Miscellany
Who was the inspiration for "Creation of Adam"?
The Creation of Adam
Michelangelo's main source of inspiration for his Adam in his "Creation of Adam" seems to have been a cameo showing a nude Augustus Caesar riding sidesaddle on a Capricorn. This cameo is now at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland. The cameo used to belong to cardinal Domenico Grimani who lived in Rome while Michelangelo painted the ceiling. Evidence suggests that Michelangelo and Grimani were friends. The only parts of Michelangelo's Adam that could not have been borrowed from this cameo are his right hand and arm; this may explain why Michelangelo had to draw Adam's right hand and arm three times when he made the drawing for Adam that is now in the British Museum. Some scholars have been dissatisfied with the theory Michelangelo was mainly inspired by Lorenzo Ghiberti's Adam in his "Creation of Adam". This cameo offers an alternative theory.