Michelangelo Di Lodovico Buonarroti Analysis

Michelangelo Di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

Part 1:

Michelangelo was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.

Michelangelo Di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. He was born to a family of moderate meaning the banking business, his family had for several generation been small – scale bankers in Florence however his father, Lodovico Di Leonardo Di Buonarroti Di Simoni, failed to maintain its status, and held occasional government jobs. Although Michelangelo always considered himself a Florentine, Michelangelo lived most of his life in Rome, where he died in February 18, 1564, Papal States, at age 88.

Michelangelo’s father sent Michelangelo to study grammar with the humanist Francesco da Urbino in Florence when he was a young boy. Michelangelo, however, showed no interest in school; instead he preferred to copy painting from churches and seek

the company of painter. At the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to Domenico Ghirlandaio (painter) and in sculpture with Bertoldo di Giovanni. When he was fourteen, Michelangelo’s father managed to persuade Ghirlandaio to pay his apprentice (Michelangelo) which was very unusual at that time. In 1489, Florence's ruler Lorenzo de' Medici asked Ghirlandaio for his two best pupils, so he sent Michelangelo and Francesco Granacci. From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo attended Lorenzo's school and was influenced by many prominent people who changed and expanded his ideas on art. What followed was a remarkable career as an artist in the Italian Renaissance, recognized in his own time for his extraordinary talent. His works include the "David" and "Pieta" statues and the ceiling paintings of Rome's Sistine Chapel, including the "Last Judgment." As a result, his work is now been carefully tended and preserved for the future generations to view and appreciate his work of art.
Michelangelo is widely regarded to be one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance period .His artworks demonstrated a blend of psychological insight, physical realism and intensity never before seen. His greatest artwork was the painting the Sistine Chapel which began in 1508, and was completed in 4 years time. In the beginning, Michelangelo was instructed to paint twelve pictures of the apostles around the outside of the ceiling. However, Michelangelo made a suggestion that he used the central area of the ceiling to paint the history of the Old Testament. This artwork included over 300 figures. Michelangelo was distinguished for the use of colour, light, tone design and craftsmanship.
Some secondary sources that provide information on his biography include: http://www.biography.com/people/michelangelo-9407628 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvcWue49cIg Both sources are videos and they provide extra information on the biography of Michelangelo and how he lives his life. It also talks about growing up and some famous artworks he drew and is known all around the world.

Part 2:
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling
In 1505, Michelangelo was invited back to Rome by the newly selected Pope Julius II.

He was commissioned to build the Pope’s tomb which includes 40 life-size statutes. Under the patronage of the Pope, Michelangelo experiences constant interruption as the pope’s priorities shifted as he became embroiled in military disputes and his funds became scarce. Due to the interruption, it took 40 years to finish and was never finished to his satisfaction.

During the same period, Michelangelo signed a contact for the decoration of the Sistine Ceiling. He was commission by Pope Julius II to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which took around four years (1508-1512). Over the course of the four year project, Michelangelo was originally commissioned to paint 12 Apostles against a starry star but instead he urged for a different and more complex scheme which represented creation, the Downfall of Man and the Promise of Salvation through the prophets and Genealogy of

Christ.
Michelangelo painted 12 figures, seven prophets and five sibyls (female prophets of myths), which was around the border of the ceiling and the central space with the scenes from Genesis. It is suggested that Michelangelo depicted the prophet Ezekiel as strong yet stressed, determined yet unsure. This is symbolic of Michelangelo’s sensitivity towards the intrinsic complexity of the human condition. While on the walls were 15th century frescoes showing scenes from the life of Moses and Christ. The artwork eventually contained over 300 figures and in the centre the nine episodes from the Book of Genesis which were divided into three groups: God's Creation of the Earth, God's Creation of Humankind and their fall from God's grace and lastly, the state of Humanity as represented by Noah and his family. The most famous painting on the ceiling was the Creation Adam, in which God and Adam outstretch their hands to one another. The complex design includes several sets of individual figures. They were both clothed and nude which allowed Michelangelo to entirely display his skill in creating a huge variety of poses for the human figure, and have provided an enormously influential pattern book of models for other artists.
The painting technique that was used was fresco; the paint was applied to damp plaster. He had some difficulties using the plaster as it began to grow mold because it was too wet as a result he had to remove it and start again. He tried a new formula created by one of assistants, which resisted mold. Painting with fresco meant that the plaster was laid in new section everyday which was called a giornata. Michelangelo painted onto the damp plaster using a wash technique to apply broad areas of color. When the surface became drier, he returns to these areas with a more linear approach, adding shade and detail with a range of brushes. For some textured surfaces, like facial hair, he uses a broad brush with bristles as sparse as a comb. He combined all the finest workshop methods and best innovations with the use of a diversity of brushwork and breadth of skill in completing this artwork.
To reach the chapel’s ceiling, Michelangelo designed his own scaffold which was a flat wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall near the top of the windows. He painted in a standing position, not lying on his back. According to Vasari, "The work was carried out in extremely uncomfortable conditions, from his having to work with his head tilted upwards". Michelangelo painted the ceiling almost entirely alone, triumphing over months of tremendous physical discomfort. On 31 October 1512, the completed ceiling was unveiled. "When the work was thrown open", reported Giorgio Vasari, “the whole world came running to see what Michelangelo had done; made everyone speechless with amazement.

Some sources which provide more detail explanation of The Sistine Chapel include the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling. This website informs the review of history and context about The Sistine Chapel. Another source is a Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEE3B8Fsuc0. This video shows an overdraft of what the artwork look like and how detailed and careful Michelangelo had drawn each figure.

Part 3:
Legacy
Michelangelo was one of the most significant artists of the Italian Renaissance. He created a number of masterpieces, for instances the statue of David in which it demonstrates the knowledge of proportion in human figure. Michelangelo was called II Divino which means “the divine one.” He created his own distinctive style which influenced many artists that came after him. It also had an influence on the development of western art and still today his pieces are studied in art classes worldwide, and his works are preserved, celebrated, and visited consistently throughout Rome, Florence, and other parts of Europe. His legend and legacy still continues today. This is evidenced through the popularity and interest in Michelangelo quotes as well as in numerous cultural references including television shows such the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Michelangelo was often arrogant to others and constantly dissatisfied with himself as he wasn’t living up to his own expectation. He saw art as something that originated from your inner inspiration and culture. He believed that every stone had a sculpture within it; all it mattered was the work of a sculptor to simply chip away the unnecessary areas of the statue.
As a man, Michelangelo remains as a mystery, a man which was blessed by god but was driven by internal demons. Yet as an artist, he was known for a brilliant printer, sculptor and architect who were also skill many other areas such as lyric poet and skilled engineer, which certain makes him a true embodiment of a “Renaissance man”. Michelangelo and the other artists of the High Renaissance had stretched the limits of the Classical form. Art had begun to evolve in new directions even before Michelangelo's death. Due to the influence of Michelangelo, several different trends emerged in Europe during the period of the late Renaissance which followed: Mannerism - exaggerating High Renaissance ideals and became a highly popular form of decorative art. Realism - emphasizes the depiction of everyday reality rather than religious or Classical scenes. The Baroque - became as a distinctive style in Italy, Spain, and Northern Europe by the early seventeenth century.
Therefore, Michelangelo's influence, continued to shape European art, especially during the periods that involved a reevaluation of Classicism, religion, and the human form.