Michelangelo
Michelangelo, the second of five brothers
was born on March 6, 1475, at Caprese,
in Tuscany, to Ludovico di Leonardo di
Buonarotto Simoni and Francesca Neri. The
same day, his father noted down:
"Today March 6, 1475, a child of the male
sex has been born to me and I have
named him Michelangelo. He was born on Monday
between 4 and 5 in the morning,
at Caprese, where I am the Podestà." When
Michelangelo was a child, he
met a boy, Francesco Granacci six years older than
him, who was learning the
art of painting in Ghirlandaio's studio, and
Michelangelo found his own
artist vocation. Michelangelo's father placed his
13-year-old son in the
workshop of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. After about
two years,
Michelangelo went on to study at the sculpture school in the Medici
gardens
and shortly thereafter was invited into the household of Lorenzo
de'
Medici, the Magnificent. Michelangelo's studies were: Painting,
sculpture and
Anatomy of the human body, (for this reason, the quality of
his artwork, the
perfection of the body in the sculpture and painting).
Michelangelo was a very
illustrated and intelligent boy, and his father
always give him unconditional
support. For these reasons, Michelangelo
succeed. Michelangelo produced his
first large-scale sculpture, the
over-life-size Bacchus (1496-98, Bargello,
Florence). Pietà at the same
time, Michelangelo also did the marble Pietà
(1498-1500), still in its
original place in Saint Peter's Basilica. One of the
most famous works of
art, the Pieta was probably finished before Michelangelo
was 25 years old.
These two artworks of Michelangelo were the first ones and
both are great
works. While Michelangelo was occupied with the David (1501-1504)
he receive
a commission, paint a mural, the Battle of Cascina, destined for the
Sala
dei Cinquecento of the Palazzo Vecchio. With this work, he demonstrates
his
ability as a painter. In 1505 the Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to
produce
his tomb which was planned to be the most magnificent of Christian
times. In
1508, the pope Paul III had a job for him, painting twelve
figures of apostles
and some decorations of the Sistine Chapel, and
Michelangelo learn the art of
the fresco. There are a lot of masterpieces of
artwork in his life, but I
consider these ones the most important.
Michelangelo during his life was an
intimate of princess, popes, cardinals,
poets and painters. All the work that
Michelangelo did, was an expression
of the his own world, with a deep feeling.
In my own opinion,
Michelangelo Buonarroti was a huge human being, he was in the
middle of
something, he was in the right place, in the right time, and he made
the best
of the situation.