Biography Category
Name :
Michelangelo Buonarroti
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Birth Date :
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(m k l n´j l , Ital. m k län´j l bw när-rô´t ) (KEY) , 1475–1564, Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet, b. Caprese, Tuscany.
Early Life and Work
Michelangelo drew extensively as a child, and his father placed him under the tutelage of Ghirlandaio, a respected artist of the day. After one unproductive year, Michelangelo became the student of Bertoldo di Giovanni, a sculptor employed by the Medici family. From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo lived with the Medicis; during this time he learned from such philosophers as Ficino, Landino, Poliziano, and Savonarola. Although Michelangelo claimed that he was self-taught, one might perceive in his work the influence of such artists as Leonardo, Giotto, and Poliziano. He learned to paint and sculpt more by observation than by tutelage. Michelangelo was known to be extremely sensitive, and he combined an excess of energy with an excess of talent.
Sculpture
Michelangelo’s earliest sculpture was made in the Medici garden near the church of San Lorenzo; his Bacchus and Sleeping Cupid both show the results of careful observation of the classical sculptures located in the garden. His later Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs reflect his growing interest in his contemporaries. Throughout Michelangelo’s sculpted work one finds both a sensitivity to mass and a command of unmanageable chunks of marble. His Pietà places the body of Jesus in the lap of the Virgin Mother; the artist’s force and majestic style are balanced by the sadness and humility in Mary’s gaze.
In 1504 he sculpted David in a classical style, giving him a perfectly proportioned body and musculature. Michelangelo’s approach to the figure has been contrasted to that of Donatello, who gave David a more youthful and less muscular frame. In 1505 Michelangelo was offered a commission for the design and sculpting of the tomb of Pope Julius II. The original dimensions of the tomb were 36 × 34.5 × 23 ft (11 × 10.5 × 7 m); it would include almost 80 oversized figures. Because of various complications, the tomb was reduced drastically in size. Michelangelo made only one figure for the tomb, Moses, his last major sculpture. The artist made the statue from a block of marble deemed unmalleable by earlier sculptors; his final product conveys his own skill for demonstration of mass within stone and a sense of Moses’ anguish.
Painting
Michelangelo showed mastery of the human figure in painting as well. His Doni Tondo (c.1504), a significant early work, shows both balance and energy; influence by Leonardo da Vinci is clear. When plans for the construction of the tomb of Pope Julius II were forestalled, Michelangelo left Florence.
The artist was recalled to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He placed 12 figures about the ceiling’s edge; originally these figures were to represent the 12 apostles of Jesus. Finally, Michelangelo painted seven prophets and five sybils. Within the ring of prophets and sybils were nine panels on biblical world history. Three panels were devoted to the Creation, three to the story of Adam and Eve, and three to the story of Noah and the great flood. At the rear of the chapel Michelangelo painted The Last Judgment (1534), considered by many to be his masterwork. The painting depicts Christ’s damnation of sinners and blessing of the virtuous, along with the resurrection of the dead and the portage of souls to hell by Charon.
Architecture
In his architectural works Michelangelo defied the conventions of his time. His Laurentian Library (c.1520), designed for the book storage purposes of Pope Leo X, was memorable for its mixture of mannerist architecture; it demonstrates Michelangelo’s free approach to structural form. The Capitoline Square, designed by Michelangelo during the same period, was located on Rome’s Capitoline Hill. Its shape, more a rhomboid than a square, was intended to counteract the effects of perspective. At its center was a statue of Marcus Aurelius. From 1540 to 1550 Michelangelo redesigned St. Peter’s Church in Rome, completing only the dome and four columns for its base before his death.
Bibliography
See D. Summers, Michelangelo and the Language of Art (1981); R. S. Liebert, Michelangelo: A Psychoanalytic Study of His Life and Images (1983); and M. Hirst, Michelangelo and His Drawings (1988).
Early Life and Work
Michelangelo drew extensively as a child, and his father placed him under the tutelage of Ghirlandaio, a respected artist of the day. After one unproductive year, Michelangelo became the student of Bertoldo di Giovanni, a sculptor employed by the Medici family. From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo lived with the Medicis; during this time he learned from such philosophers as Ficino, Landino, Poliziano, and Savonarola. Although Michelangelo claimed that he was self-taught, one might perceive in his work the influence of such artists as Leonardo, Giotto, and Poliziano. He learned to paint and sculpt more by observation than by tutelage. Michelangelo was known to be extremely sensitive, and he combined an excess of energy with an excess of talent.
Sculpture
Michelangelo’s earliest sculpture was made in the Medici garden near the church of San Lorenzo; his Bacchus and Sleeping Cupid both show the results of careful observation of the classical sculptures located in the garden. His later Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs reflect his growing interest in his contemporaries. Throughout Michelangelo’s sculpted work one finds both a sensitivity to mass and a command of unmanageable chunks of marble. His Pietà places the body of Jesus in the lap of the Virgin Mother; the artist’s force and majestic style are balanced by the sadness and humility in Mary’s gaze.
In 1504 he sculpted David in a classical style, giving him a perfectly proportioned body and musculature. Michelangelo’s approach to the figure has been contrasted to that of Donatello, who gave David a more youthful and less muscular frame. In 1505 Michelangelo was offered a commission for the design and sculpting of the tomb of Pope Julius II. The original dimensions of the tomb were 36 × 34.5 × 23 ft (11 × 10.5 × 7 m); it would include almost 80 oversized figures. Because of various complications, the tomb was reduced drastically in size. Michelangelo made only one figure for the tomb, Moses, his last major sculpture. The artist made the statue from a block of marble deemed unmalleable by earlier sculptors; his final product conveys his own skill for demonstration of mass within stone and a sense of Moses’ anguish.
Painting
Michelangelo showed mastery of the human figure in painting as well. His Doni Tondo (c.1504), a significant early work, shows both balance and energy; influence by Leonardo da Vinci is clear. When plans for the construction of the tomb of Pope Julius II were forestalled, Michelangelo left Florence.
The artist was recalled to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He placed 12 figures about the ceiling’s edge; originally these figures were to represent the 12 apostles of Jesus. Finally, Michelangelo painted seven prophets and five sybils. Within the ring of prophets and sybils were nine panels on biblical world history. Three panels were devoted to the Creation, three to the story of Adam and Eve, and three to the story of Noah and the great flood. At the rear of the chapel Michelangelo painted The Last Judgment (1534), considered by many to be his masterwork. The painting depicts Christ’s damnation of sinners and blessing of the virtuous, along with the resurrection of the dead and the portage of souls to hell by Charon.
Architecture
In his architectural works Michelangelo defied the conventions of his time. His Laurentian Library (c.1520), designed for the book storage purposes of Pope Leo X, was memorable for its mixture of mannerist architecture; it demonstrates Michelangelo’s free approach to structural form. The Capitoline Square, designed by Michelangelo during the same period, was located on Rome’s Capitoline Hill. Its shape, more a rhomboid than a square, was intended to counteract the effects of perspective. At its center was a statue of Marcus Aurelius. From 1540 to 1550 Michelangelo redesigned St. Peter’s Church in Rome, completing only the dome and four columns for its base before his death.
Bibliography
See D. Summers, Michelangelo and the Language of Art (1981); R. S. Liebert, Michelangelo: A Psychoanalytic Study of His Life and Images (1983); and M. Hirst, Michelangelo and His Drawings (1988).
[b]Michelangelo[/b] was born on March 6, 1475 in the little town of Caprese, not far from Florence. His father, Ludovico Buonarroti was serving a six-month term as podesta, or resident magistrate. The mayor of the obscure commune of Caprese made an entry in his notebook, "This day a male child was born to me. I give him the name of Michelangelo". This simple announcement was made at the birth of a genius. When Michelangelo was only a few weeks old, his father’s term of office expired and the family returned to Florence. He was placed in the care of a marble-worker’s wife at Settignano. Michelangelo’s mother, Francesca de Neri died when he was six. In 1485, his father married again.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Little Michelangelo haunted Florence. He minutely observed the paintings that filled the ancient pieces of beauty. Many of the buildings and works of art, which are still attracting visitors were standing tall in Florence at the time of Michelangelo. Those places happened to be his school where he got all his needed education.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
When old enough to go to school, Michelangelo was sent to school but by no means he became a dedicated student. He never concentrated in studies, instead all he did during those years was drawing in the workshops of the various painters .By the time he was 13 the thought of being an artist had imbibed him thoroughly. Though artists were honored in Florence, his decision had brought worries to his father. There were many artists in Florence but they were all rich in terms of art and not in wealth.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Ludovico made acquaintance with Francesco Granacci, who was working with the famous Ghirlandaio brothers. Michelangelo finally got apprenticed to two artists– Domenico and David Ghirlandaio, on April 1, 1488, for three years. Domenico Ghirlandaio was the head of the studio in which Michelangelo started his work. He was one of the most famous painters in Florence.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Earlier, Ludovico, Michelangelo’s father, had argued with him about taking up the profession, least aware of what the future had in store for his son who was to be one of the most illustrious artists of all time. He tried to dissuade Michelangelo by saying that they were descendants of the Counts of Canossa and it would be unbecoming of their nobility to engage in such a profession. However,later Michelangelo’s decision made him the benefactor of the entire family. He earned better than any other of his four brothers.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
It is of interest that Ludovico was not a wealthy man, but the Buonarotti or Buonarroti-Simoni, as they liked to call themselves, were proud of their lineage. Luckily for the world of art, Michelangelo stuck to his decision and his father had to relent. The Buonarotti pride ran in his blood and the passionate sculptor in him carved out success and took his fame to greater heights. He sucked in this passion, as he used to say, with his foster-mother’s milk in the marble quarries of Settignano.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In 1489, he went to the ‘School of Sculpture’ in the Medici Gardens. Here, Lorenzo de Medici, the ruler of Florence, allowed young sculptors to study his collection of antique sculptures under the tutorship of Bertoldo Di Giovanni. Michelangelo studied Greek and Roman marbles, making among other copies, a marble head of an old Faun (now lost). It was his first attempt at sculpture, but the copy was extremely good and it attracted Lorenzo’s attention.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Lorenzo realized soon that Michelangelo had immense talent and sent for Michelangelo’s father. He persuaded Ludovico to agree to Michelangelo’s living in the Medici Palace and continuing his studies under Bertoldo’s eye. To Ludovico, he offered any official position. The next three years were probably in many ways, the happiest in Michelangelo’s long life. The members of the Medici circle inspired in Michelangelo a love of literature. They also taught him the ideas of neo-Platonism – a philosophy that regards the body as a trap for the soul that longs to return to God. Scholars interpret many of Michelangelo’s works in terms of these ideas. It is seen in his human figures that appear to break free from the stone that imprisons them. Michelangelo also listened to the conversations of Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola and other humanists. Their influence was profound and he remained a Christian Platonist to the end of his days.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In the spring of 1492, Lorenzo died. His son, Piero de Medici inherited the position. Piero invited Michelangelo to remain as a guest in the palace but gave him no serious commissions. Michelangelo returned home. War was drawing close and the French army marched toward Florence. It became evident that disaster was imminent. In October 1494, Michelangelo fled and six weeks later the French entered Florence. The Medici were expelled and for the next four years (1494-98), Savonarola a preacher and religious reformer, governed the town. Florence was under the sway of Girolamo Savonarola who had managed to turn the city into a virtual theocracy. Michelangelo, too, had heard his sermons and admired them. In a frenzy of reform, the city gave up its luxurious, self-indulgent lifestyle, even consigning books and works of art to the famous ‘bonfire of the vanities’. Michelangelo told his biographer, Ascanio Condivi, years later that he still retained the memory of the Friar’s voice. Florence under Savonarola was not a conducive atmosphere for artists; especially those closely associated with the exiled Medici.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After a year in Bologna, Michelangelo returned to Florence. He carved a St. John for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici, a cousin of Lorenzo de Medici. This St. John is lost, and so are three other early works : a marble Hercules, a wooden Christ on a cross and a Sleeping Cupid. The Sleeping Cupid was sold by a dealer to the cardinal Raffaello Riario di San Giorgio, as a genuine antique. When the fraud was discovered, the cardinal could not but help admire Michelangelo’s skill.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In June 1496, Michelangelo went to Rome in the fond hope of finding a patron in the cardinal of San Giorgio. But Jacopo Galli, another collector of antique sculpture, commissioned him to make a life-size marble statue of a standing Cupid (now lost). Jacopo Galli’s next commission was for Bacchus and later, a Pieta for the French cardinal Jean de Villiers de La Groslaye. It is the only sculpture that Michelangelo signed with his name. In spite of his great achievements, he received no further commissions in Rome, and in the spring of 1501 returned to Florence.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
On his return Michelangelo found that many changes had taken place – there was a democratic regime. A few months later, Pietro Soderini, an admirer of his was elected the head of the Siginoria. Soon the artist was entrusted with more commissions than he would deal with. On August 6, 1501, he made a contract for a gigantic marble David and before he had finished it, a bronze David was commissioned. Before this second statue was cast, he had signed another contract for the 12 marble statues of the apostles for the Cathedral. At the same time he worked on a commission he had accepted from Cardinal Francesco Piccolamini for 15 marble statues.
When the great statue of David was completed, the question of its placement arose. A meeting of the chief artists in Florence was called to discuss the matter. After much deliberation, Michelangelo decided that his David should replace Donatello’s Judith, which stood in the Piazza Signoria. David was placed outside the main entrance to the Pallazzo Vecchio. The statue was the pride of all Florence. For years, the events were dated by it and people remembered events by the date of the erection of the statue.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
While working on the David, Michelangelo neglected the commission for the 15 figures for the Siena Cathedral and at last, finished only four. Of the 12 apostles for the Florence Cathedral, Michelangelo began only one, the unfinished St. Mathew.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Between 1503 and 1505, Michelangelo executed three tondi (circular representations) of the Madonna. While Michelangelo was working on the tondi, Leonardo-da-Vinci was designing a painting for the east wall in the Sala del Gran Consiglio. A few months later, Pietro Soderini procured for Michelangelo the commission to execute a companion painting. Michelangelo designed the cartoon between 1504 and 1506, but neither artist ever executed the work in Fresco.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In August 1503, Pope Alexander VI died and was succeeded by Pope Pious III who too, passed away soon. Cardinal Vincula became Pope Julius II – a Pope who was to play a very important role in the life of Michelangelo. Pope Julius II took a passionate interest in art and architecture. He was determined to be served by the finest artists of his day.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Michelangelo, at the age of 30, was the most famous artist in Italy. He was working on the cartoon for the council chamber and a number of other contracts. But when the Pope commanded, everyone else had to give way. In 1850, Michelangelo left the Pisa cartoon as it was rode away to Rome for the second time.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The latter part of the winter (1532-33), and the following spring, Michelangelo spent in Rome. He formed a life-long friendship with Tommaso de Cavalieri, to whom he dedicated many poems and drawing. Michelangelo decided to settle in Rome. In June 1533, he returned for four months to Florence and made arrangements with his assistants to finish the Medici Chapel and the Laurentian library.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In November 1533, Michelangelo went once more to Rome to work on the Julius monument, but Pope Clement insisted that he complete the decoration of the Sistine Chapel. Clement wanted him to paint the wall above the back of the altar - the subject chosen was the Last Judgment. The artist moved to Rome. He was 60 years old and had another 30 years to live, but he never saw Florence again.[br /]
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On September 25, 1534, Pope Clement VII died, to be succeeded by Pope Paul III. The actual work of the painting of the Last Judgment began in 1536. It was unveiled on November 1, 1543 – almost 30 years after the unveiling of the ceiling Frescoes. The painting had an enormous influence on artists of the period but also aroused the hostility of theologians and men of letters. During this time – known as Michelangelo’s religious period – he came into contact with the widow Vittoria Colonna, Marchesa of Pescara. Michelangelo met her when he was 63, became her friend, and dedicated to her many poems and religious drawings.[br /]
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In 1546, Michelangelo was appointed by Pope Paul III to complete the Palarro Farnese – the building left incomplete by Antonio da Sangallo. Michelangelo also succeeded Sangallo as the chief architect of St. Peter’s.[br /]
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In Michelangelo there was an eternal dissatisfaction – as there is in every artist – and that drained his body into that of an aged, eccentric man, sleepless, ill; the man whose restlessness sent him out before his death to wander in the pouring rain.[br /]
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On February 12, 1564, Danielle da Volterra watched his master all day working on a Pieta. Two days later, Michelangelo fell ill and wandered around in the open air. After two days in bed, he
died on February 18, 1564, in the presence of a number of friends and doctors. His body was taken to Florence, to be buried, by his nephew and heir Leonardo Buonarroti. The kingdom of arts had suffered the loss of one genius.[br /]
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Pope Julius II entrusted to Michelangelo the task of executing his tomb. Michelangelo worked on the design of the tomb and got the Pope’s approval. In April, he left for the quarries of Carrara in order to superintend the breaking and shipping of the marble blocks.[br /]
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The first of these blocks arrived in Rome in January 1506. But soon, Michelangelo felt that the Pope’s interest in the tomb was waning. Michelangelo, possessed of an artist’s temperament, felt that undue attention was being given to Bramante and his plan for rebuilding St. Peter’s in which the tomb was to be placed. As a result, there occurred one of the most famous quarrels in history of arts. It is reported that Michelangelo wrote to the Pope "If you require me in future, you can seek me elsewhere than in Rome."[br /]
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On April 17, 1506, the day before the Pope laid the foundation stone of the new church; Michelangelo fled on horseback from Rome to Florence. During this time, the Pope was engaged in a military campaign against Bologna, which ended in triumph on November 10, 1506. As soon as the campaign ended, he summoned Michelangelo to join him there. On reaching Bologna, Michelangelo was taken into the presence of the Pope. On seeing the Pope, he knelt down. "So instead of coming to us, you have waited till we came to seek you," exclaimed Julius. Michelangelo was granted his pardon. He was ordered to make a bronze portrait of the Pope and so Michelangelo had no alternative but to start. The statue was completed at last early in the new year.[br /]
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On February 21, 1508, the titanic bronze statue was placed over the central door of the Cathedral of St. Petronio, and Michelangelo, finally, was free to return to Florence. Three years later the [br /]
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statue that had caused its creator so much labor, anxiety, disappointment and discomfort was thrown down from its perch by the victorious Bentivogli family when they regained power in Bologna. Nothing remains of this great statue.[br /]
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Early in March 1508, Michelangelo was back in Florence where he rented a workshop. A few weeks later, he was again ordered back to Rome by Julius II. The new project that the Pope envisioned was for Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel – the Pope’s private Chapel. Three hundred figures were to be painted as against the 12 of the original project. Michelangelo protested at first that he was not a painter but a sculptor. The Pope would not accept a refusal. He had made up his mind and nothing could change it. Despite certain interruptions, Michelangelo worked at the ceiling, until it was finished and finally unveiled on October 31, 1512.[br /]
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In February 1513, Pope Julius II passed away. He had left the papacy much stronger than it had ever been. A month later, Giovanni de Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent’s second son was elected Pope and took the name of Leo X. The election of a Medici to the papacy silenced all opposition to the family in Florence. For the following two or three years Michelangelo worked at the tomb of Julius II. It was during this time that he produced Moses.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Little Michelangelo haunted Florence. He minutely observed the paintings that filled the ancient pieces of beauty. Many of the buildings and works of art, which are still attracting visitors were standing tall in Florence at the time of Michelangelo. Those places happened to be his school where he got all his needed education.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
When old enough to go to school, Michelangelo was sent to school but by no means he became a dedicated student. He never concentrated in studies, instead all he did during those years was drawing in the workshops of the various painters .By the time he was 13 the thought of being an artist had imbibed him thoroughly. Though artists were honored in Florence, his decision had brought worries to his father. There were many artists in Florence but they were all rich in terms of art and not in wealth.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Ludovico made acquaintance with Francesco Granacci, who was working with the famous Ghirlandaio brothers. Michelangelo finally got apprenticed to two artists– Domenico and David Ghirlandaio, on April 1, 1488, for three years. Domenico Ghirlandaio was the head of the studio in which Michelangelo started his work. He was one of the most famous painters in Florence.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Earlier, Ludovico, Michelangelo’s father, had argued with him about taking up the profession, least aware of what the future had in store for his son who was to be one of the most illustrious artists of all time. He tried to dissuade Michelangelo by saying that they were descendants of the Counts of Canossa and it would be unbecoming of their nobility to engage in such a profession. However,later Michelangelo’s decision made him the benefactor of the entire family. He earned better than any other of his four brothers.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
It is of interest that Ludovico was not a wealthy man, but the Buonarotti or Buonarroti-Simoni, as they liked to call themselves, were proud of their lineage. Luckily for the world of art, Michelangelo stuck to his decision and his father had to relent. The Buonarotti pride ran in his blood and the passionate sculptor in him carved out success and took his fame to greater heights. He sucked in this passion, as he used to say, with his foster-mother’s milk in the marble quarries of Settignano.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In 1489, he went to the ‘School of Sculpture’ in the Medici Gardens. Here, Lorenzo de Medici, the ruler of Florence, allowed young sculptors to study his collection of antique sculptures under the tutorship of Bertoldo Di Giovanni. Michelangelo studied Greek and Roman marbles, making among other copies, a marble head of an old Faun (now lost). It was his first attempt at sculpture, but the copy was extremely good and it attracted Lorenzo’s attention.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Lorenzo realized soon that Michelangelo had immense talent and sent for Michelangelo’s father. He persuaded Ludovico to agree to Michelangelo’s living in the Medici Palace and continuing his studies under Bertoldo’s eye. To Ludovico, he offered any official position. The next three years were probably in many ways, the happiest in Michelangelo’s long life. The members of the Medici circle inspired in Michelangelo a love of literature. They also taught him the ideas of neo-Platonism – a philosophy that regards the body as a trap for the soul that longs to return to God. Scholars interpret many of Michelangelo’s works in terms of these ideas. It is seen in his human figures that appear to break free from the stone that imprisons them. Michelangelo also listened to the conversations of Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola and other humanists. Their influence was profound and he remained a Christian Platonist to the end of his days.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In the spring of 1492, Lorenzo died. His son, Piero de Medici inherited the position. Piero invited Michelangelo to remain as a guest in the palace but gave him no serious commissions. Michelangelo returned home. War was drawing close and the French army marched toward Florence. It became evident that disaster was imminent. In October 1494, Michelangelo fled and six weeks later the French entered Florence. The Medici were expelled and for the next four years (1494-98), Savonarola a preacher and religious reformer, governed the town. Florence was under the sway of Girolamo Savonarola who had managed to turn the city into a virtual theocracy. Michelangelo, too, had heard his sermons and admired them. In a frenzy of reform, the city gave up its luxurious, self-indulgent lifestyle, even consigning books and works of art to the famous ‘bonfire of the vanities’. Michelangelo told his biographer, Ascanio Condivi, years later that he still retained the memory of the Friar’s voice. Florence under Savonarola was not a conducive atmosphere for artists; especially those closely associated with the exiled Medici.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
After a year in Bologna, Michelangelo returned to Florence. He carved a St. John for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici, a cousin of Lorenzo de Medici. This St. John is lost, and so are three other early works : a marble Hercules, a wooden Christ on a cross and a Sleeping Cupid. The Sleeping Cupid was sold by a dealer to the cardinal Raffaello Riario di San Giorgio, as a genuine antique. When the fraud was discovered, the cardinal could not but help admire Michelangelo’s skill.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In June 1496, Michelangelo went to Rome in the fond hope of finding a patron in the cardinal of San Giorgio. But Jacopo Galli, another collector of antique sculpture, commissioned him to make a life-size marble statue of a standing Cupid (now lost). Jacopo Galli’s next commission was for Bacchus and later, a Pieta for the French cardinal Jean de Villiers de La Groslaye. It is the only sculpture that Michelangelo signed with his name. In spite of his great achievements, he received no further commissions in Rome, and in the spring of 1501 returned to Florence.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
On his return Michelangelo found that many changes had taken place – there was a democratic regime. A few months later, Pietro Soderini, an admirer of his was elected the head of the Siginoria. Soon the artist was entrusted with more commissions than he would deal with. On August 6, 1501, he made a contract for a gigantic marble David and before he had finished it, a bronze David was commissioned. Before this second statue was cast, he had signed another contract for the 12 marble statues of the apostles for the Cathedral. At the same time he worked on a commission he had accepted from Cardinal Francesco Piccolamini for 15 marble statues.
When the great statue of David was completed, the question of its placement arose. A meeting of the chief artists in Florence was called to discuss the matter. After much deliberation, Michelangelo decided that his David should replace Donatello’s Judith, which stood in the Piazza Signoria. David was placed outside the main entrance to the Pallazzo Vecchio. The statue was the pride of all Florence. For years, the events were dated by it and people remembered events by the date of the erection of the statue.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
While working on the David, Michelangelo neglected the commission for the 15 figures for the Siena Cathedral and at last, finished only four. Of the 12 apostles for the Florence Cathedral, Michelangelo began only one, the unfinished St. Mathew.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Between 1503 and 1505, Michelangelo executed three tondi (circular representations) of the Madonna. While Michelangelo was working on the tondi, Leonardo-da-Vinci was designing a painting for the east wall in the Sala del Gran Consiglio. A few months later, Pietro Soderini procured for Michelangelo the commission to execute a companion painting. Michelangelo designed the cartoon between 1504 and 1506, but neither artist ever executed the work in Fresco.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In August 1503, Pope Alexander VI died and was succeeded by Pope Pious III who too, passed away soon. Cardinal Vincula became Pope Julius II – a Pope who was to play a very important role in the life of Michelangelo. Pope Julius II took a passionate interest in art and architecture. He was determined to be served by the finest artists of his day.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Michelangelo, at the age of 30, was the most famous artist in Italy. He was working on the cartoon for the council chamber and a number of other contracts. But when the Pope commanded, everyone else had to give way. In 1850, Michelangelo left the Pisa cartoon as it was rode away to Rome for the second time.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
The latter part of the winter (1532-33), and the following spring, Michelangelo spent in Rome. He formed a life-long friendship with Tommaso de Cavalieri, to whom he dedicated many poems and drawing. Michelangelo decided to settle in Rome. In June 1533, he returned for four months to Florence and made arrangements with his assistants to finish the Medici Chapel and the Laurentian library.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
In November 1533, Michelangelo went once more to Rome to work on the Julius monument, but Pope Clement insisted that he complete the decoration of the Sistine Chapel. Clement wanted him to paint the wall above the back of the altar - the subject chosen was the Last Judgment. The artist moved to Rome. He was 60 years old and had another 30 years to live, but he never saw Florence again.[br /]
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On September 25, 1534, Pope Clement VII died, to be succeeded by Pope Paul III. The actual work of the painting of the Last Judgment began in 1536. It was unveiled on November 1, 1543 – almost 30 years after the unveiling of the ceiling Frescoes. The painting had an enormous influence on artists of the period but also aroused the hostility of theologians and men of letters. During this time – known as Michelangelo’s religious period – he came into contact with the widow Vittoria Colonna, Marchesa of Pescara. Michelangelo met her when he was 63, became her friend, and dedicated to her many poems and religious drawings.[br /]
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In 1546, Michelangelo was appointed by Pope Paul III to complete the Palarro Farnese – the building left incomplete by Antonio da Sangallo. Michelangelo also succeeded Sangallo as the chief architect of St. Peter’s.[br /]
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In Michelangelo there was an eternal dissatisfaction – as there is in every artist – and that drained his body into that of an aged, eccentric man, sleepless, ill; the man whose restlessness sent him out before his death to wander in the pouring rain.[br /]
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On February 12, 1564, Danielle da Volterra watched his master all day working on a Pieta. Two days later, Michelangelo fell ill and wandered around in the open air. After two days in bed, he
died on February 18, 1564, in the presence of a number of friends and doctors. His body was taken to Florence, to be buried, by his nephew and heir Leonardo Buonarroti. The kingdom of arts had suffered the loss of one genius.[br /]
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Pope Julius II entrusted to Michelangelo the task of executing his tomb. Michelangelo worked on the design of the tomb and got the Pope’s approval. In April, he left for the quarries of Carrara in order to superintend the breaking and shipping of the marble blocks.[br /]
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The first of these blocks arrived in Rome in January 1506. But soon, Michelangelo felt that the Pope’s interest in the tomb was waning. Michelangelo, possessed of an artist’s temperament, felt that undue attention was being given to Bramante and his plan for rebuilding St. Peter’s in which the tomb was to be placed. As a result, there occurred one of the most famous quarrels in history of arts. It is reported that Michelangelo wrote to the Pope "If you require me in future, you can seek me elsewhere than in Rome."[br /]
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On April 17, 1506, the day before the Pope laid the foundation stone of the new church; Michelangelo fled on horseback from Rome to Florence. During this time, the Pope was engaged in a military campaign against Bologna, which ended in triumph on November 10, 1506. As soon as the campaign ended, he summoned Michelangelo to join him there. On reaching Bologna, Michelangelo was taken into the presence of the Pope. On seeing the Pope, he knelt down. "So instead of coming to us, you have waited till we came to seek you," exclaimed Julius. Michelangelo was granted his pardon. He was ordered to make a bronze portrait of the Pope and so Michelangelo had no alternative but to start. The statue was completed at last early in the new year.[br /]
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On February 21, 1508, the titanic bronze statue was placed over the central door of the Cathedral of St. Petronio, and Michelangelo, finally, was free to return to Florence. Three years later the [br /]
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statue that had caused its creator so much labor, anxiety, disappointment and discomfort was thrown down from its perch by the victorious Bentivogli family when they regained power in Bologna. Nothing remains of this great statue.[br /]
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Early in March 1508, Michelangelo was back in Florence where he rented a workshop. A few weeks later, he was again ordered back to Rome by Julius II. The new project that the Pope envisioned was for Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel – the Pope’s private Chapel. Three hundred figures were to be painted as against the 12 of the original project. Michelangelo protested at first that he was not a painter but a sculptor. The Pope would not accept a refusal. He had made up his mind and nothing could change it. Despite certain interruptions, Michelangelo worked at the ceiling, until it was finished and finally unveiled on October 31, 1512.[br /]
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In February 1513, Pope Julius II passed away. He had left the papacy much stronger than it had ever been. A month later, Giovanni de Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent’s second son was elected Pope and took the name of Leo X. The election of a Medici to the papacy silenced all opposition to the family in Florence. For the following two or three years Michelangelo worked at the tomb of Julius II. It was during this time that he produced Moses.[br /]
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It has been said that Michelangelo Buonarotti nailed some poor man to a board and pierced his heart with a spear, so as to paint a crucifixion." Francesco Susinno here repeats an early urban legend about one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance.[br /]
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Michelangelo Ludovico Buonarroti-Simoni – sculptor, painter, architect and poet was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime. His practice of several arts, however, was not unusual in his time. Few artists have been as prolific; fewer still have succeeded in creating enduring masterpieces in so many mediums. He would have guaranteed his place in history if he had produced only the David, or painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or erected St. Peter’s. Rather, he made all three, and each is an ultimate achievement in the history of human endeavor.[br /]
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Michelangelo Ludovico Buonarroti-Simoni – sculptor, painter, architect and poet was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime. His practice of several arts, however, was not unusual in his time. Few artists have been as prolific; fewer still have succeeded in creating enduring masterpieces in so many mediums. He would have guaranteed his place in history if he had produced only the David, or painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or erected St. Peter’s. Rather, he made all three, and each is an ultimate achievement in the history of human endeavor.[br /]
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[b]1475[/b][br /]
March 6, born in Caprese.[br /]
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[b] 1488[/b][br /]
Michelangelo apprenticed in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio.[br /]
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[b] 1494-95[/b][br /]
Michelangelo in Bologna. Carves figures for the tomb of St. Dominic. [br /]
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[b] 1496-1501[/b][br /]
In Rome. Carves the Bacchus and the Rome Pietà.[br /]
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[b] 1503[/b][br /]
Commission for the 12 apostles, including St. Mathew, for the Florentine Cathedral (Duomo).[br /]
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[b] C. 1503-1505[/b][br /]
Completes the Doni Tondo, Taddei Tondo, Pitti Tondo and the Bruges Madonna.[br /]
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[b]1504[/b][br /]
Completes the David – Receives commission to paint the Battle of Cascina.[br /]
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[b] 1505-1545[/b][br /]
Michelangelo works on the tomb of Julius II in both Rome and Florence, carving Moses,
the Rebellious and Dying Slaves, Rachel and Leah.[br /]
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[b] 1507[/b][br /]
In Bologna working on the bronze statue of Julius II.[br /]
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[b] 1508-1512[/b][br /]
In Rome paints the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (finished October 1512).[br /]
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[b] 1516[/b][br /]
Returns to Florence. Commissioned to erect the facade of the Medici Church of San Lorenzo in Florence.[br /]
Signs third contract for the tomb of Pope Julius II.[br /]
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[b] 1521[/b][br /]
Death of Pope Leo X. Begins work on the tombs for the Medici Chapel.[br /]
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[b] 1527-1530[/b][br /]
The Last Republic in Florence Commission to carve a Hercules (never executed). Michelangelo
designs and builds fortifications.[br /]
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[b] C. 1530[/b][br /]
Carves Apollo / David.[br /]
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[b]1534[/b][br /]
Death Pope Clement VII. Election of Alessandro Farnese as Pope Paul III. Michelangelo leaves Florence, never to return. Medici Madonna and victory left incomplete in Florentine workshop. Spends the remaining 30 years of his life in Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1536[/b][br /]
Begins painting the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. Meets Vittoria Colonna.[br /]
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[b] 1541[/b][br /]
Last Judgment completed and unveiled.[br /]
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[b] 1545[/b][br /]
Tomb of Julius II completed and installed in San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1547[/b][br /]
Death of Vittoria Colonna. Begins work on the Florentine Pietà for his own tomb (abandoned c. 1555)[br /]
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[b] 1559-1560[/b][br /]
Designs for San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1561[/b][br /]
Commissions for the Porta Pia and Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1564[/b][br /]
February 18, dies at home in Macel de Corvi, Rome.[br /]
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March 6, born in Caprese.[br /]
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[b] 1488[/b][br /]
Michelangelo apprenticed in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio.[br /]
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[b] 1494-95[/b][br /]
Michelangelo in Bologna. Carves figures for the tomb of St. Dominic. [br /]
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[b] 1496-1501[/b][br /]
In Rome. Carves the Bacchus and the Rome Pietà.[br /]
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[b] 1503[/b][br /]
Commission for the 12 apostles, including St. Mathew, for the Florentine Cathedral (Duomo).[br /]
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[b] C. 1503-1505[/b][br /]
Completes the Doni Tondo, Taddei Tondo, Pitti Tondo and the Bruges Madonna.[br /]
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[b]1504[/b][br /]
Completes the David – Receives commission to paint the Battle of Cascina.[br /]
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[b] 1505-1545[/b][br /]
Michelangelo works on the tomb of Julius II in both Rome and Florence, carving Moses,
the Rebellious and Dying Slaves, Rachel and Leah.[br /]
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[b] 1507[/b][br /]
In Bologna working on the bronze statue of Julius II.[br /]
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[b] 1508-1512[/b][br /]
In Rome paints the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (finished October 1512).[br /]
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[b] 1516[/b][br /]
Returns to Florence. Commissioned to erect the facade of the Medici Church of San Lorenzo in Florence.[br /]
Signs third contract for the tomb of Pope Julius II.[br /]
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[b] 1521[/b][br /]
Death of Pope Leo X. Begins work on the tombs for the Medici Chapel.[br /]
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[b] 1527-1530[/b][br /]
The Last Republic in Florence Commission to carve a Hercules (never executed). Michelangelo
designs and builds fortifications.[br /]
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[b] C. 1530[/b][br /]
Carves Apollo / David.[br /]
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[b]1534[/b][br /]
Death Pope Clement VII. Election of Alessandro Farnese as Pope Paul III. Michelangelo leaves Florence, never to return. Medici Madonna and victory left incomplete in Florentine workshop. Spends the remaining 30 years of his life in Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1536[/b][br /]
Begins painting the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. Meets Vittoria Colonna.[br /]
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[b] 1541[/b][br /]
Last Judgment completed and unveiled.[br /]
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[b] 1545[/b][br /]
Tomb of Julius II completed and installed in San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1547[/b][br /]
Death of Vittoria Colonna. Begins work on the Florentine Pietà for his own tomb (abandoned c. 1555)[br /]
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[b] 1559-1560[/b][br /]
Designs for San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1561[/b][br /]
Commissions for the Porta Pia and Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome.[br /]
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[b] 1564[/b][br /]
February 18, dies at home in Macel de Corvi, Rome.[br /]
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After being apprenticed to Domenico Ghirlandaio for a year, Michelangelo was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de Medici, known as the Magnificent. One of the two marble works that survive from the artist’s first years is a variant on the composition of an ancient Roman sarcophagus. This composition is the Battle of the Centaurs (C. 1492). The power of the figures foretell the artist’s latter interests much more than does the Madonna of the Stairs (C. 1491), a delicate work that reflected the fashion of the Florentine sculptors.[br /]
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[b]Bacchus [/b] [br /]
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Michelangelo [/b] produced his first large scale sculpture in Rome, a larger than life figure of a drunken Bacchus (1496-98), the Roman God of wine. This sensual, nude youth is one of his few pagan works rather than Christian subject matter and was based on ancient Greek and Roman statuary. Made for a garden, it is also unique among Michelangelo’s works in calling for observation from all sides rather than primarily from the front. The statue, in a sense, was a condensation of Michelangelo’s unorthodox education to date - his immersion in the classics, his imitation and recreation of antique sculpture, and his first experience of the eternal city.[br /]
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[b]Pieta[/b][br /]
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The Bacchus led at once to the commission for the Pietà (1498). He began in an unusual manner, by purchasing a horse and going to the marble quarries of Carrara to select the block. At 23, he completed this magnificent statue that shows the Virgin Mary grieving over the dead Jesus. The concentrated group of two is designed to evoke the observer’s repentant prayers for sins that required Christ’s sacrificial death. The complex problem for the designer was to extract two figures from one marble block. Michelangelo treated the group as one dense and compact mass so that it has an imposing effect; yet he underlined the many contrasts present; of male and female, vertical and horizontal, clothed and naked, dead and alive, to clarify the two components. The Virgin calls our attention to her dead son with her left hand, while her right arm embraces him gently, lifting his arm slightly so that it hangs lifelessly before us. [br /]
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[b]Michelangelo[/b] returned to the theme of the Pietà late in his life, in two of his most personal expressions : the Florentine Pietà (C.1547-1555), which he meant to have placed on his own tomb, and the Rondanini Pietà (1555-1564), a work that remained unfinished when he died.[br /]
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The artist’s prominence, established by his work, was reinforced at once by the commission of the David (1501-1504) for the cathedral of Florence. For this huge statue (standing at 4.34 m / 14 ft 3 tall), Michelangelo reused a block left unfinished about 40 years before. The subject of this work is the Old Testament story of David and Goliath, in which the young David, flings a stone from his slingshot to kill the giant Goliath. The statue became a symbol for the new republic that had replaced Medici rule. Unlike his predecessors, who depicted David with the grisly head of the Giant under his foot, Michelangelo poses David at the moment he faces the Giant, the deed before him. He believed that this was David’s moment of greatest courage. The entire sculpture shows tense waiting as David sizes up his enemy and considers his course of action. The statue was set up in front of the Palazzo della Signoria and it became a symbol of the political strength of Florence against the forces of tyranny. It has continued to serve as the prime statement of the Renaissance ideal of perfect humanity.[br /]
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With the twin achievements of the Pieta and the David in Florence, Michelangelo’s reputation was firmly established. Between 1500 and 1508, he sustained an astonishing level of productivity. During this period, he carved nine marble sculptures, including the colossal David, the Brubes Madonna, the St. Matthew, two marble tondi, and four small figures for the Piccolamini altar. He also completed three works in bronze (all lost), including a bronze David sent to France, and a monumental seated figure of Pope Julius for Bologna. He completed at least one painting – the Dani Tondo, and drew the cartoon for the Battle of Cascind Fresco – the most prolific eight years of the artist.[br /]
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[b]Middle Years[/b][br /]
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Shortly after completing the David, Michelangelo received the additional commission to paint a battle Fresco opposite his rival Leonardo da Vinci. For differing reasons, both artists failed to complete their commissions : Leonardo because of technical frustrations, and Michelangelo because he was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II in 1505. The Pope employed Michelangelo to carve his tomb – so began the longest and most convoluted chapter in Michelangelo’s life, what his biographer Ascanio Condivi referred to as the "tragedy of the tomb" – but also one of his greatest endeavors.[br /]
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[b]The Tomb of Julius II[/b][br /]
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The Pope sought a tomb for which Michelangelo was to carve 40 large statues. In 1505, he began to work on a tomb for Pope Julius II that was to have stood in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His earliest designs specify a freestanding structure with three levels : at the bottom, figures representing victory alternating with slaves, above them, four huge seated figures including Moses and St. Paul, and finally, angels supporting either a coffin or an image of the Pope.[br /]
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In the
end only three figures by Michelangelo were placed on the tomb, which is now in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome. Of these, the most powerful figure is Moses (c. 1515), a dynamic example of his ability to infuse stone with a sense of movement and life. The muscular torso of Moses twists to the left, but his scowling face turns sharply to the right as if he has just seen the people worshipping their false God.[br /]
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It is regarded as the realization in sculpture of the approach to great figures used for the prophets on the Sistine Ceiling. (He was called to work on the Sistine Chapel and after the ceiling was finished, reverted to work on the tomb.) The control of cubic density in stone evokes great reserves of strength. The surface textures also have more variety than the earlier sculptures. Two of the slave statues originally planned for the tomb, the Rebellious Slave and the Dying Slave (both c. 1513-1516) were also completed.[br /]
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They demonstrate his approach to carving, in which cutting away excess stone appears to release an entrapped human figure. Here, as in many of his sculptures, Michelangelo left parts of the block of stone rough and unfinished, either because he was satisfied with the statues as they were or because he no longer planned to use them. Julius II’s death in 1513 cut off most of the funds for his tomb.[br /]
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The Sistine Chapel had great symbolic meaning for the papacy as the chief consecrated space in the Vatican. The new commission, though from Julius himself, was a major project preventing the completion of the tomb of Julius II. Michelangelo was asked to add works for the relatively unimportant ceiling. Between 1508 to 1512, he created some of the most memorable images of all time on the vaulted ceiling of the papal chapel in the Vatican. He had always considered himself a sculptor and resisted painting the Sistine at first : "I cannot live under pressures from patrons, but alone paint". Only the power of Pope Julius II forced him into the reluctant achievement of the world’s greatest single Fresco. Twelve Apostles were planned as the theme – traces of this project are seen in the 12 large figures that Michelangelo painted : seven prophets and five sibyls. He placed these figures around the edge of the ceiling and filled the central spine of the long curved surface with nine scenes from genesis, three of them depicting, the creation of the world, three the stories of Adam and Eve, and three the stories of Noah. These are followed, below the prophets and sibyls, by small figures of the 40 generations of Christ’s ancestors, starting with Abraham. The vast project was completed in less than four years. Bright clear colors enliven and unite the vast surface, and make the details more legible from the floor of the chapel.[br /]
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The work began at the end with the Noah scenes placed over the entrance door, and moved toward the altar in the direction opposite to that of the sequence of the stories. The first figures are relatively stable and on a small scale. As he proceeded, he quickly grew in confidence. Since he started working in an unfamiliar medium, the same growing boldness appears in the free, complex movements of the figures and in their complex expressiveness. Thus, he worked from the quietly monumental scene (after 1510-11) of the creation of Adam to the acute, twisted pressures of the prophet Jonah. The Creation of Adam is perhaps Michelangelo’s finest fusion of form and meaning. We see Adam beginning to come to life, as he reaches listlessly toward the vigorous energy that the image of God embodies. Following the completion of the ceiling in 1512, Michelangelo finally was able to turn again to sculpture and to the Julius tomb. He later painted The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.[br /]
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[b]The Medici Chapel / Church of San Lorenzo [/b] [br /]
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Pope Leo X, son of Lorenzo de Medici and successor of Pope Julius II had known Michelangelo since childhood. The immediate occasion for
the Chapel was the deaths of the two young family heirs, named Giuliano and Lorenzo. Michelangelo envisioned the San Lorenzo Façade as a two – story marble screen supporting as many as 40 statues. Michelangelo gave his chief attention (upto 1527) to the marble interior of this chapel, to both the wall design and the carved figures on the tombs. A male and a female figure sit on the curved bases; these are allegories symbolizing on one tomb, day and night, and dawn and dusk on the other according to the artist’s own statement. The figures of Day and Dusk – massive, are tranquil in their scape. Both female figures have the tall, slim proportions and small feet considered beautiful at the time, but otherwise form a contrast. Dawn, a virginal figure, strains upward as if trying to emerge into life, Night is asleep, but in a posture suggesting stressful dreams. Michelangelo conceived of the two tombs as representing opposite types : Giuliano symbolized the active, extroverted personality, Lorenzo, the contemplative introspective one.[br /]
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By 1520, finding for the San Lorenzo facade was discontinued, but Michelangelo remained occupied with other projects for this church.[br /]
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In addition to the Chapel, Pope Clement VII wished Michelangelo to design a library to house the valuable collection of Medici books and manuscripts. The elegant Laurentian Library (1524 – 34 designed), adjoining the church of San Lorenzo, confirmed Michelangelo’s architectural abilities. In this and subsequent architectural projects, he combined classical motifs – columns, pediments, niches, and brackets – in new ways. In the entrance hall, he invented new forms for the capitals of columns and tapered the pilasters (flattened pillars attached so walls) downward instead of upward. The curving contours of the staircase seem to flow downward and outward, giving a sense of checked energy.[br /]
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In 1534, Michelangelo returned after a quarter century to Fresco painting, executing for the new Pope, Paul II the huge Last Judgment for the end wall of the Sistine Chapel.[br /]
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The Last Judgment depicts Christ’s Second Coming to the world. The enormous scene is focussed on the impassive figure of Christ whose right arm is poised to strike down the damned, while the left arm seems gently to call the blessed towards him. At his side is Virgin Mary, who looks down quietly towards those emerging from their graves. The work in a painting style has a pervasive color harmony of brown bodies against a blue sky. The scene of hell in the lower right corner is based on the Inferno, part of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. The nudity that is shown in this Fresco was sharply criticized soon after it was unveiled which made it one of the most talked about and most frequently copied works of art in the 16th century.[br /]
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[b] The Last Decades[/b][br /]
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In his late years, Michelangelo was less involved with sculpture, and along with painting and poetry, more with architecture – an area in which he did not have to do physical labor. He was sought after to design imposing monuments for the new Rome. Two of these monuments, the Capitoline Square (Piazza del Campidoglio) and the dome of St. Peter’s, are still among the city’s most notable visual images. He did not finish either, but after his death, both were continued.[br /]
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Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Square)
Michelangelo’s designs for the Capitoline Square (begun 1539, completed later by others) and its surrounding buildings succeeded in restoring this public space to its former side as the civic and political heart of Rome. His program for remodeling the Campidoglio began with a commission to create a new base for an ancient Roman bronze statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback. His plans soon expanded to include the addition of a double staircase to the building behind the statue, Palazzo Senatorio (completed 1544-1552); identical facades for the buildings to the[br /]
sculpture’s right and left, the Palazzo dei Conservatori (1563-1584) and the Palazzo Nuovo (1603-1650s). Finally a broad ramp-like stairway defines the uphill approach to the Piazza. The oval base Michelangelo designed for the statue of Marcus Aurelius became the basis for his design of the entire space. Perfect symmetry combines with flowing curves, traditional Roman forms with inventive new ones, to produce a unified and dynamic public space. [br /]
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In 1546, Michelangelo was given the task of completing the design for St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Pope Julius II first gave the commission to Michelangelo’s rival, Donato Bramante, in 1506. When Bramante died in 1514, only the supports were in place, which determined the scale and other elements of design. Michelangelo returned to Bramante’s plan, but made it more compact, strengthening the supports and unifying the exterior with gigantic pairs of pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Around the base of the dome the line of the pilasters is echoed by fully rounded columns, which are in turn repeated on a smaller scale in the lantern at the top of the dome. The effect is one of great mass pushing upward, the forms varied in complex ways yet unified as a whole. The dome functions chiefly as a visual focus, representing a physical goal as well as expressing the dominant meaning of the city. It has been copied for this dual purpose many times as, for instance, in the Capitol at Washington D.C.[br /]
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While remaining head architect of St. Peter’s until his death, Michelangelo worked on many smaller building projects. He completed the main unit of the Palazzo Farnese, the residence of Pope Paul III’s family.[br /]
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His last paintings were the Frescoes of the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican.[br /]
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There are only two late sculptures, which Michelangelo did for himself. Both present the dead Christ, neither finished. He completed Rachel and Leah for the tomb of Julius II and the bust of Brutus. The Florentine Pietà was destined for his own grave, but was given away, and the Rondanini was begun for no ostensible reason. His poetry gives expression to the theme that love helps human beings in their difficult effort to ascend to the divine. Architecture was his final and perhaps most influential legacy.[br /]
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[b]Bacchus [/b] [br /]
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[b]
Michelangelo [/b] produced his first large scale sculpture in Rome, a larger than life figure of a drunken Bacchus (1496-98), the Roman God of wine. This sensual, nude youth is one of his few pagan works rather than Christian subject matter and was based on ancient Greek and Roman statuary. Made for a garden, it is also unique among Michelangelo’s works in calling for observation from all sides rather than primarily from the front. The statue, in a sense, was a condensation of Michelangelo’s unorthodox education to date - his immersion in the classics, his imitation and recreation of antique sculpture, and his first experience of the eternal city.[br /]
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[b]Pieta[/b][br /]
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The Bacchus led at once to the commission for the Pietà (1498). He began in an unusual manner, by purchasing a horse and going to the marble quarries of Carrara to select the block. At 23, he completed this magnificent statue that shows the Virgin Mary grieving over the dead Jesus. The concentrated group of two is designed to evoke the observer’s repentant prayers for sins that required Christ’s sacrificial death. The complex problem for the designer was to extract two figures from one marble block. Michelangelo treated the group as one dense and compact mass so that it has an imposing effect; yet he underlined the many contrasts present; of male and female, vertical and horizontal, clothed and naked, dead and alive, to clarify the two components. The Virgin calls our attention to her dead son with her left hand, while her right arm embraces him gently, lifting his arm slightly so that it hangs lifelessly before us. [br /]
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[b]Michelangelo[/b] returned to the theme of the Pietà late in his life, in two of his most personal expressions : the Florentine Pietà (C.1547-1555), which he meant to have placed on his own tomb, and the Rondanini Pietà (1555-1564), a work that remained unfinished when he died.[br /]
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The artist’s prominence, established by his work, was reinforced at once by the commission of the David (1501-1504) for the cathedral of Florence. For this huge statue (standing at 4.34 m / 14 ft 3 tall), Michelangelo reused a block left unfinished about 40 years before. The subject of this work is the Old Testament story of David and Goliath, in which the young David, flings a stone from his slingshot to kill the giant Goliath. The statue became a symbol for the new republic that had replaced Medici rule. Unlike his predecessors, who depicted David with the grisly head of the Giant under his foot, Michelangelo poses David at the moment he faces the Giant, the deed before him. He believed that this was David’s moment of greatest courage. The entire sculpture shows tense waiting as David sizes up his enemy and considers his course of action. The statue was set up in front of the Palazzo della Signoria and it became a symbol of the political strength of Florence against the forces of tyranny. It has continued to serve as the prime statement of the Renaissance ideal of perfect humanity.[br /]
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With the twin achievements of the Pieta and the David in Florence, Michelangelo’s reputation was firmly established. Between 1500 and 1508, he sustained an astonishing level of productivity. During this period, he carved nine marble sculptures, including the colossal David, the Brubes Madonna, the St. Matthew, two marble tondi, and four small figures for the Piccolamini altar. He also completed three works in bronze (all lost), including a bronze David sent to France, and a monumental seated figure of Pope Julius for Bologna. He completed at least one painting – the Dani Tondo, and drew the cartoon for the Battle of Cascind Fresco – the most prolific eight years of the artist.[br /]
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[b]Middle Years[/b][br /]
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Shortly after completing the David, Michelangelo received the additional commission to paint a battle Fresco opposite his rival Leonardo da Vinci. For differing reasons, both artists failed to complete their commissions : Leonardo because of technical frustrations, and Michelangelo because he was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II in 1505. The Pope employed Michelangelo to carve his tomb – so began the longest and most convoluted chapter in Michelangelo’s life, what his biographer Ascanio Condivi referred to as the "tragedy of the tomb" – but also one of his greatest endeavors.[br /]
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[b]The Tomb of Julius II[/b][br /]
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The Pope sought a tomb for which Michelangelo was to carve 40 large statues. In 1505, he began to work on a tomb for Pope Julius II that was to have stood in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His earliest designs specify a freestanding structure with three levels : at the bottom, figures representing victory alternating with slaves, above them, four huge seated figures including Moses and St. Paul, and finally, angels supporting either a coffin or an image of the Pope.[br /]
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end only three figures by Michelangelo were placed on the tomb, which is now in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome. Of these, the most powerful figure is Moses (c. 1515), a dynamic example of his ability to infuse stone with a sense of movement and life. The muscular torso of Moses twists to the left, but his scowling face turns sharply to the right as if he has just seen the people worshipping their false God.[br /]
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It is regarded as the realization in sculpture of the approach to great figures used for the prophets on the Sistine Ceiling. (He was called to work on the Sistine Chapel and after the ceiling was finished, reverted to work on the tomb.) The control of cubic density in stone evokes great reserves of strength. The surface textures also have more variety than the earlier sculptures. Two of the slave statues originally planned for the tomb, the Rebellious Slave and the Dying Slave (both c. 1513-1516) were also completed.[br /]
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They demonstrate his approach to carving, in which cutting away excess stone appears to release an entrapped human figure. Here, as in many of his sculptures, Michelangelo left parts of the block of stone rough and unfinished, either because he was satisfied with the statues as they were or because he no longer planned to use them. Julius II’s death in 1513 cut off most of the funds for his tomb.[br /]
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The Sistine Chapel had great symbolic meaning for the papacy as the chief consecrated space in the Vatican. The new commission, though from Julius himself, was a major project preventing the completion of the tomb of Julius II. Michelangelo was asked to add works for the relatively unimportant ceiling. Between 1508 to 1512, he created some of the most memorable images of all time on the vaulted ceiling of the papal chapel in the Vatican. He had always considered himself a sculptor and resisted painting the Sistine at first : "I cannot live under pressures from patrons, but alone paint". Only the power of Pope Julius II forced him into the reluctant achievement of the world’s greatest single Fresco. Twelve Apostles were planned as the theme – traces of this project are seen in the 12 large figures that Michelangelo painted : seven prophets and five sibyls. He placed these figures around the edge of the ceiling and filled the central spine of the long curved surface with nine scenes from genesis, three of them depicting, the creation of the world, three the stories of Adam and Eve, and three the stories of Noah. These are followed, below the prophets and sibyls, by small figures of the 40 generations of Christ’s ancestors, starting with Abraham. The vast project was completed in less than four years. Bright clear colors enliven and unite the vast surface, and make the details more legible from the floor of the chapel.[br /]
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The work began at the end with the Noah scenes placed over the entrance door, and moved toward the altar in the direction opposite to that of the sequence of the stories. The first figures are relatively stable and on a small scale. As he proceeded, he quickly grew in confidence. Since he started working in an unfamiliar medium, the same growing boldness appears in the free, complex movements of the figures and in their complex expressiveness. Thus, he worked from the quietly monumental scene (after 1510-11) of the creation of Adam to the acute, twisted pressures of the prophet Jonah. The Creation of Adam is perhaps Michelangelo’s finest fusion of form and meaning. We see Adam beginning to come to life, as he reaches listlessly toward the vigorous energy that the image of God embodies. Following the completion of the ceiling in 1512, Michelangelo finally was able to turn again to sculpture and to the Julius tomb. He later painted The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.[br /]
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[b]The Medici Chapel / Church of San Lorenzo [/b] [br /]
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Pope Leo X, son of Lorenzo de Medici and successor of Pope Julius II had known Michelangelo since childhood. The immediate occasion for
the Chapel was the deaths of the two young family heirs, named Giuliano and Lorenzo. Michelangelo envisioned the San Lorenzo Façade as a two – story marble screen supporting as many as 40 statues. Michelangelo gave his chief attention (upto 1527) to the marble interior of this chapel, to both the wall design and the carved figures on the tombs. A male and a female figure sit on the curved bases; these are allegories symbolizing on one tomb, day and night, and dawn and dusk on the other according to the artist’s own statement. The figures of Day and Dusk – massive, are tranquil in their scape. Both female figures have the tall, slim proportions and small feet considered beautiful at the time, but otherwise form a contrast. Dawn, a virginal figure, strains upward as if trying to emerge into life, Night is asleep, but in a posture suggesting stressful dreams. Michelangelo conceived of the two tombs as representing opposite types : Giuliano symbolized the active, extroverted personality, Lorenzo, the contemplative introspective one.[br /]
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By 1520, finding for the San Lorenzo facade was discontinued, but Michelangelo remained occupied with other projects for this church.[br /]
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In addition to the Chapel, Pope Clement VII wished Michelangelo to design a library to house the valuable collection of Medici books and manuscripts. The elegant Laurentian Library (1524 – 34 designed), adjoining the church of San Lorenzo, confirmed Michelangelo’s architectural abilities. In this and subsequent architectural projects, he combined classical motifs – columns, pediments, niches, and brackets – in new ways. In the entrance hall, he invented new forms for the capitals of columns and tapered the pilasters (flattened pillars attached so walls) downward instead of upward. The curving contours of the staircase seem to flow downward and outward, giving a sense of checked energy.[br /]
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In 1534, Michelangelo returned after a quarter century to Fresco painting, executing for the new Pope, Paul II the huge Last Judgment for the end wall of the Sistine Chapel.[br /]
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The Last Judgment depicts Christ’s Second Coming to the world. The enormous scene is focussed on the impassive figure of Christ whose right arm is poised to strike down the damned, while the left arm seems gently to call the blessed towards him. At his side is Virgin Mary, who looks down quietly towards those emerging from their graves. The work in a painting style has a pervasive color harmony of brown bodies against a blue sky. The scene of hell in the lower right corner is based on the Inferno, part of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. The nudity that is shown in this Fresco was sharply criticized soon after it was unveiled which made it one of the most talked about and most frequently copied works of art in the 16th century.[br /]
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[b] The Last Decades[/b][br /]
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In his late years, Michelangelo was less involved with sculpture, and along with painting and poetry, more with architecture – an area in which he did not have to do physical labor. He was sought after to design imposing monuments for the new Rome. Two of these monuments, the Capitoline Square (Piazza del Campidoglio) and the dome of St. Peter’s, are still among the city’s most notable visual images. He did not finish either, but after his death, both were continued.[br /]
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Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Square)
Michelangelo’s designs for the Capitoline Square (begun 1539, completed later by others) and its surrounding buildings succeeded in restoring this public space to its former side as the civic and political heart of Rome. His program for remodeling the Campidoglio began with a commission to create a new base for an ancient Roman bronze statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback. His plans soon expanded to include the addition of a double staircase to the building behind the statue, Palazzo Senatorio (completed 1544-1552); identical facades for the buildings to the[br /]
sculpture’s right and left, the Palazzo dei Conservatori (1563-1584) and the Palazzo Nuovo (1603-1650s). Finally a broad ramp-like stairway defines the uphill approach to the Piazza. The oval base Michelangelo designed for the statue of Marcus Aurelius became the basis for his design of the entire space. Perfect symmetry combines with flowing curves, traditional Roman forms with inventive new ones, to produce a unified and dynamic public space. [br /]
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In 1546, Michelangelo was given the task of completing the design for St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Pope Julius II first gave the commission to Michelangelo’s rival, Donato Bramante, in 1506. When Bramante died in 1514, only the supports were in place, which determined the scale and other elements of design. Michelangelo returned to Bramante’s plan, but made it more compact, strengthening the supports and unifying the exterior with gigantic pairs of pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Around the base of the dome the line of the pilasters is echoed by fully rounded columns, which are in turn repeated on a smaller scale in the lantern at the top of the dome. The effect is one of great mass pushing upward, the forms varied in complex ways yet unified as a whole. The dome functions chiefly as a visual focus, representing a physical goal as well as expressing the dominant meaning of the city. It has been copied for this dual purpose many times as, for instance, in the Capitol at Washington D.C.[br /]
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While remaining head architect of St. Peter’s until his death, Michelangelo worked on many smaller building projects. He completed the main unit of the Palazzo Farnese, the residence of Pope Paul III’s family.[br /]
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His last paintings were the Frescoes of the Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican.[br /]
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There are only two late sculptures, which Michelangelo did for himself. Both present the dead Christ, neither finished. He completed Rachel and Leah for the tomb of Julius II and the bust of Brutus. The Florentine Pietà was destined for his own grave, but was given away, and the Rondanini was begun for no ostensible reason. His poetry gives expression to the theme that love helps human beings in their difficult effort to ascend to the divine. Architecture was his final and perhaps most influential legacy.[br /]
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• I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.[br /]
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• A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it.[br /]
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• The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.[br /]
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• Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle.[br /]
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• Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.[br /]
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• I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all.[br /]
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• If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. [br /]
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• Genius is eternal patience.[br /]
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• A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.[br /]
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• The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms, and to confide in one’s self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course.[br /]
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• Art and death do not go well together.
No one has full mastery before reaching the end of his art and his life.[br /]
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• A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it.[br /]
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• The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.[br /]
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• Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle.[br /]
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• Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.[br /]
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• I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all.[br /]
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• If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all. [br /]
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• Genius is eternal patience.[br /]
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• A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.[br /]
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• The promises of this world are, for the most part, vain phantoms, and to confide in one’s self, and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course.[br /]
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• Art and death do not go well together.
No one has full mastery before reaching the end of his art and his life.[br /]
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From his very beginnings, Michelangelo found admiration : whatever he did amazed everybody. But most admired by his contemporaries were his Sistine frescoes. In most of his paintings all human standards seem to have been surpassed in aim and in form. In sculpture too, Michelangelo showed how the movements of bone and flesh can express spiritual urges.[br /]
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In the last 22 years of his life Michelangelo finished none of his sculptures, in the last 14 no painting; but his fame continued to grow till the end. He worked in the spirit of the Renaissance and opened new vistas toward mannerism and the baroque.[br /]
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Michelangelo’s patrons included, Popes, prominent Florentine families, the Florentine Cathedral, Flemish merchants, a French Cardinal and a French minister. Michelangelo’s simultaneous commitment to an impossible number of commissions inevitably meant that many were destined to remain incomplete, and others were never begun.[br /]
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In the last 22 years of his life Michelangelo finished none of his sculptures, in the last 14 no painting; but his fame continued to grow till the end. He worked in the spirit of the Renaissance and opened new vistas toward mannerism and the baroque.[br /]
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Michelangelo’s patrons included, Popes, prominent Florentine families, the Florentine Cathedral, Flemish merchants, a French Cardinal and a French minister. Michelangelo’s simultaneous commitment to an impossible number of commissions inevitably meant that many were destined to remain incomplete, and others were never begun.[br /]
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