‘Michelangelo’ reproductions highlight magnificent works

Perhaps the most significant takeaway from “Michelangelo — A Different View,” reproductions of the artist’s famous Sistine Chapel frescos, is what a colossal project those paintings were in the first place.

Applying wet paint on wet plaster on the chapel ceiling and walls, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni depicted scenes from Genesis; prophets, sybils and heroes from the Old Testament, and the spectacular “Last Judgement” with its more than 300 figures.

This work by the Renaissance painter and sculptor continued from 1508 to 1512, resulting in one of the world’s most famous bodies of art and most frequently visited tourist sites. 

Although there is no substitute for witnessing the real thing in Vatican City, a touring exhibition of reproductions of the frescos, sanctioned by the Vatican, is on view through Jan. 23, at the Columbus Convention Center. “Michelangelo – A Different View” serves as an overview and educational primer on the great paintings. 

The exhibit occupies Ballroom B of the Union Station Ballroom, with the reproductions positioned on the walls and the floor. The floor is where visitors will find the scenes that are on the Sistine Chapel ceiling — God’s creation of the world and humanity and Adam and Eve’s fall from grace. (The taller viewers are, the better they’re able to see these floor-positioned works.) Included, of course, is the iconic scene of God creating Adam, with the divine hand almost touching the human hand.