Michelangelo

(1475–1564). Sculptor, painter, architect, and poet Michelangelo was one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance, a period known for its creative activity. During that time Western civilization made huge strides in science and invention, literature, and politics. In art, one of the period’s greatest achievements, Michelangelo showed a remarkable ability to focus his mind and energy on his work.

Read the article to answer these questions:

• What are some of Michelangelo’s most famous sculptures and paintings?
• How did Michelangelo break his nose?
• What other famous artists were active during Michelangelo’s lifetime?
• How is Michelangelo connected to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City?

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on March 6, 1475. His birthplace, Caprese, Italy, was a tiny village that belonged to the nearby city-state of Florence. His father was the mayor of the village. Michelangelo was the second of five brothers. The family returned to its permanent home in Florence when Michelangelo was a baby. As he grew older he went to school, but his mind was on art, not on his studies. Even as a young child he was fascinated by painters and sculptors at work.

When Michelangelo was 13, his father reluctantly agreed to apprentice him to Domenico Ghirlandaio, a well-known painter in Florence. Although the apprenticeship was meant to last three years, Michelangelo learned very quickly. Before long he came to the attention of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the powerful leader of Florence and a member of the Medici family. Lorenzo surrounded himself with poets and intellectuals, and Michelangelo was included. Lorenzo had brought many ancient Roman statues to the gardens of San Marco. He placed Michelangelo there to study under bronze sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, who was in charge of the collection.

One day Lorenzo saw Michelangelo carving a marble faun’s head (a faun is a figure in Roman mythology). Lorenzo invited Michelangelo to live in his palace, where Michelangelo was educated alongside members of the Medici family. Another young sculptor working in Lorenzo’s gardens was Pietro Torrigiani. He was older and stronger than Michelangelo, and during a fight he broke Michelangelo’s nose. After this incident Torrigiani left Florence.

Michelangelo was deeply affected by Lorenzo’s death in 1492. He continued to work hard, but Florence soon began to change. Fra Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican monk, rose to power and strongly influenced people with his fiery sermons. As political unrest in Florence increased, Michelangelo decided to leave the city for a time.

In 1496 Michelangelo was in Rome for the first time. There he was commissioned to carve a traditional type of devotional image called a pietà. This was a marble group showing the Virgin Mary supporting the dead Jesus Christ on her knees. Michelangelo’s sculpture, known simply as the Pietà (1498–99), won him wide fame. It now stands in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The Pietà is one of the few works signed by Michelangelo.

In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence and began the commission of the statue called David. David was a king of ancient Israel who is said to have used a slingshot to kill the giant Goliath. Michelangelo was given an 18-foot- (5.5-meter-) tall marble block that another sculptor had already started to carve. Michelangelo worked on it for more than two years. Out of its huge mass, and in spite of the difficulties caused by the first sculptor’s work, he carved his youthful David (1501–04) in a classical pose, showing him before he slays Goliath.

In 1505 Michelangelo was again in Rome, where he was commissioned to work on a tomb for Pope Julius II. It was to be a giant structure, with some 40 statues. Michelangelo spent months at Carrara, Italy, selecting the marble. But shifting orders from the pope, political changes, jealousies, and new plans after the pope’s death interrupted the work. Forty years later Michelangelo had finished only a few figures. Among them were the majestic Moses (about 1513–15). The Dying Slave (1513–15) was made for an earlier version of the tomb but was never placed there.

Between 1508 and 1512 Michelangelo painted the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace. The paintings include hundreds of large figures that show scenes from the Creation of the world. To paint the ceiling, Michelangelo worked on a scaffold 60 feet (18 meters) above the floor.

Most of the time Michelangelo painted while standing up with his head bent back so that he could look up. Each day fresh plaster was spread over a small section of the ceiling. Michelangelo then had to complete that portion before the plaster dried. If he made a mistake, the plaster had to be scraped off and redone. Although a few people prepared the plaster and paints, Michelangelo painted most of the ceiling himself. This method of painting on wet plaster is known as fresco.

Michelangelo’s ceiling frescoes show people and incidents from the Old Testament of the Bible. The nine main scenes depict the story of Genesis from the Creation to the Flood. Other scenes show the ancestors of Jesus Christ, dramatic moments in Bible history, and the Hebrew prophets. The ceiling also includes sibyls, female prophets from ancient Greek and Roman times, who were believed to have predicted the coming of a savior. Together, these figures suggest hope and the promise of good to come. The painting is huge and majestic in every detail.

More than 20 years after he completed his ceiling frescoes for the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo began his enormous fresco The Last Judgment (1536–41). It’s a vast painting that covers the entire wall of the chapel behind the altar. Its size, technical excellence, and the daring of its conception make it a worthy partner for the ceiling paintings.

Painting and sculpture didn’t absorb all of Michelangelo’s genius. Michelangelo had great talent in many fields. When his beloved city of Florence was in danger of attack, he helped supervise the building of its defenses. He also wrote many sonnets and madrigals (lyrical poems with irregular rhyme schemes, line lengths, and number of lines) that show the same strength and emotion found in his sculptures. Many of these poems were written late in his life and were inspired by his friendship with Vittoria Colonna, a poet known for her intelligence.

Michelangelo’s talents and reputation brought him into contact with many of the leaders of his time, including popes and the rulers of the Italian city-states. Michelangelo knew and competed with Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, two other great artists of the Renaissance. He also had conflicts with Pietro Aretino, a writer who openly criticized powerful people.

Even in his later years, Michelangelo continued to take on major projects. He designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, which is often considered one of the finest architectural achievements of the Italian Renaissance.

Michelangelo was an important and respected figure, continuing to work and create well into his final years. He died in Rome on February 18, 1564, at the age of 88. He was buried in the church of Santa Croce in Florence.

Michelangelo’s work had a lasting impact on art, architecture, and culture. Many of his masterpieces were created for powerful patrons who commissioned his work, including popes, rulers, and wealthy families. His sculptures and paintings set new standards for realism, detail, and emotional expression. Artists who came after him studied his techniques and were inspired by the power and creativity he brought to every work.

Beyond his art, Michelangelo showed that an individual could master many fields and leave a mark on history. Today his works are celebrated around the world. Michelangelo remains one of the most famous figures of the Italian Renaissance, remembered for his genius, dedication, and influence on generations of artists.

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