Michelangelo+(1475-1564)

Michelangelo Buonarroti was an architect, sculptor and an Italian painter who lived between 1475 to 1564.
 * Michelangelo**
 * Quick Facts:**

Michelangelo was born in Caprese on March the 6th, 1475 and he grew up in Florence. He died on February the 18th, 1564.

Michelangelo is considered on of the most popular artists in the time of the High Renaissance, this is because of the great impact he had on European art.




 * Work:**

When Michelangelo was around 13 years old, much to his father’s disapproval, he preferred to draw than anything else. Eventually, his father gave in, and sent Michelangelo as an apprentice to Domenico Ghirlandaio, where Domenico and him had many disagreements.

Eventually, Michelangelo moved from drawing to sculpturing.

Michelangelo believed that the body of a male should be the main subject in all art. Even when Michelangelo wasn’t sculpting or painting, his architecture still resembled that of the body of a human.

When Michelangelo set out to do a piece of work, he usually picked the hardest option. That would usually be something like carving out of marble etc. He gave his piece of artwork many different meanings, whether it be recognised religiously etc. By choosing the hardest way out, Michelangelo made himself extremely popular.


 * The Pieta:

** It's no doubt that Michelangelo has created many outstanding and thought-provoking pieces, but my most favourite work of his would be the Pieta, which was created from 1497-1500, in Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

The Pietà theme shows Christ in his mother’s lap, just after he is taken down from the cross. The theme of the Dead Christ was popular in France and northern Europe. This piece shows the body of a grown and wounded man lying stiffly across the lap of a much smaller woman, with Mary grieving silently.

For intense emotion, Michelangelo depicted the Virgin calling our attention to her dead son with her left hand, while her right arm embraces him gently, lifting his arm slightly so that it hangs lifelessly. Mary's full robe forms a base for Christ's weak body, which curves slightly to wrap around hers, making the group graceful and compact.


 * David:**



Michelangelo's is famously known for this piece, David. He returned to Florence in 1501 to work on //David// (1501-1504, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence). The subject of this artwork is the story of David and Goliath, in which the young David, future king of Israel, flings a stone from his slingshot to kill the giant Goliath, thereby saving his nation. The statue expresses the daring of this young hero.

This massive statue stands 5.17 meters tall, and is carved from a block of stone that another sculptor had left unfinished. This pose suggests tense waiting, as David sizes up his enemy, Goliath. //David// shows off Michelangelo's expert knowledge of anatomy (which he had been studying for five years).

...but notice the head and hands are much too large in comparasion to the torso?

My personal view, (although, it doen't really matter what I think) is that that hands and head require more detail, so Michelangelo, being the perfectionist that he is, wanted to make sure that he got every minute detail there was to the hands and head.

Critics have suggested several reasons for this inconsistency, but the most convincing is that the statue was originally intended for the roof of the Florence Cathedral, and exaggerating the head and hands made them more visible from a distance.

But the statue was never placed there, instead, it was put in front of the Palazzo della Signoria, the center of government in Florence. Thereforem, it's meaning changed, rather than a religious image (it would have been one of several Old Testament figures on the cathedral), it became a symbol of the political strength of Florence against the forces of evil.