“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Genesis 1:26–28 NKJV
Reading this passage, it’s conflicting that Adam and Eve were made at the same time, when later in Genesis you’ll read that Adam was made first and later Eve while Adam was asleep. I can see why this passage and later in Genesis 2 seem like they contradict themselves, but the more you read the scripture you can see that the retelling of the same events by different authors at different lengths and detail is common in the Bible. Genesis 1 and the accounts of creation, to me, are more of a summary, and as we progress into Genesis we will see that Moses will provide more details on creation and the order of events.
Moving past this, creation is considered the moment time started for mankind. That moment is the beginning of us, men and women, living life as we wanted to with our own will, and many artists have tried to capture that moment. None did so quite like Michelangelo, whose work is recognized for capturing so much of Genesis in the Sistine Chapel.
Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam: Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1508–1512)
Michelangelo’s fresco “The Creation of Adam” was created using water-based pigments applied to freshly laid, wet lime plaster that would dry out in a few hours. This mural had to be planned out in advance as the fresco itself is meticulous. Imagine painting this knowing you only had so much time before the plaster would dry permanently and you could not go back to fix any errors.
Look at the shapes of the bodies and how Adam lies on the rock barely putting an effort to meet God where He is. The Creator creates with His one finger, His word, and Adam, with zero strength, his left arm held up by his bent leg, does not get up to reach God but waits for God to meet him. In a way, this is meaningful because God, who loves us so much, will meet us where we are, even if we barely reach out to Him.
Although subtle, the use of primary colors can be found here. God is wrapped in a red cloth and Adam sits on a yellow-green lush mountain with a deep blue overcast surrounding him. One thing that struck me as interesting is that God is clothed and Adam is not, which tells me this moment is before the tree of knowledge was eaten from. There is also no Eve depicted here, further supporting that this fresco was solely focused on the creation of Adam. The other beings surrounding God seem to be pulling Him away from Adam, pulling God back into the heavenly realm and leaving Adam to be with the earth.
Grabow Altarpiece by Master Bertram of Minden (1379–1383)
The Grabow Altarpiece sits in St. Petri Church in Hamburg, Germany, designed by Master Bertram. The purpose of an altarpiece is to be a striking image that sits behind the altar of a church, an image that when the head of the church speaks, sits behind him staring back at visitors to bring them to the heavenly realm. The Grabow Altarpiece does just that by giving the eyes four panels, each divided into six squares, holding different images representing stories in scripture. The third panel from the left, top section, shares in three images the creation of Adam, the creation of Eve, and the moment in which they took part in eating the fruit from the tree of life. Below is a close-up of the second panel. In the top row you can see God creating the earth and creatures, and in the last square you can see Adam coming from the earth. It’s pretty neat.
In the first two images, the figure with Adam and with Eve seems to resemble Jesus Christ, although the figure may be God, which is one and the same when thinking about God in the Trinity. Yet thinking that Jesus was there is an interesting concept, as the whole reason for Jesus to come to earth and save us from our sins was because of what Adam and Eve did in the garden.
Monreale Cathedral Nave Mosaics: Biblical Creation in Byzantine Art
In the full Byzantine mosaic you can see that Adam and Eve are holding onto the tree of knowledge with the serpent wrapped around it and its face at Eve’s, as if it’s speaking to her. Surrounded by gold, the focus is none other than the moment right before humanity fell, right before the fall. The Web Gallery of Art has more detailed info regarding this image, and while the image of Adam and Eve are important, I want to focus on the detailed image of Adam walking with God in creation. Adam looks at God, who is shown completely clothed, His head wrapped by a gold ring that symbolizes this figure is a deity not of this world. Adam, being alone, would have only spoken to God according to Christian texts, at least until Eve was created, and so it makes sense that the artist, who is unknown, used glass tile to depict stories from the old and new testament. The mosaic had been ordered by King William II to be made, and one could wonder if the artist wanted its viewers to feel as if they entered heaven when walking into this cathedral, because when gazing upon the full mosaic, that’s what it feels like. You had to look up to view this creation. I could say the images having to be looked up at were intentional, which gives this mosaic a more striking feel, as no human can touch it without assistance. These stories are in the past and without reach, except when reaching for your Bible to experience them.
Genesis 1:27–31: Purpose, Dominion, and the Jealousy of Adam and Eve
“And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Genesis 1:29–31 NKJV
The story of Adam and Eve gives me jealousy. Imagine being face to face with your Creator and given the direct command of purpose. Nowadays, humans question our purpose in life and what we’re destined to do and be during our lifetime. Angst takes over when we feel as if our life is being wasted, or at least it does so for me. Each day passing by and not feeling fulfilled because you choose to work instead of doing the things that will give you the least amount of regret at the moment of your death. Each day thinking of what to do to make life worth living, and some days you do what you must and other days, when you can, you do what you want.
If you haven’t talked to God in a long time, you’ll tend to lack purpose and a path forward and wish for God to command you with purpose. Here, God gave Adam and Eve the fields and all creatures, and all they had to do, as we learn later, was take care of the earth and animals, procreate, and name them. Later, things get complicated and eventually our purpose changes to that of toil and labor. But in this moment, imagine the bliss you’d feel knowing exactly what you were to do and not seeking anything else, because anything else would not be what you were commanded to do. I find it very blessed that the first humans had it all perfectly laid out for them. Life, their future, and purpose, all later taken away.
Izanagi and Izanami: Japanese Creation Mythology and Its Parallels to Genesis
Whilst studying this verse and art influences, I found that in Japanese mythology there’s a Shinto tradition of two siblings, brother and sister, named Izanagi and Izanami who, according to ancient texts (the Kojiki), were tasked with organizing creation and the earth.
If you’ve never seen this ukiyo-e print before, realize you’re looking at what’s considered to be one of the last great masters of the ukiyo-e genre. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi’s “Izanagi and Izanami Creating the Islands” from the series A New Selection of Eastern Brocade Pictures (1886) shows the siblings on a floating bridge in heaven looking down at the islands of Japan. This print captures the moment Japan was created and the siblings, who come from generations of divine gods, were given the responsibility to bring order to the world.
The oldest book in Japan, the Kojiki, came from the Nara period (710–794 AD) and shares many stories capturing the early history of Japan, from its gods and creations to early emperors and figures of great strength. Could this folklore have been influenced by Christianity?
Closing: Everything We Create Begins With Genesis
This ends Genesis 1 in our Divine Design series. This is what I’ve learned: the creation of Adam and the six days in which God created all is what all artists should study. Regardless of religion, the creator of all in Christian texts used a blank canvas to create all that we see today, and from there everything we create comes from this moment. From the grains of sand and the paper of each tree on earth, to the bronze and copper we use in sculpture, all these elements come from one moment. Creation.
Humans from the beginning were assigned the duty to create, and we’ve used all that God left us to do just that. From our innate destiny to procreate, as we developed and moved forward we made stone tools, fire, wheels, and other inventions, using oils and flowers to create color. We took from this earth what God left us and made all the works in front of us, architecturally and in engineering, even down to the smallest paper crafts. Our God, our Creator, made us in His image, which in turn left us the desire to create with the tools and elements He left us. And from Genesis on, we learned that us humans, all we do is create.
The artists we studied captured creation, and what a feat that is, to create visions of the past that we were not present for, using materials that have lasted longer than any of us and have been here from the beginning. When you look to create, it’s beautiful to know that you’re doing what you were intended to do by God. Create.