Over the years, he suffered increasing infirmities from the rigors of his work; in one of his poems, he documented the tremendous physical strain that he endured by painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Political strife in his beloved Florence also gnawed at him, but his most notable enmity was with fellow Florentine artist Leonardo da Vinci , who was more than 20 years his senior.
Michelangelo's poetic impulse, which had been expressed in his sculptures, paintings and architecture, began taking literary form in his later years. Although he never married, Michelangelo was devoted to a pious and noble widow named Vittoria Colonna, the subject and recipient of many of his more than poems and sonnets.
Their friendship remained a great solace to Michelangelo until Colonna's death in Michelangelo, who was just 25 years old at the time, finished his work in less than one year, and the statue was erected in the church of the cardinal's tomb.
At 6 feet wide and nearly as tall, the statue has been moved five times since, to its present place of prominence at St.
Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Carved from a single piece of Carrara marble, the fluidity of the fabric, positions of the subjects, and "movement" of the skin of the Piet — meaning "pity" or "compassion" — created awe for its early viewers, as it does even today. Today, the "Pieta" remains a universally revered work. Between and , Michelangelo took over a commission for a statue of "David," which two prior sculptors had previously attempted and abandoned, and turned the foot piece of marble into a dominating figure.
The strength of the statue's sinews, vulnerability of its nakedness, humanity of expression and overall courage made the "David" a highly prized representative of the city of Florence. Originally commissioned for the cathedral of Florence, the Florentine government instead installed the statue in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.
Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to switch from sculpting to painting to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which the artist revealed on October 31, The work later had to be completely removed soon after due to an infectious fungus in the plaster, then recreated.
Michelangelo fired all of his assistants, whom he deemed inept, and completed the foot ceiling alone, spending endless hours on his back and guarding the project jealously until completion. The resulting masterpiece is a transcendent example of High Renaissance art incorporating the symbology, prophecy and humanist principles of Christianity that Michelangelo had absorbed during his youth. The vivid vignettes of Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling produce a kaleidoscope effect, with the most iconic image being the " Creation of Adam," a famous portrayal of God reaching down to touch the finger of man.
God is surrounded by angels and cherubim, all encased within a red cloud, while a feminine figure thought to be Eve or Sophia, symbol of wisdom, peers out with curious interest from underneath God's arm.
Behind Adam, the green ledge upon which he lies, and the mountainous background create a strong diagonal, emphasizing the division between mortal he and heavenly God. As a result the viewer's eye is drawn to the hands of God and Adam, outlined in the central space, almost touching.
Some have noted that the shape of the red cloud resembles the shape of the human brain, as if the artist meant to imply God's intent to infuse Adam with not merely animate life, but also the important gift of consciousness. This was an innovative depiction of the creation of Adam. Contrary to traditional artworks, God is not shown as aloof and regal, separate and above mortal man. For Michelangelo, it was important to depict the all-powerful giver of life as one distinctly intimate with man, whom he created in his own image.
This reflected the humanist ideals of man's essential place in the world and the connection to the divine. The bodies maintain the sculptural quality so reminiscent of his painting, carrying on the mastery of human anatomy signature to the High Renaissance.
This grand, epic-sized statue depicts Moses seated regally to guard the tablets written with the Ten Commandments. His expression is stern, reflecting his anger at seeing his people worshipping the golden calf on his return from Mount Sinai. Michelangelo's reputation following the sculpture of David reached Pope Julius II in Rome who commissioned the artist to come and work on his tomb.
The ambitious artist initially proposed a project of over 40 figures. Yet In the final structure the central piece became this sculpture of Moses. Not only has he rendered the great prophet with a complex emotionality, his work on the fabric of Moses' clothes is noted for its exquisite perfection and look of authenticity. Again, he managed to craft a visage of seeming real life out of stone. The final tomb wasn't finished until after the Pope's death in , to be finally completed in This sculpture has been at the center of much analysis, with Sigmund Freud having purportedly spent three weeks in observing the emotions expressed by the sculpture, concluding it was a supreme vision of self-control.
Part of the controversy hinged around what appear to be horns protruding from Moses' head. While some see them as symbolic of his anguish, others believe them to hearken to a Latin mistranslation of the Bible in which instead of rays of light illuminating the radiance of Moses, he appears to be growing horns.
This can stem from the Hebrew word Keren , which can mean 'radiated light' or 'grew horns. This fresco covers the entire altar wall of the Sistine Chapel and is one of the last pieces in the seminal building that was commissioned by Pope Clement VII when Michelangelo was The monumental work took five years to complete and consists of over individual figures.
The scene is one of harried action around the central figure of Christ, his hands raised to reveal the wounds of his Crucifixion. He looks down upon the souls of humans as they rise to their fates. To his left, the Virgin Mary glances toward the saved.
Many of the saints appear with examples of their sacrifices. Particularly interesting is St Bartholomew, martyred by the flaying of his skin, the face on which is said to be a self-portrait of Michelangelo. The saved souls rise from their graves on the left helped by angels.
On the right, Charon the ferryman is shown bringing the damned to the gates of Hell. Minos, assuming the role Dante gave him in his Inferno, admits them to Hell. Another noteworthy group are the seven angels blowing trumpets illustrating the Book of Revelation's end of the world.
In usual Michelangelo fashion, the artist depicted the traditional scene with elements of controversy, particularly by rendering its subjects nude with extremely muscular anatomies. His rendition of a beardless Christ was unusual for the time, as was the use of figures from pagan mythology. Vasari reports that the Pope's Master of Ceremonies, Biagio da Cesena, called it a disgrace "that in so sacred a place there should have been depicted all those nude figures, exposing themselves so shamefully.
Cesena complained to the Pope at being so ridiculed, but the Pope is said to have jokingly remarked that his jurisdiction did not extend to Hell. This piece is not only sculpturally complex and indicative of Michelangelo's genius, but it carries layers of meaning and has sparked multiple interpretations.
In it, we see Christ the moment after the Deposition, or being taken down from the cross of his crucifixion. He is falling into the arms of his mother, the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene, whose presence in a work of such importance was highly unusual. Behind the trio is a hooded figure, which is said to be either Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus, both of whom were in attendance of the entombment of Christ, which would follow this event.
Joseph would end up giving his tomb for Christ and Nicodemus would speak with Christ about the possibility of obtaining eternal life. Not only is it life like and intense with realism, it was also sculpted so that a person could walk around to observe and absorb each of the three narratives from different perspectives.
The remarkable three-dimensionality allows the group to interact within each of the work's meanings. The work is also a perfect example of Michelangelo's temperament and perfectionism. Michelangelo thought that the human body was a beautiful entity that should be naked, or only wearing simple robes. Thus, like the classical Roman statues Michelangelo's David has been created with a herculean physique. Michelangelo revealed his hero waiting to meet the enemy rather than in victory.
Furthermore, he showed David's strength through his sinewy body that reveals the future power he will display. The sculpture of David reveals a relationship between Renaissance art and Greek mythology. Michelangelo used his advanced knowledge of the human body to create his nudes. Furthermore Michelangelo was primarily interested in how concrete figures could be encompassed within an outside shell. He was liked religious themes and focused on the image of Christ in many of his drawings, frequently drawing the same images until the emotion in his pieces became intense.
Michelangelo had a keen eye for light and shadow and grasped that they can represent volume and shape in both a sculpture and a painting. Thus he created many freestanding sculptures. Whereas Leonardo da Vinci painted his figures with straight axles and lines Michelangelo was more inclined to introduce curves and diagonals.
Instead, over the course of the four-year project, Michelangelo painted 12 figures — seven prophets and five sibyls female prophets of myth — around the border of the ceiling, and filled the central space with scenes from Genesis. The most famous Sistine Chapel ceiling painting is the emotion-infused The Creation of Adam, in which God and Adam outstretch their hands to one another. The quintessential Renaissance man, Michelangelo continued to sculpt and paint until his death, although he increasingly worked on architectural projects as he aged: His work from to on the interior of the Medici Chapel in Florence included wall designs, windows and cornices that were unusual in their design and introduced startling variations on classical forms.
Michelangelo also designed the iconic dome of St. Among his other masterpieces are Moses sculpture, completed ; The Last Judgment painting, completed ; and Day, Night, Dawn and Dusk sculptures, all completed by From the s on, Michelangelo wrote poems; about survive.
After he left Florence permanently in for Rome, Michelangelo also wrote many lyrical letters to his family members who remained there. The theme of many was his strong attachment to various young men, especially aristocrat Tommaso Cavalieri. Scholars debate whether this was more an expression of homosexuality or a bittersweet longing by the unmarried, childless, aging Michelangelo for a father-son relationship. Michelangelo died at age 88 after a short illness in , surviving far past the usual life expectancy of the era.
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