Michelangelo.
The Life and Work of a Renaissance Giant.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6th 1475 in Capresse Tuscany. He was raised in Florence and, as a thirteen year old, was apprenticed to the busy workshop of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. In this workshop Michelangelo mastered the techniques of fresco painting and of draughtsmanship. The young artist studied the great masters of the past, Giotto, Donatello, Masaccio and the Greek and roman sculptors, whose work he could find in the Medici collection in Florence.

Lorenzo de Medici commissioned the first two works attributed to the young artist, "Madonna of the steps" and "Battle of the Centaurs", both completed in 1492. Michelangelo became increasingly interested in the human form and studied anatomy, dissected bodies and drew from live models all in his quest to master the complexities of posture and movement.

In 1494 the preaching monk Savonarola emerged as the new leader of Florence and the Medici were expelled from the city.

Michelangelo, unlike Leonardo who fled the city, (Leonardo considered Savonarola to be a dangerous fanatic) was touched by the priest's teachings of morality and the promise of a rejuvenated Roman Church.

It was in 1496 that a marble of cupid by Michelangelo was sold as an ancient piece to Cardinal Raffaele Riario, the cardinal discovered the fraud but was so impressed by the quality of the carving that he invited the artist to Rome.

The great man considered himself to be a sculptor an architect and a poet and in 1497 he received the commission for one of his most famous works the Pieta, housed at St Peter's in the Vatican city. The work was carved and completed in 1499 when the artist was only 24 years old.

"Pieta". St Peters Basilica in the Vatican.
(photo by Stanislav Traykov under free licence Wikimedia Commons).

Returning to Florence in 1500 he began work on perhaps the most recognizable statue in art, the carving of David depicting the moment he decides to battle Goliath. This work, created from marble quarried from the famous site at Carrara, established the sculptor as an outstanding master of his time, all before his 30th birthday.

Michelangelo's sculptures deserve their own page, click on the link to see his work.

Sculptures.

"David". Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. (p)

Pope Julius II invited the artist back to Rome and commissioned him to work on a tomb worthy of the Pope's standing as the overlord of Christendom. The massive scale of this enterprise was never realised but was scaled down and is located in the Church of Pietro in Vincoli in Rome.

Michelangelo was regarded as arrogant and short tempered and, disappointed by the scaling down of the tomb, returned to Florence and wrote a rude letter to the Pope saying that if he wanted him, he could go out and look for him. Considering that Julius II was totally ruthless this letter could have been considered a rather rash and costly mistake, however, the Pope did not lose his temper but contacted the leaders of Florence in an attempt to persuade the sculptor to return to Rome. The head of the city of Florence gave the artist a letter of recommendation stating that the young artist's skill was unequalled throughout Italy and he was soon back in the pope's service.

A chapel in the Vatican had been built by Pope Sixtus IV, and is therefore called the Sistine Chapel, this was the next great commission given to Michelangelo. The walls had been decorated by famous painters of the past and the pope wanted the vault of the chamber painted to complete the decoration of the chapel. This work, lasting for four years, was completed with the artist having to lie on his back and paint looking upwards. The work contains over 300 figures and centres on the Book of Genesis, it remains one of the finest examples of one man's physical, intellectual and artistic achievement.

Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Leo X to build a family funeral chapel for the Medici in the basilica of San Lorenzo one of the largest churches in Florence. In this project the artist created both the sculptures and the plan for interior. In the 1530s the artist left Florence and returned to Rome.

The Sistine Chapel.

The Last Judgement on the alter wall of the Sistine Chapel began in 1534, twenty years after the painter had finished the vault, and took the artist seven years to complete. The massive fresco was unveiled in a ceremony on October 13th 1541 but the pictures of naked bodies on display in the chapel was considered to be obscene. The pope resisted calls for the fresco to be removed, however it was decided that the genitals should be covered, a work undertaken by Daniele da Volterra an apprentice of the great artist.

The Last Judgement

The last great work in the artist's life came with the design of the dome for St Peter's Basilica. He had been appointed chief architect at the Vatican and refused payment for the project considering the work to be for the greater glory of God. Michelangelo died in Rome on February 18th 1564 aged 88.

St Peters, The Vatican, Rome. (p)



Sculptures.
Ghirlandaio's Page
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