Michelangelo

Michelangelo is mainly known for his works as a

sculptor, painter, and architect. He is an
emblematic figure of the Renaissance.

We find large sculptures and rich ornamentation in

his architecture, characteristic of the Mannerist
style.

Michelangelo was also passionate about anatomy.

He participated in illustrating an anatomy treatise,
which gave him the ability to create statues of a
degree of realism never before achieved.

Among his great works, we find the fresco of the

Last Judgment (a masterpiece of Western art that
required six years of work), the ceiling fresco of the
Sistine Chapel, the sculpture of David, and the
statue of Moses.
The statue of David measures 5 m 17, base not included.

He represented him with a slingshot (used by David during the

fight against Goliath).

Michelangelo carved his David from a block of white marble

abandoned by other artists before him.

He said he saw the angel in the marble and carved it until he

set him free. His desire to sublimate the human body is
remarkable.

First, the planned location was at the top of a pillar in the

Florence dome. Due to a lack of technical feasibility, it finally
took place in the Vecchio Palace.

It has long been the symbol of Florence.

Exhibited at St. Peter's in Rome, the statue of Moses
represents him after his descent from Mount Sinai. He
bears the tablets of laws entrusted by God, upset by
the Jews worshiping the golden calf.

The rear leg being slightly bent, the weight of this 2m35
white marble statue is carried by the other, thus
creating a contrapposto.
The Sistine Chapel is Michelangelo's most remarkable architectural work.
Located in the Vatican, It has required four years of work.
He Chapel measures 40m long by 14 wide, its vault is 20 meters high and its
area is approximately 100m².

Michelangelo painted the fresco on the ceiling alone. To access it, Bramante
proposed a scaffolding system fixed directly to the ceiling with ropes. However,
Michelangelo declined it because he was concerned about the holes that
imply such a solution and their impact on the final aesthetic. He then decided
to create his own system with fixations near the windows’ height.

As a base for his work, he first applied a layer of plaster that he found himself
forced to remove because of the mold that appeared afterward. Thus, an
assistant prepared a new mixture, which became part of the Italian
construction tradition.

Initially responsible for painting only the 12 apostles, Michelangelo painted

300 figures at the end.

The paintings adapt to the architectural structure: from the periphery to the
center, we have Representations of Jesus’ ancestors followed by an alternation
of prophets and sibyls’ illustrations, and finally, paintings of the first Genesis
stories ranging from the Creation to Drunkenness of Noah.
In 1546, Michelangelo was appointed architect of St.
Peter's Basilica tho several architects intervened before
him. Thus, only the choir is the work of Michelangelo.

Its dome rises to 136 m (the second-highest in the

world after the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace) and its
diameter measures 41 m.

Dominated by this immense dome, the basilica rivaled

the large buildings of its era, such as the Cathedral of
Santa Maria del Fiore and Hagia Sophia.

The construction became the most important religious

building in Catholicism.