Self-portrait
Who did Michelangelo depict himself as in "The Last Judgement"?
The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)
Some have hypothesized that Michelangelo depicted himself in the flayed skin of St. Bartholomew (see below) based on feelings of contempt Michelangelo may have had for being commissioned to paint "The Last Judgment." Michelangelo often drew himself in a way where he had lost all his power and might. He questioned over thoughts of dying and the Day of Judgement, which is seen as a reference to this work. Michelangelo was in his late sixties when he finished this painting, and it has been argued that the peeling of Bartholomew signifies the peeling of the flesh awaiting a new rebirth. The bearded figure of St. Bartholomew holding the skin was theorized to depict the satirist and erotic writer Pietro Aretino, who had tried to extort a valuable drawing from Michelangelo; this theory has been conclusively refuted because the conflict between Michelangelo and zed Aretino did not occur until 1545, seven years after the fresco's completion.