5 paragraph essay on michelangelo
For primary documents concerning Michelangelo's career, samples of Michelangelo's poems, and Vasari's biography of Michelangelo see the pdf on the Columbia University Art and Humanities site. WHILE industrious and choice spirits, aided by the light afforded by Giotto and his followers, strove to show the world the talent with which their happy stars and well-balanced humours had endowed them, and endeavoured to attain to the height of knowledge by imitating the greatness of Nature in all things, the great Ruler of Heaven looked down and, seeing these vain and fruitless efforts and the presumptuous opinion of man more removed from truth than light from darkness, resolved, in order to rid him of these errors, to send to earth a genius universal in each art, to show single-handed the perfection of line and shadow, and who should give relief to his paintings, show a sound judgment in sculpture, and in architecture should render habitations convenient, safe, healthy, pleasant, well-proportioned, and enriched with various ornaments. He further endowed him with true moral philosophy and a sweet poetic spirit, so that the world should marvel at the singular eminence of his life and works and all his actions, seeming rather divine than earthy. In the arts of painting, sculpture and architecture the Tuscans have always been among the best, and Florence was the city in Italy most worthy to be the birthplace of such a citizen to crown her perfections. Thus in the true and noble wife of Ludovico di Lionardo Buonarotti Simone, said to be of the ancient and noble family of the Counts of Canossa, gave birth to a son in the Casentino, under a lucky star.
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Michelangelo was an apprentice to a painter before studying in the sculpture gardens of the powerful Medici family. What followed was a remarkable career as an artist, famed in his own time for his artistic virtuosity.
Although he always considered himself a Florentine, Michelangelo lived most of his life in Rome, where he died at age When Michelangelo was born, his father, Leonardo di Buonarrota Simoni, was briefly serving as a magistrate in the small village of Caprese. The family returned to Florence when Michelangelo was still an infant. His mother, Francesca Neri, was ill, so Michelangelo was placed with a family of stonecutters, where he later jested, "With my wet-nurse's milk, I sucked in the hammer and chisels I use for my statues.
Indeed, Michelangelo was less interested in schooling than watching the painters at nearby churches and drawing what he saw, according to his earliest biographers Vasari, Condivi and Varchi.
It may have been his grammar school friend, Francesco Granacci, six years his senior, who introduced Michelangelo to painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. This was a fertile time for Michelangelo; his years with the family permitted him access to the social elite of Florence — allowing him to study under the respected sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni and exposing him to prominent poets, scholars and learned humanists.
He also obtained special permission from the Catholic Church to study cadavers for insight into anatomy, though exposure to corpses had an adverse effect on his health. These combined influences laid the groundwork for what would become Michelangelo's distinctive style: a muscular precision and reality combined with an almost lyrical beauty.
Two relief sculptures that survive, "Battle of the Centaurs" and "Madonna Seated on a Step," are testaments to his phenomenal talent at the tender age of He returned to Florence in to begin work as a sculptor, modeling his style after masterpieces of classical antiquity.
There are several versions of an intriguing story about Michelangelo's famed "Cupid" sculpture, which was artificially "aged" to resemble a rare antique: One version claims that Michelangelo aged the statue to achieve a certain patina, and another version claims that his art dealer buried the sculpture an "aging" method before attempting to pass it off as an antique. Cardinal Riario of San Giorgio bought the "Cupid" sculpture, believing it as such, and demanded his money back when he discovered he'd been duped.
Strangely, in the end, Riario was so impressed with Michelangelo's work that he let the artist keep the money. The cardinal even invited the artist to Rome, where Michelangelo would live and work for the rest of his life.
Though Michelangelo's brilliant mind and copious talents earned him the regard and patronage of the wealthy and powerful men of Italy, he had his share of detractors. He had a contentious personality and quick temper, which led to fractious relationships, often with his superiors. This not only got Michelangelo into trouble, it created a pervasive dissatisfaction for the painter, who constantly strived for perfection but was unable to compromise. In his youth, Michelangelo had taunted a fellow student, and received a blow on the nose that disfigured him for life.
Over the years, he suffered increasing infirmities from the rigors of his work; in one of his poems, he documented the tremendous physical strain that he endured by painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Political strife in his beloved Florence also gnawed at him, but his most notable enmity was with fellow Florentine artist Leonardo da Vinci , who was more than 20 years his senior. Michelangelo's poetic impulse, which had been expressed in his sculptures, paintings and architecture, began taking literary form in his later years.
Although he never married, Michelangelo was devoted to a pious and noble widow named Vittoria Colonna, the subject and recipient of many of his more than poems and sonnets.
Their friendship remained a great solace to Michelangelo until Colonna's death in Michelangelo, who was just 25 years old at the time, finished his work in less than one year, and the statue was erected in the church of the cardinal's tomb.
Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Today, the "Pieta" remains a universally revered work. Between and , Michelangelo took over a commission for a statue of "David," which two prior sculptors had previously attempted and abandoned, and turned the foot piece of marble into a dominating figure.
The strength of the statue's sinews, vulnerability of its nakedness, humanity of expression and overall courage made the "David" a highly prized representative of the city of Florence. Originally commissioned for the cathedral of Florence, the Florentine government instead installed the statue in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to switch from sculpting to painting to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which the artist revealed on October 31, The work later had to be completely removed soon after due to an infectious fungus in the plaster, then recreated.
Michelangelo fired all of his assistants, whom he deemed inept, and completed the foot ceiling alone, spending endless hours on his back and guarding the project jealously until completion. The resulting masterpiece is a transcendent example of High Renaissance art incorporating the symbology, prophecy and humanist principles of Christianity that Michelangelo had absorbed during his youth.
The vivid vignettes of Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling produce a kaleidoscope effect, with the most iconic image being the " Creation of Adam," a famous portrayal of God reaching down to touch the finger of man.
Rival Roman painter Raphael evidently altered his style after seeing the work. Michelangelo unveiled the soaring "Last Judgment" on the far wall of the Sistine Chapel in There was an immediate outcry that the nude figures were inappropriate for so holy a place, and a letter called for the destruction of the Renaissance's largest fresco.
The painter retaliated by inserting into the work new portrayals: his chief critic as a devil and himself as the flayed St. Although Michelangelo continued to sculpt and paint throughout his life, following the physical rigor of painting the Sistine Chapel he turned his focus toward architecture.
He continued to work on the tomb of Julius II, which the pope had interrupted for his Sistine Chapel commission, for the next several decades.
These buildings are considered a turning point in architectural history. But Michelangelo's crowning glory in this field came when he was made chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica in In , Michelangelo developed an attachment to a young nobleman, Tommaso dei Cavalieri, and wrote dozens of romantic sonnets dedicated to Cavalieri. Michelangelo died on February 18, — just weeks before his 89th birthday — at his home in Macel de'Corvi, Rome, following a brief illness.
A nephew bore his body back to Florence, where he was revered by the public as the "father and master of all the arts. Unlike many artists, Michelangelo achieved fame and wealth during his lifetime. He also had the peculiar distinction of living to see the publication of two biographies about his life, written by Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi. Appreciation of Michelangelo's artistic mastery has endured for centuries, and his name has become synonymous with the finest humanist tradition of the Renaissance.
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A leading figure of Italian High Renaissance classicism, Raphael is best known for his "Madonnas," including the Sistine Madonna, and for his large figure compositions in the Palace of the Vatican in Rome. Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance-era.
Caravaggio, or Michelangelo Merisi, was an Italian painter who is considered one of the fathers of modern painting. Italian sculptor Donatello was the greatest Florentine sculptor before Michelangelo — and was the most influential individual artist of the 15th century in Italy. Petrarch was a poet and scholar whose humanist philosophy set the stage for the Renaissance. He is also considered one of the fathers of the modern Italian language.
Filippo Brunelleschi was one of the leading architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance and is best known for his work on the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore the Duomo in Florence. One of the most important early Renaissance sculptors, Ghiberti is best known as the creator of the bronze doors of the Baptistery of Florence.
Free Essays from Bartleby | Michelangelo Michelangelo Buonarrotti, although The second of five brothers, Michelangelo was born on March 6, Continue. The Statue of David was sculptured from a block of marble and considering its massive height, over five meters, you begin to appreciate the skill Michelangelo.
Michelangelo Michelangelo Buonarrotti, although considered by many a Florentine, was actually born in Caprese, Italy in Michelangelo was an inspired artist of the Renaissance period. He and Leonardo DaVinci were considered to be the two greatest figures of this highly artistic movement.
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Michelangelo Essay
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Michelangelo Buonarotti is considered one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. He is looked at as an equal to Leonardo da Vinci and Rafael. He was a true Renaissance man; a poet, an artist, a sculptor and an architect. Michelangelo was born into a banking family just outside of Florence. Michelangelo always wanted to be an artist and he hated school. Finally he convinced his father to let him go study under a famous artist Ghirlandaio. After studying with Ghirlandaio for two years Michelangelo discovered his true passion; sculpture. His father unwillingly sent him to a school for sculptors founded by the great Lorenzo de Medici. While he stayed in the palace he dinned with Lorenzo and the great philosophers, artists and poets listening to their enlightened discussions.
His work demonstrated a blend of psychological insight, physical realism and intensity never before seen.
He is one of the greatest artists of all time and is unmatched by any other. Michelangelo is the creator of works of sublime beauty that express the full breadth of human condition.
His artistic versatility was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man , along with his rival, the fellow Florentine, Leonardo da Vinci. A number of Michelangelo's works of painting, sculpture and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. Despite holding a low opinion of painting, he also created two of the most influential frescoes in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and The Last Judgment on its altar wall. His design of the Laurentian Library pioneered Mannerist architecture. Peter's Basilica. He transformed the plan so that the western end was finished to his design, as was the dome, with some modification, after his death. Michelangelo was the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive. One of them, by Giorgio Vasari , proposed that Michelangelo's work transcended that of any artist living or dead, and was "supreme in not one art alone but in all three". In his lifetime, Michelangelo was often called Il Divino "the divine one". Attempts by subsequent artists to imitate [8] Michelangelo's impassioned, highly personal style resulted in Mannerism , the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance. Michelangelo was born on 6 March [a] in Caprese , known today as Caprese Michelangelo, a small town situated in Valtiberina, [9] near Arezzo , Tuscany. Michelangelo's mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena. Several months after Michelangelo's birth, the family returned to Florence, where he was raised. During his mother's later prolonged illness, and after her death in when he was six years old , Michelangelo lived with a nanny and her husband, a stonecutter, in the town of Settignano , where his father owned a marble quarry and a small farm.
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni [1] 6 March — 18 February , [2] known as Michelangelo , was an Italian Renaissance painter , sculptor , architect , poet, and engineer. Along with Leonardo da Vinci , he is often called a " Renaissance Man " which means that he had great talent in many areas. Michelangelo lived an extremely busy life, creating a great number of artworks. Some of Michelangelo's works are among the most famous that have ever been made. They include two very famous marble statues, the Pieta in Saint Peter's Basilica and David which once stood in a plazza in Florence but is now in the Accademia Gallery. His most famous work of architecture is the east end and dome of Saint Peter's Basilica. A lot is known about Michelangelo's life because he left many letters, poems and journals. Because he was so famous, he became the very first artist to have his biography story of his life published while he was still living. He was sometimes called Il Divino "the divine one". Many other artists who saw his work tried to have the same emotional quality.
