Creation of Adam, Creation of Eve

Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes between 1508 and 1512. The frescoes are his interpretation of the biblical book of Genesis, the story of the creation of the world. In the central scene shown here, God appears in human form as he gives the breath of life to Adam, the first human being. The scene above it shows the first woman, Eve, as she emerges from Adam's rib.