Michelangelo Buonarroti's The Last Judgement

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Michelangelo Buonarroti's The Last Judgement

Michelangelo Buonarroti. One of the greatest artists of all time. A man whose name has become synonymous with the word Masterpiece. The second of five brothers, Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 at Caprese in Tuscany. His mother died young and when he was six he was placed with a wet nurse, in a family of stone cutters. His father realized how smart the boy was, he quickly put him in school, and there he learned and studied Latin. While at school he met Francesco Granacci, who was six years older than him and who was learning the art of painting and encouraged Michelangelo to follow.

That’s what he did, and now he’s one of the greatest painters of all time. He painted famous pieces like the “Bruges Madonna”, “tondo of the Holy Family and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But one painting that stuck out in my mind and is one of my favorite paintings by Michelangelo is the Last Judgement. One of his most famous paintings, featuring a picture of the dammed being sent to hell.

During the proceeding centuries, the Last Judgement scene has maintained it’s iconography without changing. Christ, the judge is placed in the center, surrounded by the Apostles on thrones as, if they were in quiet review with the elect and the Reprobates on the opposite side. In this dramatic and swarming vision Michelangelo has completed the tough job of distinguishing the difference between the Elect, the Saints, and the Blessed, from the Damned and the Demons. The composition of the left side of the fresco shows the bodies rising with difficulty from the ground in different stages of decay. “Michelangelo must have had Ezeikiels words that refer to the Resurrection of the dead. As with every ...

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...wrath of her son. He’s just a great artist with the passion and desire to paint, he was so gifted and it’s just amazing how much he accomplished during his life and how much he did for the world of art and the science of art. I’ve learned so much from looking at the work of the great Michelangelo, he will always be remembered for his place in the world of art and for the wonderful paintings that he has done. And the one thing that I can say is that this, the Last Judgement is truly a masterpiece.

Bibliography:

1. Brigstocke, Hugh. The Dictionary of Art. Groves Dictionary inc. New York

2. Abrams, Harry. N. Michelangelo the Painter. New York 1964

3. Morrow, William. Reynal and Company. The Complete Work of Michelangelo. New York

4. www.yahoo.com

5. WWW.Michelangelo.com

6. WWW.ARTCHIVE.COM

7. Greystone Press. The Encyclopedia of Art. New York

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