Brazilian doctors uncover 'Michelangelo code'

[Dover]

Brazilian doctors uncover 'Michelangelo code' By Carlos A. DeJuana
Thu Jun 16, 8:10 AM ET



SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) - Two Brazilian doctors and amateur art lovers believe they have uncovered a secret lesson on human anatomy hidden by Renaissance artist Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel's ceiling.

Completed nearly 500 years ago, the brightly colored frescoes painted on the Vatican's famous sanctuary are considered some of the world's greatest works of art. They depict Biblical scenes such as the "Creation of Adam" in which God reaches out to touch Adam's finger.

But Gilson Barreto and Marcelo de Oliveira believe Michelangelo also scattered his detailed knowledge of internal anatomy across 34 of the ceiling's 38 panels. The way they see it, a tree trunk is not just a tree trunk, but also a bronchial tube. And a green bag in one scene is really a human heart.

The key to finding the numerous organs, bones and other human insides is to first crack a "code" they believe was left behind by the Florentine artist. Essentially, it is a set of sometimes subtle, sometimes overt clues, like the way a figure is pointing.

"Why wasn't this ever seen before? First, because very few people have the sufficient anatomical knowledge to see these pieces like this. I do because that's my profession," said Barreto, who is a surgeon in the Brazilian city of Campinas...cont'd

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050616/sc_nm/arts_michelangelo_dc;_ylt=AmYG0GwD69i1D5QPGXMN.vSs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2aWxpajE2BHNlYwNzYw--

[Igel]

1. "Why wasn't this ever seen before?"

Because there were enough other questions, and few enough researchers, that it wasn't worth the asking.

Not saying they're not right. It's just in a lot of fields--including what mine was going to be--it's gotten nearly impossible to find research questions even of disseration length, much less suitable for a multi-year research program.

On the other hand, the Church's ban on dissection prevented learning a lot of anatomy. So having Michelangelo (or others) insert a bit of evidence that they derived from a banned activity into important Church structures would be an interesting kind of tweaking, don't you think?

[Skinner]

2. Yahoo has a slide show along with the article.

I'm intrigued, but not totally convinced. I'd be curious to see the rest of these.







This one isn't from the yahoo slide show. I got it from a Google search. It's the classic that everyone has heard about:

[DemBones DemBones]

3. An inside joke for Leonardo and other artists

who were dissecting cadavers in violation of the law and moral standards of the time?

I do think they're reaching on God in purple robe = a lung, but I'll get my book with close-ups of the Sistine and see what I see. I'm not a surgeon, just a lowly biologist, but I'm sure I can spot a lot of anatomical structures if I look for them and they look relatively normal in shape -- should be entertaining!

[Maple]

4. The Sistine Chapel

has only recently been cleaned. What you're seeing is what has emerged from centuries of grime and soot.

If this is what's actually there in the paintings...it's no wonder it wasn't seen before.

[IChing]

5. Dan Brown's book was a book of fiction

just remember that. Nothing to look at here
I just talked to the Vatican and they said that this was just
humanist rationalism.