The resplendent art of the Italian Renaissance sometimes blinds us to the fact that the Renaissance was not a joyful time in which to live. Famines, plagues, and above all wars made life uncertain and unsettled; and the thought that God might one day, and perhaps one day soon, put an end to it all and wipe the slate clean was one that appealed to many. Justice would finally prevail; the righteous would be rewarded and the guilty would receive their well-deserved come-uppance. Michelangelo’s famous vision of the end of all things is known to us all, but it has its roots in a tradition of great Last Judgments by artists including Giotto, Fra Angelico, and Luca Signorelli. In this lecture we will look at these marvelous paintings and see the ways in which visions of the end developed and changed, giving comfort and terror in uncomfortable and terrible times.
