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Biagio da Cesena

Biagio Martinelli (Cesena 1463 – Rome 1544), better known as Biagio da Cesena (meaning "from Cesena", his native city), was a 16th-century Italian official who served as Papal Master of Ceremonies. He is widely known for his negative reaction to the nude figures presented in Michelangelo's fresco of The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.

In 1518 Biagio became Papal Master of Ceremonies to Pope Leo X. He would also act in this role for Popes Adrian VI, Clement VII, and Paul III.

After the completion of The Last Judgment Biagio said of the fresco, "it was mostly disgraceful that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully". Biagio went on to say that the painting was more suitable "for the public baths and taverns" than a papal chapel. In response, Michelangelo worked Biagio's face into the scene as Minos, judge of the underworld (in the far bottom-right corner of the fresco) with donkey ears (indicating foolishness), while his nudity is covered by a coiled snake biting his penis. It was widely said that when Biagio complained to Pope Paul III, the pontiff joked that his jurisdiction did not extend to hell and the portrait would have to remain.

Title: Biagio da Cesena

Find out about the author(s) & basic information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biagio_da_Cesena

Read the full article on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biagio_da_Cesena

[CC] license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0

Photo By Michelangelo - File: Rome Sistine Chapel 01.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=809295

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