ABSTRACT
The history of the creation and fall of mankind is depicted on the vault of the Sistine Chapel in a series of three scenes, the Creation of Adam, the Creation of Eve, and a third scene consisting of the Temptation and Fall and Expulsion from Paradise (fig. 1). This triad—functionally, though not technically, a triptych—is placed in the center of the ceiling, so that the Creation of Eve (not, as is often supposed, the Creation of Adam) serves as the midpoint of Michelangelo’s collossal conception. I propose to examine in detail the character and activity of Eve in the temptation half of The Temptation and Expulsion panel (fig. 2) as a way of understanding why her creation should serve as the focus of the entire history and as the centerpiece of the three panels. Along the way, I will indicate a possible direction for inquiry into the theological dimension of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Michelangelo, Central section of the Sistine Ceiling: The Temptation and Expulsion, The Creation of Eve, and The Creation of Adam, 1510—11. Fresco. Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203778456/85a5da50-c914-41c2-bda6-cd286432f3ce/content/fig2_1_OB.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Photo: Marburg/Art Resource, New York. Detail of fig. 1, The Temptation and Fall . https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203778456/85a5da50-c914-41c2-bda6-cd286432f3ce/content/fig2_2_OB.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
