MICHELANGELO:

RENAISSANCE MAN

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A Photo Essay By Meaghan Scott Western Civilization 101 11/21/11 4/17/12

Biography
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese near Arezzo, Tuscany. Several months after Michelangelo's birth, his family returned to Florence, where Michelangelo was raised. From here, he would grow to be one of the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time.

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THE FIRST WORKS

Michelangelos first works were two sculptures. In 1489, he left Ghirlandaios workshop and began to study sculpture in the gardens of Lorenzo de Medici. He lived at the ducal palace for three years in the company of the learned Humanists. Here, he he sculpted two marble

reliefs Battle of the Centaurs (left) and The Madonna of the Stairs (right).

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FIRST MAJOR WORK

Michelangelo moved to Rome in 1497. Here, he develops a bankerclient and sells his first important work to them: the Bacchus. The statue is somewhat over life-size and depicts Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, in a revolutionary inebriated state.

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THE PIETA
During the time of 1498-1499, Michelangelo sculpted his masterpiece the PIET for the French cardinal Jean de Billheres. The statue was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but on the right to its current location, the first chapel was moved as one enters the basilica, in the 18th century. It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed.

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DAVID
In 1502, Michelangelo returned to Florence, which had become a republic, and receives an order from the local authorities for a bronze David (finished by another artist and sent to France, now lost) and a colossal marble statue of DAVID . In 1504, his colossal DAVID was set up in front of the Palazzo della Signoria. The marble statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence.

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THE SISTINE CEILING

In 1508 Pope Julius decides to decorate his uncles chapel (called the Sistine, after Pope Sixtus IV) and orders Michelangelo to fill the ceiling with frescoes. He protests that he is no painter but the Pope insists and Michelangelo begins to work alone and in great discomfort. He finishes the SISTINE CEILING frescoes (top) in 1512. Among the many scenes on the ceiling is one of his most famous works The Creation of Adam (bottom).

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THE LAST WORK

In 1564 Michelangelos friend Daniele da Volterra watches him work all day February 12th on the RONDANINI PIET. Two days later he comes down with a fever but goes for a walk in the cold night air, saying he just cant rest. He passed away four days later.

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References

All photos used in slide show were taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Buonarotti-scala.jpg

Information used in slide show was also obtained from the following website: http://100swallows.wordpress.com/michelangelo/michelangelotimeline/

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