Michelangelo Buonarroti
(1475 - 1564) |
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Sistine Chapel Art Work
| Name: |
Michelangelo Buonarroti |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Caprese, Italy |
| Nationality: |
Italian |
| Birth: |
1475 |
| Death: |
1564 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Sistine Chapel |
| Medium: |
Oil, Fresco, Stone, Bronze |
| Method: |
Sculptor, Painter, Architect and Poet |
| Style: |
High Renaissance |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painter
Sculptor
Architecture |
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Biography
| Despite his father's opposition, Michelangelo Buonarroti's interest in art started early, and he ultimately rose to achieve almost godlike artistic status. He began an apprenticeship in 1488 in the flourishing Florence workshop of painter Domenico Ghirlandaio but soon became restless and moved on to the academy of sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni in the gardens of the Medici family. The tale goes that Lorenzo the Magnificent spied the youth carving a marble faun and took him under his wing. After Lorenzo's death in 1492, Michelangelo went first to Venice and then to Bologna, finally arriving in Rome in 1496. He rapidly secured an impressive reputation with his beautiful and expressive sculptural group Pieta (c.1498-1499), which shows Jesus lying dead across his mother's lap. The young artist was then asked to complete an unfinished sculpture in Florence. This commission resulted in the historic masterwork ABOVE: One of art's most iconic images: The David {1501 -1504), a massive, potently physical marble sculpture Creation of Adam from the sistine chapel. of a young naked man that showed a new level of anatomical understanding fused with artistic passion. The early 1500s were highly productive for Michelangelo, by then an artistic rival to contemporary giants such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. In 1508 he started work on his masterpiece: the nine paintings that make up God's Creation of the World, God's Relationship with Mankind, and Mankind's Fall from God's Grace ^S08^S]2) across the , , , . barrel-vaulted ceiling of the Cappella Sistina t (Sistine Chapel) in Rome. They feature various biblical stories, and the tour de force concentrates on the act of creation. The electrifying moment depicted in The Creation of Adam when God's outstretched finger gives life to Adam is one of art's most iconic images. The frescoes were an undertaking of unimaginable ambition and reveal much about their creator's dedication, focus, and stamina. Michelangelo's stubborn temperament led him to refuse most of the help offered and forge on alone in search of a perfect realization of his vision. The painted ceiling measures 10,000 square feet (800 sq m) and took approximately six years to complete. It was such an intense undertaking and such a difficult period in Michelangelo's life that after he finished it he renounced painting for twenty-three years. A tower of scaffolding soared up to the vault, where he spent long periods painting in an agonizingly uncomfortable position on his back, sleeping little and eating basic rations. He had to work quickly in case the piaster onto which he was painting dried. He used a buon fresco technique, where each area was overlaid with plaster and then paint was applied to fuse with the plaster. A star is born When the incredible ceiling was unveiled, its bold coloration and creative use of perspective devices pushed Michelangelo's star even higher. This shorttempered man became a living legend. His reputation was helped by the writings of Giorgio l Vasari, who saw Michelangelo's work as the ultimate perfection in art. The following decades saw the artist work on energetically into old age and continue to achieve success in many fields, including poetry. His religiosity intensified with age, and his work darkened in mood, chiming with the Counter-Reformation zeal dominating Europe. Appointed architect to St. Peter's in Rome, Michelangelo began a major program of works there in the mid-1540s, including the cathedral's great dome, which remained unfinished when he died in 1564. |
Samples of Work
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