Running Head: Michelangelo: Up to the Ceiling

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Michelangelo: Up to the Ceiling Chris Barrick Understanding Art Olney Central College 9/11/2012

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Michelangelo Often referred to as Il Divino (the divine one), Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was and is viewed as one of the greatest men of the Renaissance period. His works are some of the most well preserved and documented pieces in the world. He was a great many things, including sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer; his foremost rival of the time was Leonardo Da Vinci. Many consider Michelangelo to be the greatest artist of all time, for he was responsible for many changes to Western art and influenced artist for ages to come. Michelangelo was born to Ludovico di Leopnadro di Buonarotto Simoni and Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena on March 6th,1475. His father was a small scale banker in Florence and held various government positions (Wikipedia, n.d.). At the age of six, his mother died and he was sent to live with a stone cutter and his family in Settignano where he developed a skill with the hammer and chisel. His father then sent him off to study. Learning grammar under Francesco da Urbino, Michelangelo showed little in the way of interest in schooling but loved painting and the company of artists. After he turned thirteen, Michelangelo became apprentice to Domenico Ghilandaio much to his fathers dislike (Michelangelo, n.d.). He then studied sculpture in the Medici gardens and was welcomed into the home of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici. He also created two relief sculptures, Battle of the Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs, all before his sixteenth birthday (Michelangelo, n.d.). Around the time he turned twenty, Michelangelo traveled to Rome. Soon after he arrived the Cardinal Raffaele Riario commissioned a piece from Michelangelo. The Cardinal requested a Sculpture of a larger than life size Bacchus, the Roman Wine god (Wikipedia, n.d.).

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After the completion of Bacchus, Michelangelo started work on the statue Pieta. This amazing sculpture shows the Virgin Mary with Jesus dead body in her lap, her face a picture of serenity and acceptance (Chapel of the Pieta, 1995) and is the only work of art signed by Michelangelo (Michelangelo, n.d.). After completing the Pieta in 1500, Il Divino returned to Florence and was commissioned by the Guild of Wool to create a massive sculpture of David. Finished in 1504, the Statue of David stood fourteen feet, three inches tall and was placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Michelangelo intended for David to be a warning to rulers of Florence govern justly and defend it bravely (Michelangelo, n.d.). These early work solidified his place as a great artist in the Italian Renaissance. After the election of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo was invited back to Rome in 1505. The Pope wanted to restore Rome to its former glory and hired many of the great artists of the day to beautify Rome (Michelangelo, n.d.). Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo initially tried to refuse the commission, as he was a sculptor, but eventually gave in to the Pope. In the fall of 1508 Michelangelo started work on the Sistine Ceiling, but restarted in January of 1509. Over a period of four years he painted over five-thousand square feet of frescos that depicted scenes from the Book of Genesis and had Portraits of many prophets along the sides (The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, n.d.). At the end of the four years, Michelangelo had become an old man. His eye sight was poor unless he was looking up and he appeared far older than his 37 years. Michelangelo lived for another 52 years creating wondrous works of art in many mediums, but I feel that his earliest works are the best and most influencing. The Pieta, Statue

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of David, and the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are amongst the greatest and best known works of art even to this day and thousands flock to Rome and Florence to see his lasting master pieces. Michelangelo is one of the worlds most renowned artists and his work inspires artists today and for many years to come.

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Bibliography Chapel of the Pieta. (1995) Retrieved from http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/Pieta/Pieta.htm Michelangelo.com. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html The Sistine Chapel Ceiling. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://arthistory.about.com/od/famous_paintings/a/sischap_ceiling.htm Wikipedia.com. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo