc
JPL17 commented:
#22 RedBeard
Yes, but you gotta admit, a smokin’ woman is, well, a smokin’ woman!
JPL17 commented:
“Yet he painted a brain into heart of the very organisation that prohibited scientific research and progress for a very long time.”
And right on cue, here comes the anti-Catholic bigot!!!
Oldpuppymax commented:
So did Mikey also sculpt the “Face on Mars??”
bg commented:
++
Andreas K. #23
the only HUBRIS i see is that running throughout your post..
btw, no one said that either..
==
Taqiyyotomist commented:
Pointing out the truth about the Church during that (very long) time period is hardly “anti-Catholic bigot”-ry.
How long you been reading comments at GP, JPL17?
If you are new here, please don’t slander the regulars, about whom you know less than Jack Squat. This ain’t YouTube comments.
====
Jim, if you ever go with “registered users only” for posting, I’m all on board with that.
bg commented:
++
there is a God, he spoke to me once..
that said, God did not create religion, man did..
however, that does not mean that there hasn’t been enlightening or
spiritual connections to mans brain going back as far as the cave man..
==
Taqiyyotomist commented:
Oh, and I also disagree with parts of Andreas’ post.
But — definitely not a commenter worthy of slander, but of reasoned debate.
I believe that we do know more than just what we observe in the here-and-now, regarding Creation, but that’s because I believe that God, in his wisdom, gave us a clue, by giving us his Word.
Dee commented:
Oh thee of little faith!
Carbon Monoxide commented:
The claim that the Church opposed the dissection of cadavers refers to a document called De Sepulturis, issued by Pope Boniface VIII. You can look this document up on the Vatican website. Pope Boniface VIII, Benedetto Caetani, was pope from 1294 to 1303. He was a tough pontiff, waging a protracted war of nerves with the French king over the rights of the Church and the authority of the papacy. The French king finally had him seized and he died a short time thereafter. The reality is that no ban involving the dissection of cadavers for medical research was ever issued by Boniface. De Sepulturis actually referred to a practice of corpse abuse that probably existed at the time. The document condemns cutting up the bodies of the dead, cooking them so that the bones would be separated from the flesh, then carrying the bones back for burial in their homelands. In De Sepulturis, Pope Boniface said that anyone committing such a barbarous act would be excommunicated. The condemnation had nothing to do with the dissection of cadavers for medical research, but dealt rather with abuse of a corpse—laws which exist in every state of the Union today.
You will probably also hear about the execution of a guy named Servetus who dissected bodies and came to an untimely end. What you won’t hear is that when Servetus was dissecting bodies, he was doing it at a university that was supported by the Catholic Church. You also won’t hear that Servetus had heretical views on the Trinity – namely that there is NO trinity and that he left the Church. You also won’t hear that the Protestants didn’t like his views either and that he was burned at the stake by the Protestants (the Calvinists) outside of Vienna on October 27, 1553. What you will hear is that Servetus was some sort of martyr (which he wasn’t) standing up against the big, bad Catholic Church that banned medical research (which it didn’t).
Carbon Monoxide commented:
Servetus was burned outside of Geneva, not Vienna. Time for another cup of coffee….
bg commented:
++
why can’t people just stick to the “issue”..
as far as i’m concerned this is not a “religious” debate per se, it’s about
paintings by abrilliant artist anatomist who painted the most fascinated
murals on a ceiling, hello??
==
Taqiyyotomist commented:
#26 vs. #33
Childish youtube comment vs. Reasoned debate.
Thanks for putting us some knowledge, C.M.
A lot of food for thought in that comment.
More like that, folks, please?
bg commented:
++
Carbon Monoxide #33
thank you..
==
bg commented:
++
re: #35
fascinated = fascinating
==
Otto commented:
If by “new” you mean “noted in a major publication over 20 years ago”, then sure.
From Wikipedia:
In 1990 an Anderson, Indiana physician named Frank Lynn Meshberger noted in the medical publication the Journal of the American Medical Association that the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain, including the frontal lobe, optic chiasm, brain stem, pituitary gland, and the major sulci of the cerebrum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam
bg commented:
++
Otto #39
try reading the article published in May 2010..
might be something or other Wikipedia may havef left
out, i dunno.. but they’re not exactly brain surgeons..
==
silentcal_rox commented:
The holy see must have invited TSA to scan the Sistine chapel! good job sis. that must be the brain that some of our administrators lost, or never had!
lyle commented:
The association of a human brain with the image of God in the Creation of Adam goes back at least to 1991, when I visited the Sistine Chapel during its restoration. The idea was called ‘controversial’ but in my reading it seemed to be almost universally accepted – partly because Michelangelo was such an intense student of anatomy.
More importantly, the symbolism works too well to be coincidental. When trying to decipher symbolism, it is useful to put yourself in the mind of the artist. The panel is about God creating Adam in His own image and likeness.
Artists are often fascinated with the mystery of their own creative acts. Where do they come from? To a man of faith, especially one occupied with decorating a chapel devoted to the glory of God, inspiration can only come from one source. So the panel is first about The Creation of Adam, and secondly about the creation of The Creation of Adam.
God creates Adam in His image and likeness, and part of that likeness is the ability to create. Adam’s descendant, gifted with creativity, then creates an image that expresses thankful recognition of that gift.
gary gulrud commented:
#9 & 10: While I’ve never been to Rome, I have been to Firenza and seen David and the Tondo Doni. On the basis of those two works I cannot but believe MichaelAngelo lives forever. Genius alone isn’t capable of them.
bg commented:
++
btw, this may be important, but what do i know..
[Here we present evidence that he concealed
another neuronanatomic structure in the final
panel of this series, the Separation of Light
From Darkness, specifically a ventral view of
the brainstem. ]
==
reliapundit commented:
this post was taken from here – without a hattip:
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2010/11/michelangelo-hid-anatomically-correct.html
bg commented:
++
Image Gallery
==
bg commented:
++
reliapundit #45
more here..
also noticed you gave no ht, ergo, where did you get the info??
==
bg commented:
++
re: #47
well looky here, your post links this
post which links to tada.. GP’s post..
dang, that made me dizzy..
==
bg commented:
++
oops re: #48
stated that wrong, that post links back to GP
in the sense that that’s the links GP links to..
GP gave a Hat Tip Larwyn, perhaps you meant
your post is where Larwyn’s ht came from?
like i said, dizzy..
==
11B40 commented:
Greetings:
Doctor Rohrshach must be spinning in his grave. Or laughing hysterically. Not that he was hysterical in the Freudian sense.
bg commented:
++
re: 49
but how would you know for certain where Larwyn ht came
from, as there are so many other sources all over the web??
okay i’ll stop & give what’s left of my brain a rest..
==
bg commented:
++
11B40 #50
rotflmbo!!
==
bg commented:
++
God’s neck, as in the painting of, not literally, which is where they believe they made a new discovery, expanding the old discovery..
==
Sven Svenson commented:
If that’s an anatomical rendering of the brain then that sure is a very suspicious looking occipital lobe. And, muslims frequently see “allah”, in arabic, on the sides of animals and mold formations on bread.
Some here need to check out Gray’s Anatomy text.
bg commented:
++
Sven Svenson #55
covered that nonsense here ..
==
JPL17 commented:
#29
“Pointing out the truth about the Church during that (very long) time period is hardly ‘anti-Catholic bigot’-ry.”
You’ve got it exactly backwards, Taqiy. Andreas wasn’t pointing out the truth. He was repeating a bigoted anti-Catholic lie, one that you defended, and one that both of you failed to research before you repeated the lie (and then defended it) here. I’m not going to apologize for calling out a bigoted statement — regardless of who posted it.
“How long you been reading comments at GP, JPL17?”
Probably about 4 years, and been posting here almost as long…anyway, long enough to be considered a regular.
Questions for Taqiy: How long have YOU been posting here? And how long does one HAVE to post here before one has the RIGHT to mock a bigoted statement like Andreas’?