Fiat cogitatio · after Michelangelo

Let there be thought.

Two hands, one spark. Move to guide it and click to make contact. Or press and hold to charge it up, and let go.

An assistant for the half-formed question Move guide · Click connect · Hold charge · Drag spin Scroll The gap

I The gap

Everything happens in between.

I Ask
It starts with a question, half-formed. You reach with whatever you have.
II Reach
Something reaches back. Each exchange closes the distance a little more.
III Spark
Then the idea arrives, and for a moment it belongs to neither hand alone.

The gap 00.0 mm Scroll to close it

II Your study

Cast it in your own light.

Every study is a little different. Choose what the spark is made of, what the hands are carved from and the light they meet in. The scene changes as you choose.

Spark

Hands

Light

III Ways to begin

Bring a question. Leave with a spark.

A few openings to try. Each one starts a new conversation in Favilla with the prompt already written.

Write Turn my rough notes into a clear, friendly email. Try it in Favilla
Code Walk me through what this function does, line by line. Try it in Favilla
Learn Explain how fresco painting works, as if I'm curious but new to art history. Try it in Favilla
Think Help me weigh two options. Ask me questions before giving your opinion. Try it in Favilla
Plan Turn this goal into a realistic four-week plan. Try it in Favilla
Make Brainstorm ten names for a studio that builds interactive 3D websites. Try it in Favilla

IV After Michelangelo

Five centuries of almost touching.

Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The Creation of Adam is one of its nine scenes from Genesis, and its two nearly touching hands have been copied, quoted and parodied ever since.

This study keeps the gesture and changes the subject. The hands are marble, the figures are gone, and where the touch would be there is a spark that never stops turning.

1508 Michelangelo begins painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
1512 The ceiling is unveiled, The Creation of Adam among its Genesis scenes.
2026 Study Nº 01: two marble hands, one spark.

V Notes

Questions, answered.

What is Favilla?

An AI assistant for the half-formed question: first drafts, second looks, plans and code. The name is Italian for spark, after a line of Dante's: poca favilla gran fiamma seconda , a great flame follows a little spark.

Where do I start?

Pick one of the openings above, or write your own question in the box at the end of the page. Each one starts a new conversation with the prompt already written.

How was this made?

With three.js, in the browser. The hands are rigged WebXR hand models (MIT), smoothed and given forearms when the page loads. Every finger is posed and aimed in code, so the index fingers always find the spark. The marble, the light that runs up the veins and the nebula are custom shaders. The spark is an heraldic estoile, a star of six wavy rays, drawn in code and cut in 3D.

Why don't the fingers ever touch?

They don't in the fresco either. The gap is the point: the instant before contact, when everything is still possible.

Does it work on phones?

Yes. On a tall screen the hands come from above and below. Tap to connect, press and hold to charge, and drag sideways to spin. With reduced motion turned on, everything moves more gently, and Pause stops it entirely.