Study On The Iconography Of Italian Image Of Last Judgment During 12 Century To 15 Century

While the Sistine Ceiling Frescoes painted by Michelangelo becomes a focus of worldwide attention, The Last Judgment and its development, as one of the greatest medieval artistic work,attracts much fewer limelight. It is a commonplace that viewers are frequently amazed by the brilliant Renaissance art legacies, however the traditional iconography behind those paintings are easily neglected by the viewers. Great paintings are not just made for people's appreciation, they worth much more than that. Combining iconography and religion,society,and culture.The 12th-15th century is a period that the Christianity began to decline and the Humanism began to alternately rise. During the stage, the icons developing gradually to mature, till Sistine Ceiling Frescoes painted by Michelangelo becomes a focus of worldwide attention reaching the climax of the iconology. This thesis is aimed at summarizing and generalizing the development of the Iconography of The Last Judgment during 12th-15 th century, finding out the characterization of the traditional iconology, exploring the social psychology and the subtle change of people's attitude toward the theology to some extent. As sacred Christian images, it would exert an influence on secular world, such as the concept of Justice in government propaganda borrowed from the images and the layout of modern judicial court and the trial procedure for reference. At the same time, during the progress of secularizing, some new elements began to emerge in the images, and make an influence on the sacred image in return.For the images, except for watching, they also became the teller of religious stories and play a significance role in warning and defense.