Masterpiece of the month

Deeds of the Antichrist (c.1501)
Luca Signorelli (c.1450 - 1523). Fresco. Orvieto Cathedral, Italy.

Everything has two sides. Take a magnet, for example: positive- negative. Humans can be good and bad. Bussiness have two side as well. One is shown to the public -"the face"- and the other is the mastermind -"the brain"-, hiding behind its creation. The face is seen by everybody, but it can't do anything; it is the puppet of its maker, designed to be a perfect model- appealing, familiar and, essentially, believable- carrying out its master's bidding blindly, without being aware of the consequences of its acts.

And isn't that the profession of the Antichrist?

The Antichrist (detail)
Corbis Images

This can clearly be seen here: the devil adopts the image of Christ, proclaiming his sovereignty on Earth, as Satan whispers his orders. And this can only work if the two are close together; in fact, they are so close that they share an arm. This unusual representation of mankind's destructor is what makes this work so incredibly fascinating. But not only that, because Signorelli's fresco is structured in a complex narrative with a wealth of details. In the foreground, ignorant followers offer riches to the Antichrist, while some are perplexed at the massacre carried out at their left. A large cathedral is being profaned in the background as monks pray for salvation, but the Antichrist ressurects a corpse to testify his divinty. Finally, he is killed by an angel as his worshipers die in agony with him.

The author of the fresco (with Fra Angelico behind him), clad in black, stands impassively, a silent witness testifying against evil and the passing of time, maybe implying that not all is lost...