The Art of Michelangelo

The Greatest Painter

Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance Michelangelo has been looked upon as one of history’s greatest painters. Much of his artwork achievements have been considered the best examples of artwork during the Italian Renaissance. He grew up in Florence, Italy during the late 15th century. Putting school work aside he enjoyed religious artwork and went to churches to make copies of religious paintings. This made others aware of his great talent and he was awarded an artistic apprenticeship. Michelangelo must have been blessed by God for his religious artistry as he lived up to 88 years of age whereas many other artists have died much younger.

Artist Raphael’s Challenge

Painter Raphael was considered to be the greatest artist of the era while Michelangelo was just rising to fame. He wanted to prove that he had the upper hand over Michelangelo when it came to art and convinced the Pope to have Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Raphael would always go to the chapel to check on how work was progressing and was unhappy to see how well Michelangelo was doing. His attempt at trying to prove himself to be the superior artist had failed.

A Much Loved Painter

During his lifetime Michelangelo earned the nickname of “Il Divino” in translation “The Divine”. Everyone who saw his artistic work loved it no matter what culture, class, or demographic they were. His work is still very much in demand and appreciated today. Tourists travel to places just to see his fine works of art and to admire them. It must be said that thank heaven he didn’t love schoolwork as much as painting because, from a young age, he was able to develop his talent. The knowledge came through life experiences.

Poetry as a Hobby

Michelangelo’s hobby was poetry and in his lifetime he wrote more than 300 sonnets and madrigals. Quite a few of them had an erotic flair with sexuality discussed as the artist viewed it. Since art was his great love he didn’t enter into many discussions about his poetry and referred to it as just a foolish venture. Among the other subjects taken up in his poetry were spirituality, mysticism, and loyalty.

Honesty

Michelangelo created a sculpture of St. John the Baptist for a prominent banker and politician named Medici. It was requested that the artist make the sculpture look as if it had been buried and uncovered. In other words to make it look like a sculpture from antiquity. Michelangelo did as requested and this sculpture was sold to a Cardinal of the Catholic Church as an “ancient work of art”. The Cardinal soon discovered the ploy but instead of being upset about this, he invited Michelangelo to Rome because he was very impressed with the artist’s work.

Interesting Self-Portrait

Most artists eventually paint a self-portrait. There are those who create several not knowing which one may show them from the best point. Michelangelo painted the most creative self-portrait. He didn’t make the usual portrait. Instead what the painter did was paint one of his most famous works of art “The Last Judgment”. It took him five years to complete this work. In the painting, Bartholomew is shown holding in one hand the knife that caused him to be a martyr and in the other hand a chunk of his skin. If one takes a very close and careful look at the face of Bartholomew in the painting they will see that it is a very clear self-portrait of the artist, Michelangelo himself.

Building City Walls

In 1527 the Medici family was driven out of Florence and the city’s fortifications had to be rebuilt. Michelangelo lent a hand to help build the city walls and towers for the next two years. When in 1530 the Medici family was once again in power the painter returned to his artistic work.

Work That Took 40 Years

In 1505 Pope Julius II decided that a very huge and grand monument had to be built for his tomb. He gave Michelangelo a commission to create a monument that would rise up three stories and would have over 40 unique sculptures. This artistic work took the artist 40 years because he was also involved with painting the Sistine Chapel in 1508. After the Pope died in 1513 the Catholic Church commissioned that a much less grandiose monument be completed in seven years. By the time all was said and done it was 1545 and the final touches were made to the monument. It is here that you can see the famous statue of Moses that Michelangelo created.

An Architect at 74

Michelangelo had already retired when the Catholic Church approached him at the age of 74 to help complete St. Peter’s Basilica. The artist worked on this project for 14 years and finally, it was completed after the artist’s death. St. Peter’s Basilica became one of the magnificent gems of the Renaissance period and millions of people have taken pilgrimages just to see it.

When Censorship Was Common

A great many of Michelangelo’s artistic works involve the nude human form. Due to this a lot of his statues have been censored in one way or another throughout the years. Supposedly a portable box with a fig leaf was available for a copy of the statue of David when women came to see this incredible artwork in London, England. The statue of Christ created by Michelangelo has a drapery over it so that all of the male parts are not clearly visible. This censorship occurred during the counter-Renaissance movement and not during the artist’s lifetime. Michelangelo became the first Western artist to have an autobiography published while he was still alive. As far as it is known actually two autobiographies were published.

Artists and Cats Hate Baths

It might seem unusual but Michelangelo hated taking baths. Due to this, his skin became unmanageable, especially in his old age. When he died the clothing that he was wearing had to be peeled from his body.

You can tell that it is Michelangelo's creation

The only work that this artist signed his name to was The Rome Pieta statue and only because there was a debate at the time that this work was not his. The reason why all of his other artworks are clearly the work of Michelangelo and not this one, is because here his style is a bit different and the lines of his work but the realistic details are truly Michelangelo.