Creation of Adam Dog Shirts

Michelangelo painted The Creation of Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome around 1511 and 1512, as part of the ceiling he worked on from 1508. Adam lies on a green hillside, one arm resting on his knee; God flies toward him in a billowing red cloak packed with angels; and their two index fingers stop just short of each other. That small gap is the most copied detail in the whole chapel. In 1990 a doctor named Frank Meshberger even argued in a medical journal that the cloak around God is shaped like a human brain, a theory people still debate.

Our designs keep the composition and change who is on the hill. A dog lounges in Adam's pose and lifts a paw toward the outstretched finger. Half of them are titled "Almost Touched Greatness," which is the whole story of a dog that got very close to the sandwich. The other half say "Divine Timing, Still Loading," and if you look closely there is a small loading spinner in the gap between paw and finger. A stretched-out Boxer, a long German Shorthaired Pointer and a Great Dane fill Adam's spot perfectly; a Chihuahua or a Yorkie on the same mountain looks wonderfully small.

There are 20 breeds here. The fresco is in the public domain; each design is our own new drawing in the style of the original, not a reproduction.

Every design here is printed on our Washed Tee: 100% cotton, 250 gsm, washed vintage finish, relaxed unisex fit, S to 5XL, three colors per design, printed in the USA. 2 or more tees ship free in the US, and 3 or more get 15% off automatically. For more painting parodies, see The Scream dog shirts, Girl with a Pearl Earring dog shirts, Mona Lisa dog shirts and Offbeat Classics.

FAQ

Is this the real Sistine Chapel painting?

No. Each design is our own new drawing that parodies Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, painted around 1511 to 1512 on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, with a dog in Adam's place. The fresco is in the public domain.

What is the small circle between the paw and the finger?

On the Divine Timing, Still Loading designs it is a loading spinner, the joke being that the big moment is still buffering. The Almost Touched Greatness designs leave the famous gap empty.

How do these tees fit?

The Washed Tee is a relaxed straight unisex cut and true to size, from S to 5XL, so most people order their usual size. Check the chest width in our size guide. Tees are printed to order, so we cannot take returns for a wrong size.