Skin, Bones, and Dust: Self-Portraits in Michelangelo's "Last Judgment."

Of the several faces identified as self-portraits in Michelangelo's "Last Judgment," only the one on the skin held by St. Bartholomew has been widely accepted as such. This essay does not dispute that identification, but does argue against the interpretation of it as a representation of the artist's psychological torment. Other self-references within the fresco, including one made visible only after the recent cleaning, suggest a different interpretation: one that focuses on the resurrection of the physical body, set within the context of contemporary debates about the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]