Dayton is currently hosting an exhibition called Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, poet and architect who created many iconic works of art during a period we call the High Renaissance. One of his best known commissions is the interior of the Sistine Chapel in Rome which he competed during the early sixteenth century.
The ceiling is a shallow barrel vault at 118 feet long and 46 feet wide. In other words, it is huge and it is covered in absolutely gorgeous art. The paintings tell stories from the Book of Genesis including God’s creation of Adam, David conquering Goliath, Noah’s family and many others that were less familiar to me.
I studied Michelangelo in a college art history class but that was many years ago so I felt like a clean slate, learning as my audio tour covered the Biblical stories, the works of art and their relevance to a sixteenth century audience.
My favorite was this depiction of Ezekiel who has turned quickly to look behind him when he is interrupted. He was engrossed in his reading and evidently didn’t appreciate the disruption. We giggled because this seems so relatable to any bookworm trying to read in public. Essentially, this is me in the lunchroom at work.
The exhibit consists of images of each painting printed on life sized posters that line the walls.
It’s shocking to me to think that someone actually painted these enormous creations on a ceiling while lying on scaffolding over a period of years. About four years, to be exact. I keep thinking that I would be tired of the color scheme or my own choices after just a few months. Devoting years to the same series on a ceiling would be exhausting. After all, it’s not like painting on the ground where you can easily take a step back and view your work.
Perhaps I’ll see the real thing someday but, for now, this was something fun to see close to home.
If you go, there are a few things to know. The audio tour gives in depth stories behind each work while signs at each painting give the bare details. Those audio scripts are interesting but long so it will take hours to get through if you listened to every one.
The exhibit is located in an old Elder Beerman store at Fairfield Commons Mall. They seriously lack adequate signage to get you there. Look for the seemingly abandoned anchor storefront on the second level of the mall. There are signs on the door when you finally get there but they aren’t visible from across the parking lot.
The vacant store is cavernous but they chose to use a fraction of the space. So the posters are packed in the space, almost touching. That means there are clumps of people everywhere and social distancing isn’t really a thing. If you’re nervous about crowds and illness, this may not be the place for you.
All the same, I enjoyed the experience and am glad I went. It is a traveling event and will be leaving Dayton soon. Get the details at their website.
This cool sign is visible from the highway as you approach Dayton from the east. It always catches my eye so I exited for a closer look last Saturday.
You know how we teach children not to take candy from strangers or go with them to find a lost puppy? I evidently need a refresher course as I found myself going to the oddest place for the promise of bargain books Saturday morning. One Dollar Book Swap is located in the back of a building in an industrial neighborhood in Dayton.
It would be especially nice if you have kids, including older ones who like chapter books. I enjoyed searching for vintage Little Golden books and found a number of treasures throughout the store. In fact, these aren’t junk books. I found some best sellers as well as some really obscure stuff. My best treasure though was the Forks Over Knives Cookbook that retails for like $30. It’s in great shape and, yep, was just a dollar.
Want to read more about that day? I’ll write more about the museum this winter but you can read about seeing the Memphis Belle by