Sierra Haverfield Essays (751 words) - Visual Arts, Sculpture

Sierra Haverfield History of Art Final March 21, 2012 Michelangelo 365760065532000Michelangelo is a famous Italian Renaissance artist. He is known best for his sculptures and fresco paintings, however he did dabble in architecture, poetry and engineering as well. His versatility in the hobbies he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci. He is thought to be the greatest living artist of his lifetime, and ever since then he has been known as one of the greatest artists of all time. Historians can make these claims because he was the best-documented artist in the 16th century. His sculpting talents bloomed at a young age and he completed two of his greatest artworks before he turned 30. Starting from the beginning, Michelangelo was born on March 6th, 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany. Several months after his birth, his family moved back to Florence where Michelangelo was raised. After the death of his mother in 1481, when he was just six years old, he moved to Settignano where he lived with a stonecutter and his family. When he was a little older, his father sent him to study grammar with the Humanist Francesco da Urbino in Florence. However, he showed no interest in his schooling, preferring to be in the company of painters and copy paintings from churches. At 13 years old, Michelangelo was apprenticed to the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio and later, from 1490-1492 he attended the Humanist academy, which was founded by the Medici family. At the academy, Michelangelo's art was subject to the influence of many of the most prominent philosophers and writers of the day. 4114800300228000Moving into adulthood years, Michelangelo left the Medici court and returned to his fathers house after the death of Lorenzo de' Medici in 1492. His time at home was short however, because Lorenzo's heir commissioned a snow statue in 1494 and so he once again entered the court of the Medici. In the same year, the Medici were expelled from Florence as the result of the rise of Savonarola. This forced Michelangelo to leave the city and move to Venice and then Bologna for a short time. After selling a sculpture of St. John the Baptist to Cardinal Raffaele Riario, he was asked to move to Rome on account of the Cardinal being so impressed by the artwork. Michelangelo arrived in Rome at the very young age of 21 in June of 1496 where he worked on a statue for the Cardinal. Shortly after moving to Rome Michelangelo began working on one of his most famous pieces, the Pieta, for a French ambassador. The contemporary opinion about this piece of artwork was summarized by Vasari: "It is certainly a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever have been reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh." Shortly after it was placed in Saint Peter's, Michelangelo overheard someone remark that the artwork was created by a compatriot from Lombard. That night in a fit of rage, Michelangelo took a hammer and chisel and placed the following inscription on the piece: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this. This is the only work that Michelangelo ever signed. He later regretted his passionate outburst of pride and determined to never again sign an artwork that he created. In 1499, Michelangelo returned to Florence. There he was asked by the consuls of the Guild of Wool to complete an unfinished project that had been started 40 years prior: a 4343400000colossal statue of David to be placed in the Piazza della Signoria. The character of David and what he symbolizes completely matches Michelangelo's patriotic feelings. At the time, Florence was going through a difficult period so he used David as a model of heroic courage. His finished masterpiece, the Statue of David, is now considered his most famous work of art. He finished this marble statue in 1504, establishing his prominence as an extraordinary sculptor with great technical skill. In 1546, Michelangelo was appointed architect of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, and designed its dome. However, as construction was started there was concern that he would pass away