Description
The Prophet Jeremiah is a fresco Michelangelo painted around 1511 on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican: an old man with a long white beard sits with his head bowed and his hand pressed to his mouth, utterly lost in thought. The painted field on the ceiling is about 390 cm high and 380 cm wide, far larger than any size we make. Our painter paints it to order in oils on canvas, in 6 almost square sizes from 45 x 45 to 100 x 100 cm or made to measure, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Prophet Jeremiah |
| Other titles: | Il profeta Geremia · Der Prophet Jeremia |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) |
| Year painted: | c. 1511 |
| Original size: | about 390 cm x 380 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Fresco |
| Painting style: | High Renaissance |
| Located at: | Sistine Chapel, Vatican City |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 6 sizes or made to measure |
The Prophet Jeremiah – Michelangelo
What does Michelangelo’s Prophet Jeremiah show?
At the centre of the almost square canvas sits a heavy, powerful old man with tousled grey hair and a white beard that falls over his chest in long strands. His right hand is raised to his mouth, the elbow propped on his knee, as though he were holding back his own words.
His knees are set wide apart and his feet drawn back under the stone seat. The left hand hangs limp over his thigh, fingers pointing down. He wears an ochre-yellow tunic with long sleeves; a broad orange-red mantle falls across his lap, and pale grey cloth shows beneath it.
Behind his back stand two sorrowful women. On the left a young woman with fair hair pinned up, dressed in bluish white, bows her head; on the right another, wrapped in a red cloth, turns aside and looks into the distance. On each side of the niche, painted pillars carry pairs of naked children, putti, painted to look like statues of white marble.
Who was Jeremiah, and what is he brooding over?
Jeremiah is one of the four major prophets of the Old Testament. On the Sistine Chapel ceiling he sits among the twelve figures who foretold a Messiah: seven prophets of Israel and five sibyls, the prophetesses of the classical world. They are the largest figures on the ceiling.
Michelangelo imagines him lost in anguished meditation, a prophet mourning the destruction of Jerusalem.
Some critics have read the old man as a self-portrait of Michelangelo himself. Wikipedia mentions two possible readings: the artist lamenting the weight of his own sins, or lamenting that the pope made him paint when he would rather have carved.
Why does Jeremiah hold people’s attention?
The power of this fresco lies in its weight. The figure is built like a block: broad shoulders, spread knees and a head that sinks into the hand. The English critic Roger Fry chose Jeremiah to show how mass and movement stir reverence and awe in the viewer.
In the School of Athens, Raphael painted Heraclitus as a brooding man much like Jeremiah, but with Michelangelo’s face. The English Wikipedia article devoted to this figure goes into more detail.
Where is the original, and when was it painted?
The original is still on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Counting from the altar, Jeremiah is the first figure on the left-hand side. The prophet Jonah sits above the altar, and along the same long wall Jeremiah is followed by the Persian Sibyl and then the prophet Ezekiel.
Pope Julius II gave Michelangelo the ceiling to paint, and the work ran from 1508 to 1512. He worked in true fresco: the colours went into fresh, wet plaster and, as it dried, became part of it for good. Jeremiah came towards the end of that work, around 1511.
Below every prophet and sibyl the original has a painted marble tablet bearing the name, held by a putto; under Jeremiah it reads HIEREMIAS. Our model shows the figure in its painted niche, without the tablet beneath it.
Jeremiah or another work by Michelangelo?
The Prophet Jeremiah is a canvas painting for people drawn less to action than to inner calm. It belongs in a study, a library or a quiet reading corner.
His neighbour on the ceiling is The Persian Sibyl: an old woman in a white head cloth, hunched over a small book she holds right up to her eyes. A completely different mood fills The Prophet Jonah, the young prophet above the altar who leans far back and gazes upwards.
If you are looking for a companion piece, see The Prophet Isaiah, the grey-haired prophet with the closed blue book, or The Prophet Ezekiel, the old man in a blue turban who swings round abruptly. All our famous Michelangelo paintings are gathered on one Michelangelo page.
How does our painter paint Jeremiah?
The original is a fresco in the plaster of a curved ceiling, while our Jeremiah is an oil painting reproduction, hand-painted on canvas. You receive a real painted surface that can be stretched, framed and hung.
The painter starts only once you have ordered, because each painting we make is made for one buyer. First the outlines go onto the canvas so the proportions are right; then the colour is built up in layers, from dark shadows towards the light.
Most of the time goes into the face hidden behind the hand and the white beard spilling in strands over the chest. Here the painter works with fine brushes so that the hand stays heavy and tired and the gaze turned inwards.
Because it is real oil paint, the surface carries brushmarks that you can see close up when light falls from the side.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 45 x 45 or 60 x 57 cm for a desk, a shelf or a narrow wall, 70 x 66 cm for a bedroom or hallway, 80 x 78 and 90 x 88 cm above a sofa or sideboard, and 100 x 100 cm for a large, empty wall.
The Prophet Jeremiah comes in 6 almost square sizes (width x height): 45 x 45, 60 x 57, 70 x 66, 80 x 78, 90 x 88 and 100 x 100 cm. The fresco on the ceiling is about 390 cm high and 380 cm wide; our largest size, 100 x 100 cm, is therefore almost four times smaller in each direction.
Because the format is nearly square, Jeremiah sits well above low furniture or on a wall between two windows. As a painting for the living room he works best at 80 x 78 or 90 x 88 cm above the sofa.
Can I order another size or a frame?
Of course. For a different proportion we adapt the composition so that the head and beard, both hands and the feet stay whole, and the two women behind the prophet do not vanish over the edge. In any format this Michelangelo reproduction keeps the prophet’s silence intact. Give us the width and height you need and we will quote a price and a lead time.
Jeremiah can travel to you rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or ready framed. Our own workshop in Slovenia does all the stretching and framing. Our 3D app lets you pick the frame and nothing more; seeing Jeremiah on your own wall is a separate service.
When will your painting arrive?
The painter begins as soon as you confirm the order, and the finished painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before it leaves we send you a photograph of it; if you would like something changed, we do it before packing. There are no customs charges within Slovenia or anywhere in the EU, and our returns policy applies to every order.
Jeremiah makes a fine gift for someone who likes to think things through: a professor, a writer, a priest or a friend with more books at home than chairs. If you do not know the right size, give a wall art voucher and let them choose.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find the fresco?
On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the first figure on the left as seen from the altar.
What is the prophet doing in the painting?
He sits with his head bowed and his hand at his mouth, deep in sad thoughts about ruined Jerusalem.
Is this a print?
No, it is a hand-painted copy that our painter makes with brush and oil paint.
How big is the original?
The field on the ceiling measures about 390 x 380 cm (height x width); our largest size is 100 x 100 cm.
What size goes above a sofa?
Above most sofas, 80 x 78 and 90 x 88 cm look best.
Could you paint Jeremiah in a different size?
Yes. Send us the width and height, and we will tell you the price and the lead time.
Will it suit a bedroom?
Yes, it is calm and collected.
Is the fresco really a self-portrait of Michelangelo?
That is not certain: some critics see the artist himself in the old man, but there is no proof.
- Subject: an old prophet with a white beard sits with his head bowed and his hand at his mouth; two sorrowful women behind him, marble putti at the sides.
- Original: c. 1511, fresco, about 390 x 380 cm (height x width), Sistine Chapel ceiling, Vatican City.
- Ours: painted by hand to order in oils on canvas, 6 sizes from 45 x 45 to 100 x 100 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: the critic Roger Fry used Jeremiah to show how mass and movement produce awe.
