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All About
Michelangelo
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He painted, sculpted, designed
buildings using his architectural skills and even wrote poems.
Michelangelo, the artist and sculptor par excellence has given
to the world many pieces of art so fine, so well executed that
just looking at them motivates us to strive for such levels of
excellence. He was born on March 6, 1475 at Caprese, in Tuscany.
He was the second among five sons born to Ludovico di Leonardo
di Buonarotto Simoni and Francesca Neri. Michelangelo Buonarroti
lost his mother at the tender age of six, probably the reason
for the rather taciturn disposition that he possessed.
Michelangelo
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His 'schooling' in the arts
He grew up absorbing sights and sounds of art in Florence, the
artistic centre of the early Renaissance period. He was
surrounded by ancient Roman and Greek works of art and quite
naturally he preferred to draw than to study. His parents
despaired of ever getting him on to the 'right' path of
academics and so they eventually gave in and allowed him to
become an apprentice under a prominent painter Ghirlandaio at
the tender age of thirteen. He spent barely a year there and
is believed to have learnt the technique of fresco painting
from his very first master. By the time he was 16 he had
produced two relief sculptures Battle of the Centaurs
and the Madonna of the Stairs.
Then Michelangelo joined Lorenzo de' Medici aka Lorenzo the
magnificent and benefited a lot from the experience. Here he had
access to the massive art collection of classical Greek and Roman
sculpture that Lorenzo had collected. Michelangelo studied them in
great detail and went on to surpass their standards. Lorenzo's house
used to attract artists and intellectuals of every hue for
gatherings and debates. This exposure enriched Michelangelo and
broadened his horizons. He realized his potential skills for poetry
and philosophy by interacting with the great minds that he came into
contact with. Michelangelo had a leaning towards Neo-Platonism, a
philosophy with an underlying thought that the soul trapped inside
the body always longs to return to God. This philosophy is believed
to have influenced his works of art, which denote a feeling of
wanting to break free. It was during this time that he trained under
Bertoldo di Giovanni, a well-known sculptor of those days. |
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The master's masterpieces
In 1494 when Lorenzo fell out of political favor,
Michelangelo too left Florence and traveled to Rome stopping
at Venice and Bologna. This period saw him produce his first
large scale sculpture Bacchus. Before he
completed 25 years of age he had already sculpted Pieta,
another one of his masterpieces. It shows Christ taken down
from the cross and placed on his mother's lap. He intended the
piece to be viewed at eye level with Christ. When viewed this
way the proportions of the sculpture are perfect, conveying
the intended emotion. This is the only work that bears his
signature, sculpted in a moment of intense emotion and
regretted by him later. Two more sculptures with the same
theme were made by him. |
Michelangelo's Pieta |
"They may spring to life anytime" - is what
one feels when laying eyes on Michelangelo's work. 1501 saw him back
in Florence and start work on David. This massive
sculpture stands 4.34 m tall. What makes it exceptional is that
Michelangelo used a block of stone that had been discarded by
another sculptor to create this masterpiece. Michelangelo spent five
years dissecting corpses to gain an expert knowledge of the human
anatomy and the result of all his hard work is evident in the
perfect David who looks almost lifelike and about to
spring into action. A similar sense of impending movement can be
felt in his statue of Moses done on a tomb in 1515,
where Moses looks as if he is just about to raise his foot.
The Last Judgement, painted above the altar at the
Sistine Chapel is a fine example of his expertise in fresco
paintings. This painting depicts the second coming of Christ at the
end of the world. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome contains
breathtaking examples of Michelangelo's work. Bright colors and
expert craftsmanship seem to bring the biblical stories depicted
there, to life. For this project he worked sitting on high
scaffolding for four long years. It took a toll on his health and by
his own admission he looked far older than his 37 years. Bound
Slave and the Dying Slave are also among his
noteworthy paintings.
His architectural skills
Based on his artistic talents Michelangelo was called upon to use
his creative ability in the field of architecture also. The Church
of San Lorenzo in Florence, Laurentian Library and its elegant
entrance hall adjoining San Lorenzo are fine examples that stand
witness to his skills as an architect. Michelangelo's work stands
out and owes its grandeur to the use of motifs-columns, pediments,
and brackets.
His final days
Many of his later works were left unfinished, which critics say was
due to his being dissatisfied with his own skills. Old age robbed
him of sleep and he used to spend nights working with a candle
fitted to his helmet. February 18th 1564 saw the great master
breathe his last succumbing to a slow fever. His nephew had him
buried at Santa Croce, as per Michelangelo's own wishes. |
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