Michelangelo was commissioned in 1534 to paint the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel on the altar wall. Precursors to the Counter Reformation are present by the images of the martyred saints. Satin. Bartholomew holds a knife in one hand and his flayed skin in the other. Furthermore, Saint Catherine, tortured on a wheel, is seen bent over the very object that killed her. All the saints' bodies that were destroyed in their death regained their flesh in for eternity. Saints, especially martyrdom, was exalted by the Counter Reformation.
However, nudity was strongly looked down up as it symbolized man's fallen nature. Therefore, it represented a threat to his salvation. The Inquisition rejected many works of at due to nudity. They kept a tight control of Church approved art and architecture. After Michelangelo's death in 1564, loin clothes were added covering the inappropriate nudes. This allowed for a pious observer to be sparked into an emotional experience, as desired by the Council in its approved artwork and architecture. Again, emotions being conveyed through the art was a goal of the Council. This would enable those who were unable to read to have a connection to Biblical stories and the emotions behind them.
*Photography is not allowed in the Sistine Chapel so these photographs were pulled from the web.
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