Michelangelo Buonarroti is considered by many to be the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance. Among his most famous works are the statues “David” and “Pieta”, the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel.
Unrivaled master
The work of Michelangelo Buonarroti can be briefly described as the greatest phenomenon in art of all time - this is how he was evaluated during his lifetime, so they continue to believe to this day. Several of his works in painting, sculpture and architecture are among the most famous in the world. Although the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican are probably the most famous works of the artist, he primarily considered himself a sculptor. Occupation with several types of art in his time was not unusual. All of them were based on the figure. Michelangelo spent all his life doing marble sculpture, and other forms of art only in certain periods. The high appreciation of the Sistine Chapel is partly a reflection of the closer attention paid to painting in the 20th century, and partly the result of the fact that many of the master's works remained incomplete.
A side effect of Michelangelo's lifetime glory was a more detailed description of his path than any other artist of that time. He became the first artist, whose biography was published before his death, there were even two of them. The first was the last chapter of a book on the life of artists (1550) by the painter and architect Giorgio Vasari. She was dedicated to Michelangelo, whose work was presented as the culmination of the excellence of art. Despite such praise, he was not entirely satisfied and instructed his assistant Ascanio Condivi to write a separate short book (1553), probably based on the comments of the artist himself. In it, Michelangelo, the work of the master is depicted in the way he wanted others to see them. After the death of Buonarroti, Vasari published a refutation in the second edition (1568). Although scholars prefer the book of Condivi to the lifetime description of Vasari, the importance of the latter as a whole and its frequent reprinting in many languages ​​made the work the main source of information about Michelangelo and other Renaissance artists. The fame of Buonarroti also had the consequence of preserving countless documents, including hundreds of letters, essays and poems. However, despite the huge amount of accumulated material, in controversial issues often only the point of view of Michelangelo is known.
Short biography and creativity
Painter, sculptor, architect and poet, one of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance, was born under the name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy. His father, Leonardo di Buanarotta Simoni, briefly served as a magistrate in a small village, when he and his wife Francesca Neri had the second of five sons, but they returned to Florence when Michelangelo was still a baby. Due to the illness of his mother, the boy was given up to be a masonry family, about which the great sculptor later joked that he had absorbed a hammer and chisels with the nurse’s milk.
Indeed, study was least interested in Michelangelo. The work of painters in neighboring churches and the repetition of what he saw there, according to his early biographers, attracted him much more. Michelangelo's school friend, Francesco Granacci, who was six years older than him, introduced his friend to the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. The father realized that his son was not interested in family financial business and agreed to give him at the age of 13 years as an apprentice to a fashionable Florentine painter. There he became acquainted with the technique of murals.
Medici Gardens
Michelangelo spent only a year in the studio when he had a unique opportunity. On the recommendation of Ghirlandaio, he moved to the palace of the Florentine ruler Lorenzo the Magnificent, a powerful representative of the Medici family, to study classical sculpture in his gardens. It was a gracious time for Michelangelo Buonarroti. The biography and creativity of the aspiring artist was marked by acquaintance with the elite of Florence, the talented sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, prominent poets, scientists and humanists of that time. Buonarroti also received special permission from the church to investigate corpses to study anatomy, although this negatively affected his health.
The combination of these influences formed the basis of Michelangelo's recognizable style: muscle accuracy and realism are combined with almost lyrical beauty. Two surviving bas-reliefs, “The Battle of the Centaurs” and “Madonna at the Stairs”, testify to his unique talent at the age of 16.
Early success and influence
The political struggle after the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent forced Michelangelo to flee to Bologna, where he continued his studies. He returned to Florence in 1495 and began working as a sculptor, borrowing style from the masterpieces of classical antiquity.
There are several versions of an intriguing story about the sculpture of Michelangelo's "Cupid", which is artificially aged to make it look like rare antiques. One version claims that the author wanted to achieve a patina effect, and according to another, his art dealer buried the work in order to pass it off as antiques.
Cardinal Riario San Giorgio bought the Cupid, considering the sculpture as such, and demanded that he return the money when he discovered that he had been deceived. In the end, the deceived buyer was so impressed with the work of Michelangelo that he allowed the artist to keep the money for himself. The cardinal even invited him to Rome, where Buonarroti lived and worked until the end of his days.
Pieta and David
Shortly after moving to Rome in 1498, his career was promoted by another cardinal, Jean Bilaire de Lagrola, papal envoy of the French king Charles VIII. Michelangelo's sculpture "Pieta", which depicts Mary holding the dead Jesus on her lap, was completed in less than a year and was placed in the temple with the tomb of the cardinal. With a width of 1.8 m and almost the same height, the statue moved five times until it found its present place in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Carved from a single piece of Carrara marble, the sculpture's fluidity, the position of the subjects and the “movement” of Pieta’s skin (which means “pity” or “compassion”) plunged their first viewers into fear. Today it is an incredibly revered work. Michelangelo created it when he was only 25 years old.
Legend has it that the author, after listening to a conversation about the intention to attribute the work to another sculptor, boldly cut his signature on a ribbon on Maria’s chest. This is the only work with his name on it.
By the time Michelangelo returned to Florence, he had already become a celebrity. The sculptor received an order for a statue of David, which the two previous sculptors unsuccessfully tried to make, and turned a five-meter piece of marble into a dominant figure. The strength of tendons, vulnerable nudity, humanity of expression, and general courage made David a symbol of Florence.
Art and architecture
Other orders followed, including the ambitious project of the tomb of Pope Julius II, but the work was interrupted when Michelangelo was asked to switch from sculpture to painting to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
The project sparked the imagination of the artist, and the original plan for writing the 12 apostles turned into more than 300 figures. Later, this work was completely removed due to the fungus in the plaster, and then restored. Buonarroti dismissed all the assistants whom he considered inept, and completed painting the 65-meter ceiling himself, spending endless hours lying on his back and jealously guarding his work until its completion on October 31, 1512.
Michelangelo's artistic work can be briefly described as follows. This is an incredible example of high art of the Renaissance, which contains Christian symbols, prophecies and humanistic principles, absorbed by the master during his youth. Bright vignettes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel produce a kaleidoscope effect. The most iconic image is the creation of Adam, depicting God touching a person with a finger. The Roman artist Raphael apparently changed his style after he saw this work.
Michelangelo, whose biography and work remained forever connected with sculpture and drawing, was forced to turn his attention to architecture due to physical exertion during the painting of the chapel.
The master continued to work on the tomb of Julius II for the next several decades. He also designed the Medici Chapel and the Laurencin Library, located opposite the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, which was supposed to house the library of the Medici House. These buildings are considered a turning point in the history of architecture. But the crowning glory of Michelangelo in this area was the work of the chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica in 1546.
Conflict character
Michelangelo introduced the soaring Last Judgment on the far wall of the Sistine Chapel in 1541. Protest voices immediately sounded - the nudes were inappropriate for such a holy place, calls were made to destroy the largest fresco of the Italian Renaissance. The artist replied by introducing new images into the composition: his main critic in the form of the devil and himself as a refreshed Saint Bartholomew.
Despite the connections and patronage of the rich and influential people of Italy, which provided the brilliant mind and all-round talent of Michelangelo, the life and work of the master were full of ill-wishers. He was cocky and hot-tempered, which often led to quarrels, including with his customers. This not only brought him trouble, but also created a feeling of dissatisfaction in him - the artist constantly strived for perfection and could not compromise.
Sometimes there were attacks of melancholy with him, leaving a mark in many of his literary works. Michelangelo wrote that he was in great sorrow and labors, that he had no friends, and he did not need them, and that he did not have enough time to eat enough, but these inconveniences bring him joy.
In his youth, Michelangelo teased a fellow student and got a nose that disfigured him for life. Over the years, he experienced growing fatigue from his work, in one of the poems he described the tremendous physical effort that he had to exert to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Political feuds in his beloved Florence also tormented him, but the most noticeable foe was the Florentine artist Leonardo da Vinci, who was 20 years older.
Literary works and personal life
Michelangelo, whose work was expressed in his sculptures, paintings and architecture, in his adult years was engaged in poetry.
Having never married, Buonarroti was betrayed by a pious and noble widow named Vittoria Colonna - the addressee of more than 300 of his poems and sonnets. Their friendship provided great support to Michelangelo until the death of Colonna in 1547. In 1532, the master became close to the young nobleman Tommaso de'Cavalieri. Historians still argue about whether their relationship was homosexual or he had paternal feelings.
Death and Heritage
After a short illness on February 18, 1564 - just a few weeks before his 89th birthday - Michelangelo died in his home in Rome. The nephew moved the body to Florence, where he was revered as "the father and master of all arts", and buried him in the Basilica di Santa Croce - where the sculptor himself bequeathed.
Unlike many artists, the work of Michelangelo brought him fame and fortune during his lifetime. He was also lucky to see the publication of his two biographies of authorship by Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi. Buonarroti's excellence has a long history, and his name has become synonymous with the Italian Renaissance.
Michelangelo: features of creativity
In contrast to the great fame of the artist’s works, their visual impact on later art is relatively limited. This cannot be explained by the reluctance to copy Michelangelo’s works simply because of his fame, since Rafael was imitated by his equal talent much more often. It is possible that a certain, almost cosmic scale type of expression of Buonarroti imposed restrictions. There are only a few examples of almost complete copying. The most talented was the artist Daniele da Volterra. But still, in certain aspects, creativity in the art of Michelangelo was continued. In the XVII century. he was considered the best in anatomical drawing, but he was less praised for the wider elements of his work. The mannerists used his spatial contraction and the meandering poses of his sculpture “Victory”. Master of the 19th century Auguste Rodin applied the effect of unfinished marble blocks. Some masters of the XVII century. Baroque style copied it, but so as to exclude literal similarities. In addition, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Peter Paul Rubens best demonstrated how to use the work of Michelangelo Buonarroti for future generations of sculptors and artists.