Michelangelo+Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarotti, who is more commonly known as Michelangelo, was one of the best artists of the Renaissance, and perhaps of all time. He was a sculptor, painter architect, and poet, but was mainly focused on sculpting. The genius that he was, he never seemed to be satisfied with the beautiful art that he had made. His art was focused mainly on the "perfect body" in nude human form. Some of his most famous works include David, La Pieta, and the roof and walls of the Sistine Chapel (Karls &Farah, 1999). The following paragraphs will present information on the background, life, and art of Michelangelo.

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the Italian town of Caprese to a mildly influential official. His mother was very ill from the birth and could not support her child. She died shortly afterwards (Bonner, 2001). He was taken to Florence as a child, where he became the apprentice of the painter Ghirandaio, but instead of the bland style presented by his master, Buonarotti preferred the monumental art of other Italian artists (Gowing 2005). Because of his father's governmental office, the young man met the Medici family multiple times. As he became more artistically talented, Michelangelo started to study anatomy, and began observing human corpses. Although the observations of the corpses was forbidden by his faith (Roman Catholic), they produced two of his earliest masterpieces of //Battle of the Centaurs// and //Madonna of the Stairs//, which were completed before he was 16 years old.

The growing artist went to Rome after the fall of Florence as a leading Italian city-state. Here Michelangelo got a much more religious view of art rather than the political side presented in Florence. Here he made his first "larger than life" statue, which he named //Bacchus//. This was one of his very rare non-religious pieces. Around the same time, Buonarotti was also putting the final touches on his sculpture of //La Pieta//, which depicts an extremely sullen Mary holding her dead son in her arms. This was completed before the artist was 25 years old. The day that the sculpture was being placed in Saint Peter's Basilica, Michelangelo overheard someone say that the sculpture was done by another artist, so that night, in a fit of rage, he sculpted the phrase "Michelangelo Buonarotti, Florentine, made this." //La Pieta// was the only sculpture Buonarotti ever put his name on, and he regretted doing it.

In 1501, when the republic of Florence was again growing, Michelangelo moved back to Florence, where he got commission to build the statue of David for the Cathedral (Bonner, 2001). Perhaps one of the most recognizable pieces of art in the world, the 14 1/4 foot statue is a marvel to look at. It presents king David in nude form with a determined look upon his face as he prepares for battle. This breaks away from the common depiction of David with the giant's head at his feet and the sword in his hand (Statue.com, 2008). While still occupied with the David, Michelangelo found himself painting. Some of his most famous paintings include the Sistine Chapel, //Bruges Madonna,// and //tondo of the Holy Family//.

Pope Julius II, an old pope that had to deal with political, military, and social problems while trying to rebuild the papacy to greatness, brought in many artists including Peruzzi, Michelangelo, and Raphael. The artists knew that Michelangelo had a bad temper. Michelangelo's most hated person was Da Vinci, though. There were 20 years separating the two and Michelangelo was bitter because the rising star in Da Vinci was taking away his fame. The feud between them started on a bridge in Florence one day when someone from a group asked Da Vinci to recite a passage from Dante. The young artist refused, but then turned to a passing Michelangelo and asked him to recite it. Michelangelo insulted Da Vinci, telling the man that he should do it instead of running away.

Another of the most notable pieces of art is the paintings of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This masterpiece was started in 1508. It depicts stories of Genisis like the creation story, the temptation and sin of Adam and Eve, and the flood. Michelangelo was extremely particular about this project however. He was known for being a sculptor, but wanted this to be perfect, so he only let the pope see it while it was still unfinished. It was a test of will and strength that lasted 4 years, but when it was finished, it was beautiful. Michelangelo also sculpted statues for the tombs of Julius II, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Guiliano de' Medici. The tomb of Julius included a statue of a very muscular Moses holding the Ten Commandments and staring off, as if to be communicating with God. The Medici's tombs include nude statues of Dawn and Dusk and Day and Night (only 2 on each) that lay across the top of the opening of the tomb. These were completed in 1534. After these artworks, Michelangelo moved to Rome, never to return to Florence again.

In his later years, Michelangelo created painted the //Last Judgement//, which is a very in-depth look at our final judgment. This painting took harsh criticisms for being too graphic and demonic. Among his other works were poems for his very close friend Vittoria Colonna, and other Pietas. Michelangelo's relationship with Vittoria Colonna was believed to be based on pure love, but they never got married. The Pietas are more depictions of Mary holding Jesus in her arms. He also created some of the artwork, like the altar, that is in Saint Peter's Basilica.

Michelangelo was truly a dedicated artist. He remained in solitude his whole life, creating art for the Lord. He died of a "slow fever" on February 18, 1564. All of his possessions were left to his closest relative, but he had burned all of his artwork, so there was not much left of his. His body was put in the church of //Santi Apostoli//, but Buonarotti's nephew took the possessions and secretly moved the body to Florence, where the dead artist was treated like a "sacred relic (Bonner, 2001)."

[|Lamont Michelangelo.mp3]media type="file" key="Lamont Michelangelo.mp3"

Karls & Farah, Andrea Berens, Mounir A. (1999). //World history: The human experience//. New York, New York, Columbus, Ohio, Woodland Hills, California, Peoria, Illinois: McGraw-Hill.

Gowing, Sir Lawrence (2005). //Biographical encyclopedia of artists: Volume 3//. New York, NY: The Brown Reference Group.

Bonner, Neil R. (2001, December 14). Early life, Mid years, Final days. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from Michelangelo Buonarotti Website Web site: http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html

Unknown, (2008). The statue of david by michelangelo. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from Statue.com Web site: http://www.statue.com/statue-of-david.html

Script

Q: Hello Mr. Buonarotti. How are you? A: I am fine, and you. Q: Great. Well, to start off, could you tell us a bit about the beginning of your life? A: Sure. I was born on March 6, 1475 in the town of Caprese. My father was a politician in Florence and my mother was, like most women of the time, a stay-at-home mom. She was very sick and died after my birth, though. Q: Do you feel bad about never knowing your mother? A: I would have liked to have a mother, but I never knew what having a mother felt like, so I am not that upset about it. Q: Ok. So what got you interested in art? A: My father always told me that I was an artist from birth, but I didn’t start anything official until my family moved to Florence. I was 13 and got an apprenticeship with the artist Ghirandaio. He was a very bland artist, however. I liked the vivid style of other Italian artists of the time. Q: Could you tell us a little bit about your early works? A: I started as a sculptor. I always was best at sculpting. My first sculpture was called Bacchus, and that started m trend of “larger than life” statues. I also finished my first Pieta around the same time. That was probably my most famous Pieta, all of which depict Mary holding her dead son in her arms. I was 25 when I finished these. I also got into some painting, and learned about anatomy. I learned this from studying dead corpses and painted these things. Q: When did your statue of David come about? A year after I finished //La Pieta//, I got a letter from Florence. They wanted me to build a statue for their new Cathedral. I moved back to Florence and began. It was a competition, but I easily won. Q: Describe the statue please. A: Absolutely. It is 14 ½ feet tall and portrays a nude form of David with a determined look on his face before he goes to fight Goliath. This actually breaks away from most depictions of David. It is typically him with a sword in his hand and the giant’s head at his feet. Q: You were brought into Rome by Pope Julius II, correct? A: Yes Q: What was that about? A: Pope Julius was a very ambitious guy. He wanted to fix political, military, and social problems, wanted to bring respect to the papacy, and wanted to bring more art to Rome. He brought in many artists. Q: What do you think about Leonardo Da Vinci? A: I absolutely hate him. He is very arrogant. Q: What enkindled this anger? A: One day on a bridge in Florence, the young man had a whole group following him. They asked him to recite a passage from Dante. I happened to be walking by and the boy had the arrogance to tell me to recite it. Well I told him that he should face his problems rather than run away from them. He probably didn’t even know the passage. Q: Wow. That seems like a pretty bad relationship. Anyway, could you tell me a bit about your paintings in the Sistine Chapel? A: I started my project in 1508. As I said before, I was known for my sculpting, so this was a challenge. I wanted it to be perfect, though, so the only person that got to see it while it was still unfinished was the pope. It was a physical and mental challenge. Have you ever tried making a painting for 4 years? I think not. But it depicts the stories in the Book of Genesis, like the creation of man, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the flood. Q: And you also sculpted tombs for some famous people didn’t you? A: Yes. I made one for Lorenzo de Medici, Guiliano de Medici, and Julius II. Q: Could you describe a little bit about them as well? A: Well, for Julius’ tomb, I made a huge statue of a muscular Moses with the Ten Commandments in hand, looking into the distance, as if speaking to God. For Lorenzo, I made 2 sculptures: One of Day, and one of Night, which lay over the doorway. For Guiliano, I made one of Dawn, and one of Dusk, which also lay over the doorway. Q: Perhaps one of your most controversial pieces was your painting of //The Last Judgement//. Why was that so controversial? A: It was a very in-depth look at the last judgment. Many people thought it was demonic because it depicted death in the form of skeletons or imps. Not many people liked it. Q: Could you describe a little bit about your final days? A: I was 89 years old and had a terrible fever. There was not much the doctors could do back then. It was rough, but I slowly died. I left all of my possessions to my closest living relative, but to tell you the truth, I didn’t have much. I am told that my nephew snuck my coffin to Florence, where I was treated like royalty. I am glad he did that. I always liked Florence. Q: Well, that is all of the questions I have for you today. Thank you for taking time to sit down with me. A: You’re very welcome.