Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), famous Italian sculptor, painter and architect, one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance. He came from ancient family Counts of Canossa, born in 1475 in Chiusi, near Florence. Michelangelo acquired his first acquaintance with painting from Ghirlandaio. Versatility artistic development and the breadth of his education was facilitated by his stay with Lorenzo de' Medici, in the famous gardens of St. Mark, among the outstanding scientists and artists of that time. The faun mask carved by Michelangelo during his stay here and the relief depicting the fight of Hercules with the centaurs drew attention to him. Soon after, he performed the "Crucifixion" for the monastery of Santo Spirito. During the execution of this work, the prior of the monastery provided Michelangelo with a corpse, on which the artist first became acquainted with anatomy. Subsequently, he studied it with passion.
Portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Artist M. Venusti, c. 1535
In 1496, Michelangelo sculpted a sleeping cupid from marble. Having given it, on the advice of friends, the appearance of antiquity, he passed it off as an antique work. The trick was a success, and the subsequent deception resulted in Michelangelo’s invitation to Rome, where he commissioned the marble Bacchus and the Madonna with the Dead Christ (Pietà), which made Michelangelo from a respected sculptor the first sculptor of Italy.
In 1499, Michelangelo again appeared in his native Florence and created for her a colossal statue of David, as well as paintings in the Council Chamber.
Statue of David. Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1504
Then Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II and, at his order, created a grandiose project for a monument to the pope with many statues and reliefs. Due to various circumstances, out of this many, Michelangelo executed only one famous statue of Moses.
Michelangelo Buonarroti. Moses statue
Forced to begin painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel due to the machinations of rivals who thought to destroy the artist, knowing his unaccustomment to painting technique, Michelangelo, at 22 months, working alone, created a huge work that caused everyone's surprise. Here he depicted the creation of the world and man, the Fall with its consequences: expulsion from paradise and the global flood, miraculous salvation the chosen people and the approaching time of salvation in the person of the Sibyls, prophets and ancestors of the Savior. The Flood is the most successful composition in terms of power of expression, drama, courage of thought, mastery of drawing, and a variety of figures in the most difficult and unexpected poses.
Michelangelo Buonarroti. Flood (fragment). Fresco of the Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo Buonarroti's huge painting of the Last Judgment, executed between 1532 and 1545 on the wall of the Sistine Chapel, is also striking in its power of imagination, grandeur and mastery of design, which, however, is somewhat inferior to the first in the nobility of style.
Michelangelo Buonarroti. Last Judgment. Fresco of the Sistine Chapel
Image source - website http://www.wga.hu
Around the same time, Michelangelo created a statue of Giuliano for the Medici monument - the famous “Pensiero” - “thoughtfulness”.
At the end of his life, Michelangelo abandoned sculpture and painting and devoted himself mainly to architecture, taking upon himself “for the glory of God” the gratuitous supervision of the construction of the Church of St. Peter in Rome. It was not he who did not complete it. The grandiose dome was completed according to Michelangelo’s design after his death (1564), which interrupted the turbulent life of the artist, who also took an active part in the struggle of his native city for his freedom.
Dome of St. Peter's Church in Rome. Architect - Michelangelo Buonarroti
The ashes of Michelangelo Buonarroti rest under a magnificent monument in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. Numerous of his sculptural works and paintings are scattered throughout the churches and galleries of Europe.
Michelangelo Buonarroti's style is distinguished by grandeur and nobility. His desire for the extraordinary, his deep knowledge of anatomy, thanks to which he achieved amazing correctness of drawing, attracted him to colossal creatures. In sublimity, energy, boldness of movement and majesty of forms, Michelangelo Buonarroti has no rivals. He shows particular skill in depicting the naked body. Although Michelangelo, with his passion for plastic art, gave color secondary importance, nevertheless, his coloring is strong and harmonious. Michelangelo placed fresco painting above oil painting and called the latter women's work. Architecture was his weak side, but even in this, being self-taught, he showed his genius.
Secretive and uncommunicative, Michelangelo could do without loyal friends and did not know female love until he was 80 years old. He called art his beloved, paintings his children. Only at the end of his life Michelangelo met the famous beautiful poetess Vittoria Colonna and fell in love with her passionately. This pure feeling gave rise to Michelangelo's poems, which were later published in 1623 in Florence. Michelangelo lived with patriarchal simplicity, did a lot of good, and was, in general, affectionate and gentle. He punished only arrogance and ignorance inexorably. I was with Rafael good relations, although he was not indifferent to his fame.
The life of Michelangelo Buonarroti is described by his students Vasari and Candovi.
Arguably one of the most influential masters of the Renaissance and Baroque era. A man who lived the entire period from High Renaissance before the Counter-Reformation. The first representative of Western creativity whose life story was written while he was alive.
Childhood years
The future genius was born in Tuscany in the small village of Caprese into the family of a bankrupt aristocrat. Several generations of the family were involved in banking. But the boy’s father, having no talent in managing financial affairs, very soon accumulated a lot of debt and was forced to close the business. Very little is known about the artist’s own mother, since she died when the boy was only six years old, from exhaustion. Unable to raise numerous offspring, Ludovico Buonarroti was forced to give his son to a wet nurse. Fortunately, the family to which he was given was loving and treated the pupil well. Showing an ability for sculpture, Michelangelo mastered the skill of sculpting faster than writing or reading. Soon his father remarried, and it was decided to send the boy to the school of Francesco Galatea da Urbino. The training was very slow and most of of his time young artist spent sketching icons and frescoes.
Realizing that the boy’s training would not bring results, his father sent Michelangelo to the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Here he became acquainted with the basic materials and techniques of execution. His sculptural vision environment can be clearly seen in his pencil works. A year later, the talent was noticed by Lorenzo de' Medici, and he took the young genius under his wing.
Success in creativity
While staying at the Medici court, the sculptor met famous thinkers and artists of the time. Creating statues at numerous requests, he remained a court sculptor until the death of the Medici. In 1494 he moved to Bologna and began designing figures for the Arch of St. Dominic. A year later, his statue “Sleeping Cupid” was bought by Cardinal Rafael Riario and invites the architect to move to Rome. During his stay in the cultural capital, Michelangelo created “Bacchus” and “Roman Pieta”.
In 1501, Michelangelo visited Florence again. A huge number of proposals came to the sculptor during this period. He produced the famous figures for the “Piccolomini Altar”, “Davit” and “The Twelve Apostles”. The only easel work that has come down to us, “Madonna Doni,” was also created. The canvas is unique in that Michelangelo depicted the painting as if it were a sculpture. The purity of the colors, the smoothness of the skin, the clear curves of the folds - all this seems to squeeze the picture onto the surface, making it three-dimensional.
Returning to Rome following the orders of Pope Julius II in 1505, the architect begins work on the tomb. The creation process was varied and delicate and required material that matched the order; it took Buonarroti eight months to find the ideal marble. Taking short breaks from creating the tomb, Michelangelo came on a visit to Florence. Being in a quarrel with Pope Julius II, he decides to reconcile with him and immediately accepts an order from him. The bronze sculpture, the creation of which took almost a year, was destroyed in the future.
At the insistence of Julius II, he goes to Rome to create frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The master worked for a little over four years to create a fresco that included most of the story from the Bible. More than 300 figures were depicted on the ceiling of the chapel. The plasticity and gracefulness frightened the viewer, and the subjects that the master used were truly terrifying. Twenty-five years later he will return to paint the wall of the same chapel, a fresco that is full of drama, grandeur and grandeur. “The Last Judgment”, the theme for which was the second coming of Christ, it was this work that became last work Renaissance.
Architectural values
The beginning of 1513 foreshadowed the death of Julius II and the ascension to the papal throne of Giovanni Medici, who became Pope Leo X. This event became the impetus for the resumption of work on the tomb of the late pope. While creating the decor for the tomb, the architect received a proposal to design the chapel of Leo X and the sculpture “Christ with the Cross.” In 1516, the Medici summoned the architect back to Florence where he was to design the façade for the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. The option proposed by the sculptor was rejected, but he was involved in the design of other parts of the church. Next in line was the project for the tomb of the Medici family. Selecting marble for this order took the sculptor about a year, and in the future trips to Carrara for material occurred quite often. Distracted from creating a tomb for Pope Julius II, Michelangelo had to sign a contract for its creation for the third time.
Towards the beginning of 1530, he created the famous Laurentian Library, which was built exclusively to store one-of-a-kind and antique books and manuscripts of the Medici family. Buonarroti's most significant project was commissioned in 1546 for Pope Paul III. Plazzo Farnese was improved by the architect, who completed the internal façade and projection of the building. He also created the facade of the Capitoline Hill, which was made in a beautiful, but not typical for Rome, manner.
Recent years
The order that became the final chord in his life was St. Peter's Cathedral. The sculptor changed the way everyone thought about creating figures and presented monumental forms in a flexible and weightless way. His abstract vision of mundane things made his work unique in its kind. The man represented in the statues for the facade of the building is presented in a bohemian likeness. The clarity and character of the reliefs created a bizarre play of chiaroscuro. The great trust that the pope and his entourage showed prompted the sculptor to write in the decree for the execution of the order a clause about absolutely free work on the project.
On February 18, 1564, the sculptor passed away; his last words were his will. Briefly but quite clearly he explained his last will: “I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives.” From the beginning, Michelangelo's ashes were intended to be buried in Rome, but later they were secretly transported to Florence and buried within the walls of the Church of Santa Croce.
Michelangelo Buonarroti is considered by many to be the most famous artist among his most famous works- statues “David” and “Pieta”, frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.
Consummate Master
The work of Michelangelo Buonarroti can be briefly described as the greatest phenomenon in art of all time - this is how he was assessed during his lifetime, and this is how he continues to be considered to this day. Several of his works in painting, sculpture and architecture are among the most famous in the world. Although the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican are probably the most famous works artist, first of all he considered himself a sculptor. Practicing several forms of art was not unusual in his time. They were all based on the drawing. Michelangelo practiced all his life and only engaged in other forms of art during certain periods. The high appreciation of the Sistine Chapel is partly a reflection of the greater attention paid to painting in the 20th century, and partly the result of the fact that many of the master's works were left unfinished.
A side effect of Michelangelo's lifetime fame was that his career was described in more detail than any other artist of his time. He became the first artist whose biography was published before his death; there were even two of them. The first was the last chapter of the book on the lives of artists (1550) by the painter and architect Giorgio Vasari. It was dedicated to Michelangelo, whose work was presented as the culmination of the perfection of art. Despite such praise, he was not entirely satisfied and instructed his assistant Ascanio Condivi to write a separate short book(1553), probably based on comments by the artist himself. In it, Michelangelo and the master’s work are depicted the way he wanted others to see them. After Buonarroti's death, Vasari published a refutation in the second edition (1568). Although scholars prefer Condivi's book to Vasari's lifetime account, the latter's overall importance and its frequent reprinting in many languages have made the work a major source of information about Michelangelo and other Renaissance artists. Buonarroti's fame also resulted in the preservation of countless documents, including hundreds of letters, essays and poems. However, despite the enormous amount of accumulated material, in controversial issues only the point of view of Michelangelo himself is often known.
Brief biography and creativity
Painter, sculptor, architect and poet, one of the most famous artists Italian Renaissance was born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy. His father, Leonardo di Buanarotta Simoni, served briefly as a magistrate in a small village when he and his wife Francesca Neri had the second of five sons, but they returned to Florence while Michelangelo was still an infant. Due to his mother's illness, the boy was given to be raised by a stonecutter's family, about which the great sculptor later joked that with the nurse's milk he absorbed a hammer and chisels.
Indeed, Michelangelo was least interested in studying. The creativity of painters in neighboring churches and the repetition of what he saw there, according to his early biographers, attracted him much more. Michelangelo's school friend, Francesco Granacci, who was six years older than him, introduced his friend to the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. The father realized that his son was not interested in the family financial business and agreed to apprentice him at the age of 13 to a fashionable Florentine painter. There he became acquainted with the technique of fresco.
Medici Gardens
Michelangelo had only spent a year in the workshop when a unique opportunity arose. On Ghirlandaio's recommendation, he moved to the palace of the Florentine ruler Lorenzo the Magnificent, a powerful member of the Medici family, to study classical sculpture in its gardens. It was a fertile time for Michelangelo Buonarroti. The biography and work of the aspiring artist were marked by his acquaintance with the elite of Florence, the talented sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, prominent poets, scientists and humanists of the time. Buonarroti also received special permission from the church to examine corpses to study anatomy, although this had a negative impact on his health.
The combination of these influences formed the basis recognizable style Michelangelo: muscular precision and realism meet an almost lyrical beauty. Two surviving bas-reliefs, "The Battle of the Centaurs" and "Madonna of the Stairs", testify to his unique talent at the age of 16.
Early success and influence
Political strife after the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent forced Michelangelo to flee to Bologna, where he continued his studies. He returned to Florence in 1495 and began working as a sculptor, borrowing his style from the masterpieces of classical antiquity.
There are several versions of the intriguing story of Michelangelo's Cupid sculpture, which was artificially aged to resemble a rare antique. One version claims that the author wanted to achieve a patina effect by this, and according to another, his art dealer buried the work in order to pass it off as an antique.
Cardinal Riario San Giorgio bought Cupid, believing it to be such a sculpture, and demanded his money back when he discovered that he had been deceived. In the end, the deceived buyer was so impressed by Michelangelo's work that he allowed the artist to keep the money. The Cardinal even invited him to Rome, where Buonarroti lived and worked until the end of his days.
"Pieta" and "David"
Soon after moving to Rome in 1498, his career was furthered by another cardinal, Jean Billaire de Lagrola, papal envoy to the French king Charles VIII. Michelangelo's Pietà, which depicts Mary holding the dead Jesus in her lap, was completed in less than a year and was placed in the temple with the cardinal's tomb. Measuring 1.8m wide and almost as tall, the statue was moved five times until it found its current location in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Carved from a single piece, the sculpture's fluidity of fabric, the position of the subjects, and the "movement" of the Pieta's skin (meaning "pity" or "compassion") terrified its first viewers. Today it is an incredibly revered work. Michelangelo created it when he was only 25 years old.
By the time Michelangelo returned to Florence, he had already become a celebrity. The sculptor received a commission for a statue of David, which two previous sculptors had tried unsuccessfully to make, and turned a five-meter piece of marble into a dominant figure. The strength of sinew, vulnerable nudity, humanity of expression and overall courage made "David" a symbol of Florence.
Art and architecture
Other commissions followed, including an ambitious design for the tomb of Pope Julius II, but work was interrupted when Michelangelo was asked to move from sculpture to painting to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
The project sparked the artist's imagination, and the original plan to paint the 12 apostles grew into more than 300 figures. This work was later completely removed due to fungus in the plaster and then restored. Buonarroti fired all the assistants he considered incompetent and completed the 65-meter ceiling himself, spending endless hours lying on his back and jealously guarding his work until its completion on October 31, 1512.
Michelangelo's artistic work can be briefly characterized as follows. This is a transcendent example of high Renaissance art that contains christian symbols, prophecies and humanistic principles absorbed by the master during his youth. The bright vignettes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel create a kaleidoscope effect. The most iconic image is the composition “The Creation of Adam”, depicting God touching a man with his finger. The Roman artist Raphael apparently changed his style after seeing this work.
Michelangelo, whose biography and work remained forever associated with sculpture and drawing, was forced to turn his attention to architecture due to physical exertion while painting the chapel.
The master continued work on the tomb of Julius II over the next few decades. He also designed the Laurenzina Library, located opposite the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, which was to house the library of the House of Medici. These buildings are considered a turning point in the history of architecture. But Michelangelo's crowning glory in this area was his work as chief in 1546.
Conflict nature
Michelangelo unveiled the floating Last Judgment on the far wall of the Sistine Chapel in 1541. There were immediate voices of protest - nude figures were inappropriate for such a holy place, and calls were made to destroy the largest fresco of the Italian Renaissance. The artist responded by introducing new images into the composition: his main critic in the form of the devil and himself as the flayed Saint Bartholomew.
Despite the connections and patronage of rich and influential people in Italy, which were provided by Michelangelo’s brilliant mind and all-round talent, the master’s life and work were full of ill-wishers. He was cocky and quick-tempered, which often led to quarrels, including with his customers. This not only brought him troubles, but also created a feeling of dissatisfaction in him - the artist constantly strived for perfection and could not compromise.
Sometimes he suffered from attacks of melancholy, which left a mark in many of his literary works. Michelangelo wrote that he was in great sorrow and labor, that he had no friends and did not need them, and that he did not have enough time to eat enough, but these inconveniences brought him joy.
In his youth, Michelangelo teased a fellow student and was hit on the nose, which disfigured him for life. Over the years, he grew increasingly tired of his work, and in one of his poems he described the enormous physical effort he had to exert to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Political strife in his beloved Florence also tormented him, but his most notable enemy was the Florentine artist Leonardo da Vinci, who was 20 years his senior.
Literary works and personal life
Michelangelo, whose creativity was expressed in his sculptures, paintings and architecture, in mature years took up poetry.
Having never married, Buonarroti was devoted to a pious and noble widow named Vittoria Colonna - the recipient of more than 300 of his poems and sonnets. Their friendship provided great support to Michelangelo until Colonna's death in 1547. In 1532, the master became close to the young nobleman Tommaso de' Cavalieri. Historians still argue about whether their relationship was homosexual in nature or whether he experienced paternal feelings.
Death and legacy
After a short illness, on February 18, 1564—just weeks before his 89th birthday—Michelangelo died at his home in Rome. The nephew transported the body to Florence, where he was revered as “the father and lord of all arts,” and buried him in the Basilica di Santa Croce - where the sculptor himself bequeathed.
Unlike many artists, Michelangelo's work brought him fame and fortune during his lifetime. He was also lucky enough to see the publication of two of his biographies by Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi. The appreciation of Buonarroti's craftsmanship goes back centuries, and his name has become synonymous with the Italian Renaissance.
Michelangelo: features of creativity
In contrast to the great popularity of the artist's works, their visual influence on later art relatively limited. This cannot be explained by a reluctance to copy Michelangelo’s works simply because of his fame, since Raphael, who was equal in talent, was imitated much more often. It is possible that Buonarroti's certain, almost cosmic-scale type of expression imposed restrictions. There are only a few examples of almost complete copying. The most talented artist was Daniele da Volterra. But still, in certain aspects, creativity in the art of Michelangelo found a continuation. In the 17th century he was considered the best at anatomical drawing, but was less praised for the broader elements of his work. The Mannerists exploited his spatial compression and the writhing poses of his Victory sculpture. Master XIX V. Auguste Rodin used the effect of unfinished marble blocks. Some masters of the 17th century. The Baroque style copied it, but in such a way as to exclude literal similarity. Moreover, Jan and Peter Paul Rubens best showed how Michelangelo Buonarroti's work could be used by future generations of sculptors and painters.
In 1475, in the family of a poor but noble Florentine nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti, a boy was born who was to become the greatest sculptor throughout the history of mankind. The father, “at the behest of higher powers,” named his son Michelangelo. The paintings and sculptures created by his hand are truly divine, just like his name.
The beginning of creativity
The boy spent most of his childhood in the village with a nurse, where he learned to work with clay and a chisel, which helped identify him. Seeing this, Lodovico Buonarotti sent his son to the studio of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio for training, and a year later - to the famous sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni . It is here that the work of the young talent is noticed and appreciated by Lorenzo de' Medici. He invites him to his palace. For three years, Michelangelo lived and created for Lorenzo the Magnificent, where he met many painters and sculptors, as well as art connoisseurs.
In Rome
Soon his works began to interest the highest clergy, and he was invited to Rome, where he carried out orders from Cardinal Rafael Riario, and then from Pope Julius II, on whose behalf Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for four years. According to the plan, it was supposed to be more than 300 works on biblical themes, and Michelangelo did an excellent job with them. These paintings became the most accurate reproductions of biblical stories: “The Creation of Heaven and Earth”, “The Separation of Light from Darkness”, “The Creation of Adam”, “The Creation of Eve”, “The Fall”, “The Flood”, etc. Despite the fact that by the nature of his talent Michelangelo Buonarroti was primarily a sculptor, nevertheless, his most grandiose plans were realized in painting. This is evidenced by the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Some paintings by Michelangelo with titles
“The Last Judgment”
This painting was commissioned by Pope Paul III over a period of seven years (1534-1541). It became the most powerful fresco in the history of world painting. Michelangelo painted it on a huge white altar wall. He was 60 years old, he was sick, infirm, and it was very difficult for him to write it. Nevertheless, this was exactly what later glorified the name of Michelangelo for centuries. Paintings of this scale were usually painted by several masters at once, but the elderly artist completed this work alone. Those who saw her once will never forget.
“The Torment of Saint Anthony”
Until 2008, this painting was considered an unknown work and only this year it was recognized as the work of Michelangelo Buonarroti. By the way, this is the earliest of his surviving creations.
Michelangelo's painting “The Creation of Adam”
The great painter painted this fresco in 1511. It is one of the nine central compositions depicted on the vault and is considered one of best work Michelangelo. The paintings adorning the ceiling, every single one, are simply magnificent. However, they are at a sufficient height, and in order to study them carefully, you need to tilt your head back, which is not very comfortable. Therefore, at the entrance to the chapel, and in many bookstores in Italy, you can purchase an album of Michelangelo’s works, including reproductions of the great artist’s creations.
The Renaissance gave the world many talented artists and sculptors. But among them there are titans of the spirit who have reached unprecedented heights in different fields of activity. Such a genius was Michelangelo Buonarroti. Whatever he did: sculpture, painting, architecture or poetry, in everything he showed himself to be a highly gifted person. Michelangelo's works amaze with their perfection. He followed the humanism of the Renaissance, endowing people with divine traits.
Childhood and youth
The future genius of the Renaissance was born on March 6, 1475 in the town of Caprese in the Casentino district. He was the second son of podesta Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and Francesca di Neri. The father gave the child to the nurse, the wife of a stonecutter from Settignano. In total, 5 sons were born into the Buonarroti family. Unfortunately, Francesca died when Michelangelo was 6 years old. After 4 years, Lodovico married again to Lucrezia Ubaldini. His meager income was barely enough to support his large family.
At the age of 10, Michelangelo was sent to the Francesco da Urbino school in Florence. The father wanted his son to become a lawyer. However, young Buonarroti, instead of studying, ran to church to copy the works of old masters. Lodovico often beat the careless boy - in those days painting was considered an unworthy occupation for nobles, to whom Buonarroti counted themselves.
Michelangelo became friends with Francesco Granacci, who studied in the workshop famous painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. Granacci secretly carried the teacher's drawings, and Michelangelo could practice painting.
In the end, Lodovico Buonarroti came to terms with his son’s calling and at the age of 14 sent him to study in Ghirlandaio’s workshop. According to the contract, the boy was supposed to study for 3 years, but after a year he left his teacher.
Domenico Ghirlandaio Self-Portrait The ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici, planned to establish a art school and asked Ghirlandaio to send him several gifted students. Among them was Michelangelo.
At the court of Lorenzo the Magnificent
Lorenzo Medici was a great connoisseur and admirer of art. He patronized many artists and sculptors and was able to collect an excellent collection of their works. Lorenzo was a humanist, philosopher, poet. Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci worked at his court.
The mentor of the young Michelangelo was the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, a student of Donatello. Michelangelo began to study sculpture with enthusiasm and proved himself to be a talented student. The young man's father was against such activities: he considered being a stonecutter unworthy for his son. Only Lorenzo the Magnificent himself was able to convince the old man by talking to him personally and promising him a position of money.
At the Medici court, Michelangelo studied not only sculpture. He could communicate with prominent thinkers of his time: Marcelio Ficino, Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola. The Platonic worldview that reigned at court and humanism would have a great influence on the work of the future titan of the Renaissance.
Early works
Michelangelo studied sculpture using ancient examples, and painting by copying the frescoes of famous masters in the churches of Florence. The young man's talent was already evident in his early works. The most famous of them are the reliefs of the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna of the Stairs.
The battle of the centaurs amazes with its dynamism and energy of battle. This is a crowd of naked bodies, heated by the fight and the proximity of death. In this work, Michelangelo takes ancient bas-reliefs as a model, but his centaurs are something more. This is rage, pain and a frantic desire to win.
The Madonna at the Staircase differs in execution and mood. It resembles a drawing in stone. Smooth lines, many folds and the look of the Mother of God, directed into the distance, and full of pain. She holds the sleeping baby close to her and thinks about what awaits him in the future.
Michelangelo's genius is already visible in these early works. He does not blindly copy old masters, but tries to find his own, special way.
Troubled times
After the death of Lorenzo de' Medici in 1492, Michelangelo returned to his home. The eldest son of Lorenzo Piero became the ruler of Florence, who will be given the “talking” nicknames Stupid and Unlucky.
Michelangelo understood that he needed deep knowledge of the anatomy of the human body. They could only be obtained by opening corpses. At that time, such activities were comparable to witchcraft and could be punishable by execution. Fortunately, the abbot of the monastery of San Spirito agreed to secretly let the artist into the dead room. In gratitude, Michelangelo made a wooden statue of the crucified Christ for the monastery.
Piero de' Medici again invited Michelangelo to court. One of the orders of the new ruler was to make a giant out of snow. This was undoubtedly humiliating for the great sculptor
Meanwhile, the situation in the city was heating up. The monk Savonarola, who arrived in Florence, in his sermons castigated luxury, art, and the carefree life of aristocrats as grave sins. He gained more and more followers, and soon sophisticated Florence turned into a stronghold of fanaticism with bonfires where luxury goods burned. Piero de' Medici fled to Bologna; the French king Charles VIII was preparing to attack the city.
During these turbulent times, Michelangelo and his friends left Florence. He went to Venice and then to Bologna.
In Bologna
In Bologna, Michelangelo had a new patron who appreciated his talent. It was Gianfrancesco Aldovrandi, one of the rulers of the city.
Here Michelangelo became acquainted with the works of the famous sculptor Jacopo della Quercia. He spent a lot of time reading Dante and Petrarch.
On Aldovrandi's recommendation, the City Council commissioned the young sculptor to create three statues for the tomb of St. Domenic: St. Petronius, a kneeling angel with a candlestick, and St. Proclus. The statues fit perfectly into the composition of the tomb. They were executed with great skill. The angel with the candelabra has the divinely beautiful face of an antique statue. Short curly hair curls on the head. He has a strong warrior's body, hidden in the folds of his clothes.
Saint Petronius, the patron saint of the city, holds its model in his hands. He is wearing a bishop's robe. Saint Proclus, frowning, looks forward, his figure is full of movement and protest. It is believed that this is a self-portrait of the young Michelangelo.
This order was coveted by many Bologna craftsmen, and Michelangelo soon learned that an attack was being prepared against him. This forced him to leave Bologna, where he stayed for a year.
Florence and Rome
Returning to Florence, Michelangelo received an order from Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco Medici for a statue of John the Baptist, which was later lost.
In addition, Buonarroti sculpted the figure of a sleeping Cupid in the antique style. Having aged it, Michelangelo sent the statue with an intermediary to Rome. There it was acquired by Cardinal Rafael Riario as an ancient Roman sculpture. The cardinal considered himself an expert in ancient art. He was even more outraged when the deception was revealed. Having learned who the author of Cupid was and admiring his talent, the cardinal invited the young sculptor to Rome. Michelangelo, after thinking, agreed. Riario got back his money spent on the statue. But the cunning intermediary refused to sell it back to Michelangelo, realizing that he could sell it again at a higher price. Later, traces of Sleeping Cupid were lost in the centuries.
Bacchus
Riario invited Michelangelo to stay with him and promised to provide him with work. In Rome, Michelangelo studied antique sculpture and architecture. He received his first serious order from the cardinal in 1497. It was a statue of Bacchus. Michelangelo finished it in 1499. The image of the ancient god was not entirely canonical. Michelangelo realistically depicted the intoxicated Bacchus, who, swaying, stands with a cup of wine in his hand. Riario refused the sculpture, and it was bought by the Roman banker Jacopo Gallo. The statue was later acquired by the Medici and taken to Florence.
Pieta
Under the patronage of Jacopo Gallo, Michelangelo received an order from French Ambassador at the Vatican, Abbot Jean Bilaire. The Frenchman commissioned a sculpture for his tomb called the Pietà, depicting Our Lady mourning the death of Jesus. In two years, Michelangelo created a masterpiece. He set himself a difficult task, which he coped with perfectly: to place dead body men on the lap of a fragile woman. Mary is filled with sorrow and divine love. Her youthful face is beautiful, although she must have been about 50 years old at the time of her son's death. The artist explained this by the virginity of Mary and the touch of the Holy Spirit. The naked body of Jesus contrasts with the draped Virgin Mary. His face is calm, despite the suffering he has endured. Pieta is only job, where Michelangelo left his autograph. Hearing a group of people arguing about the authorship of the statue, at night he engraved his name on the baldric of the Virgin Mary. The Pietà is now in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where it was moved in the 18th century.
David
Having become a famous sculptor at the age of 26, Michelangelo returned to hometown. In Florence, a piece of marble had been waiting for him for 40 years, damaged by the sculptor Agostino di Ducci, who abandoned work on it. Many craftsmen wanted to work with this block, but the crack that formed in the layers of marble scared everyone away. Only Michelangelo decided to accept the challenge. He signed a contract for a statue of the Old Testament King David in 1501 and worked on it for 5 years behind a high fence, hiding everything from prying eyes. As a result, Michelangelo created David as a strong young man before his fight with the giant Goliath. His face is concentrated, his eyebrows are knitted. The body is tense in anticipation of the fight. The statue was so perfectly made that the customers abandoned the original intention of placing it near the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. She became a symbol of the love of freedom of Florence, which expelled the Medici clan and entered into a fight with Rome. As a result, it was placed near the walls of the Palazzo Vecchio, where it stood until the 19th century. Now there is a copy of David there, and the original has been moved to the Academy of Fine Arts.
Confrontation between two titans
It is known that Michelangelo had complex character. He could be rude and hot-tempered, unfair to his fellow artists. His confrontation with Leonardo da Vinci is famous. Michelangelo perfectly understood the level of his talent and treated him jealously. The graceful, sophisticated Leonardo was his complete opposite, and greatly irritated the rough, uncouth sculptor. Michelangelo himself led an ascetic life as a hermit; he was always content with little. Leonardo was constantly surrounded by fans and students and loved luxury. One thing united the artists: their great genius and dedication to art.
One day life brought two titans of the Renaissance together in a confrontation. Gonfolanier Soderini invited Leonardo da Vinci to paint the wall of the new Palace of the Signoria. And later he turned to Michelangelo with the same proposal. Two great artists were to create true masterpieces on the walls of the Signoria. Leonardo chose the Battle of Anghiari for the plot. Michelangelo was supposed to depict the Battle of Cascina. These were victories won by the Florentines. Both artists created preparatory boards for the murals. Unfortunately, Soderini's grandiose plan was not realized. Both works were never created. Cardboard works were put on public display and became a place of pilgrimage for artists. Thanks to copies, we now know what the plans of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo looked like. The cardboards themselves were not preserved; they were cut and pulled into pieces by artists and onlookers.
Tomb of Julius II
In the midst of work on the Battle of Cascina, Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II. The Pope commissioned him to work on his tombstone. Initially, a luxurious tomb was planned, surrounded by 40 statues, which had no equal. However, this grand design it was never destined to come true, although the artist spent 40 years of his life on the tomb of Pope Julius II. After dad's death, his relatives greatly simplified the original project. Michelangelo sculpted the figures of Moses, Rachel and Leah for the tombstone. He also created figures of slaves, but they were not included in the final project and were donated by the author Roberto Strozzi. This order hung like a heavy stone on the sculptor for half his life in the form of an unfulfilled obligation. What infuriated him most was the departure from the original project. This meant that a lot of the artist’s efforts were wasted.
Sistine Chapel
In 1508, Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Buonarroti reluctantly accepted this order. He was primarily a sculptor; he had never painted frescoes before. The painting of the ceiling represented a grandiose front of work that lasted until 1512.
Michelangelo had to design a new type of scaffolding to work under the ceiling and invent new line-up plaster, not susceptible to mold. The artist painted standing with his head thrown back for many hours. The paint dripped onto his face, and he developed osteoarthritis and impaired vision due to such conditions. The artist depicted in 9 frescoes the history of the Old Testament from the creation of the world to the Great Flood. On the side walls he painted the prophets and ancestors of Jesus Christ. Often Michelangelo had to improvise, as Julius II was in a hurry to finish the work. The Pope was pleased with the result, although he believed that the fresco was not luxurious enough and looked poor due to the small amount of gilding. Michelangelo objected to this by saying that he depicted saints, and they were not rich.
Last Judgment
After 25 years, Michelangelo returned to Sistine Chapel for painting the Last Judgment fresco on the altar wall. The artist depicted the second coming of Christ and the Apocalypse. This work is considered to mark the end of the Renaissance.
The fresco caused a sensation in Roman society. There were both fans and critics of the great artist’s creation. The abundance of naked bodies in the fresco caused fierce controversy during Michelangelo's lifetime. Church leaders were outraged that the saints were shown in an “obscene form.” Subsequently, several edits were made: clothes and fabric covering the figures were drawn intimate parts. The image of Christ, rather similar to the pagan Apollo, also raised many questions. Some critics even suggested destroying the fresco as contrary to Christian canons. Thank God, it didn’t come to that, and we can see this grandiose creation of Michelangelo, albeit in a distorted form.
Architecture and poetry
Michelangelo was not only a brilliant sculptor and artist. He was also a poet and architect. Of his architectural projects, the most famous are: St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, Palazzo Farnese, facade of the Medici Church San Lorenzo, Laurenzin Library. There are a total of 15 buildings or structures where Michelangelo worked as an architect.
Michelangelo wrote poetry all his life. His youthful works have not reached us because the author burned them in a fit of anger. About 300 of his sonnets and madrigals have survived. They are considered examples of Renaissance poetry, although they can hardly be called ideal. Michelangelo glorifies the perfection of man in them and laments his loneliness and disappointment in modern society. His poems were first published after the author's death in 1623.
Personal life
Michelangelo devoted his entire life to art. He never married and had no children. He lived ascetically. Carried away by work, he could eat nothing except a crust of bread and sleep in clothes, so as not to waste energy on changing clothes. The artist’s relationships with women did not work out. Some researchers suggest that Michelangelo had intimate relationships with his students and sitters, but there is no reliable information about this.
Tommaso Cavalieri
It is known about his close friendship with the Roman nobleman Tommaso Cavalieri. Tommaso was old enough to be the artist’s son and was very handsome. Michelangelo dedicated many sonnets and letters to him, openly speaking about his ardent feelings and admiring the merits of the young man. However, it is impossible to judge the artist by today's standards. Michelangelo was a fan of Plato and his theory of love, which taught to see beauty not so much in the body as in the soul of a person. Plato considered the highest stage of love to be the contemplation of beauty in everything around us. According to Plato, love for another soul brings us closer to Divine love. Tommaso Cavalieri maintained friendly relations with the artist until his death and became his executor. At the age of 38 he married, his son became a famous composer.
Vittoria Colonna
Another example platonic love called Michelangelo's relationship with the Roman aristocrat Vittoria Colonna. The meeting with this outstanding woman took place in 1536. She was 47 years old, he was over 60. Vittoria belonged to a noble family, bore the title of Princess of Urbino. Her husband was the Marquis de Pescara, a famous military leader. After his death in 1525, Vittoria Colonna no longer sought to get married and lived in solitude, devoting herself to poetry and religion. She had a platonic relationship with Michelangelo. It was a great friendship between two already middle-aged people who had seen a lot in life. They wrote letters and poems to each other, and spent time in long conversations. The death of Vittoria in 1547 deeply shocked Michelangelo. He plunged into depression, Rome disgusted him.
Frescoes in the Paolina Chapel
One of latest works Michelangelo painted frescoes in the Paolina Chapel, the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter, which, due to his advanced age, he painted with great difficulty. The frescoes amaze with their emotional power and harmonious composition.
In his depiction of the apostles, Michelangelo broke the generally accepted tradition. Peter expresses protest and struggle, being nailed to the cross. And Michelangelo portrayed Paul as an old man, although the conversion of the future apostle occurred at a young age. Thus, the artist compared him with Pope Paul III, the customer of the frescoes.
Death of a Genius
Before his death, Michelangelo burned many of his drawings and poems. Grand Master died 18 February 1564 aged 88 from illness. A doctor, a notary and friends, including Tommaso Cavalieri, were present at his death. The heir to the property, namely 9,000 ducats, drawings and unfinished statues, was Michelangelo's nephew Leonardo.
Where is Michelangelo Buonarroti buried?
Michelangelo wanted to be buried in Florence. But in Rome everything was already prepared for a luxurious funeral rite. Leonardo Buonarroti had to steal his uncle's body and secretly take it to his hometown. There Michelangelo was solemnly buried in the Church of Santa Croce next to other great Florentines. The tomb was designed by Giorgio Vasari.
Michelangelo was a rebellious spirit who celebrated the divine in man. The significance of his legacy is difficult to overestimate. He was not just a representative Italian Renaissance, he has become a huge part of world art. Michelangelo Buonarroti now remains one of greatest geniuses humanity and will always be like this.
