Michelangelo Buonarroti
This Month in Art Literacy
( mee-kell-AHN-jell-oh bone-ah-ROE-tee )
1475-1564, Italian Painter & Sculptor
Michelangelo Buonarroti was one of the most talented and influential Italian artists of the 15th Century. His work helped to
characterize the Renaissance, a period in European history which brought renewed interest in Ancient Greek and Roman sciences,
philosophies and arts (and the idealized beauty of the human form). Born in Caprese, near Florence in Tuscany, an area noted for its
marble quarries, Michelangelo was fascinated by stone from his earliest years. Although first apprenticed to learn the art of fresco
painting, he was determined to become a sculptor. By his mid-twenties, he had produced both the “Pietà” and “David,” both
incomparable sculptures still highly esteemed to this day. Each reflected his views about the beauty of the human form as God’s
most marvelous creation, an idea that was a cornerstone of Renaissance thought.
Michelangelo spent his many years both in Florence and Rome, working for both Popes and Dukes. He demonstrated his genius for
painting by completing the frescoes of Sistine Chapel ceiling. As he filled the ceiling with a cycle of scenes and figures taken from
the Old Testament and pagan myth, Michelangelo used balanced, curving compositions and muscular figures that perfectly
translated the art of sculpture into two dimensions. He was also an accomplished architect; the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome
is an example of his work. Michelangelo had a brooding, moody, yet sincere personality that kept him from being as popular as his
works. He died at the age of 89, dissatisfied because he had not accomplished enough, nor did he believe he had achieved his vision
of the ideal human form. Regardless, with his unique understanding of human anatomy and its movement, Michelangelo managed to
change the course of painting and sculpture as well as influence architecture of Western Art. His works continue to represent the
most eloquent expression of the magnificent Italian Renaissance.
Vocabulary
Contrapposto—An Italian term referring to the pose of a human form, first introduced in Greek art around 490 B.C.E., in which the
weight is shifted from the central axis and carried on one leg, allowing the other leg to bend and the body to turn if desired. It is
known that this posture places the human body into an S-curve.
Fresco—The technique of painting pigment suspended in water onto wet plaster, so that once dry, the pigment becomes part of the
plastered wall or ceiling.
Relief—Sculpture that projects out from, and is attached to, a flat background.
Renaissance—The rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman classical art, literature, and learning, centered in Italy during the 14th–16th
Centuries, and characterized in art by the use of realism, perspective, depth, balance, and natural colors.
Art Elements
Shape— A two dimensional area contained within an implied line or seen and identified because of color or value changes. Shapes
have both length and width, and they can be geometric (square, triangle, circle or rectangle) or organic (found in nature, such as
leaves, mountains, clouds, animals, etc.) In his paintings and his relief sculptures, Michelangelo used compositional poses that
placed organic shapes in geometric arrangements.
Form—Form describes volume and mass, or the three-dimensional aspects (height, width and depth) of objects that take up space.
Sculpture is three-dimensional, and can have geometric form (square, cube and straight-edge), or organic form (rounded, flowing,
and undulating). Michelangelo was the master of all sculpted form.
Art Principles
Balance—The distribution of visual weight in a work of art. In painting, it is the visual equilibrium of the elements that causes the
total image to appear balanced. Balance can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical in a work of art. When elements on both sides of
a central vertical line appear to be about equal in shape, weight, value and color, the design is in symmetrical balance. Asymmetrical
balance involves two sides that are different, but that are still visually balanced. Michelangelo’s sculptures and paintings are
asymmetrically balanced while his architecture is symmetrically balanced.
Unity—The cohesive quality that makes an artwork feel complete and finished. When all elements in a work look as though they
belong together, the artist has achieved unity. Clustering elements or placing them close together can develop visual unity in a
painting. A similar overall surface treatment creates a very strong sense of unity in all of Michelangelo’s works, whether painted or
sculpted.
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Michelangelo Buonarroti
Biography
Portrait of Michelangelo
by Jacopino del Conte
ca. 1540,
oil on wood,
34 ¾” x 25 ¼”
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York
Michelangelo is considered to be one of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance, a man who rightly deserved his
nickname, “Il Divino.” Few other artists have achieved his level of exemplified genius. He was one of five sons born to Francesca
and Lodovico Buonarroti, in the town of Caprese, Italy, (near Florence) on March 6, 1475. Because his mother suffered ill health, he
was entrusted to a wet nurse who happened to be both the daughter and wife of local quarry stonemasons. Michelangelo’s earliest
years were spent hearing the blows of a mallet and watching the carving and hauling of stone. His mother died when he was six
years old and he was ten before his father remarried and finally decided to send him to school. He did not like school and ran off
constantly, preferring to draw and watch local artisans work. In spite of beatings from his father and uncles, Michelangelo persisted
in his art activities and in 1488, at the age of 13, his father finally wrote a contract that allowed Michelangelo to become an
apprentice in the studio of Domenico Ghirlandaio [Gear-lan-DYE-oh], a popular Florentine painter.
It was in Ghirlandaio’s studio that Michelangelo learned the art of fresco-painting, but after just one year, he left Ghirlandaio’s
studio to study under the direction of sculptor, Bertoldo de Giovanni. Bertoldo conducted his classes in the gardens of Lorenzo de
Medici, the governor of Florence, and soon, Michelangelo’s artistic talent caught Lorenzo’s eye. Michelangelo was fortunate
enough to be invited by Lorenzo to come live in the Medici palace where he was welcomed and treated as one of the family. He was
given an allowance and even permitted to wear a purple robe signifying that he was now a member of the aristocracy.
Lorenzo de Medici was known as, “Il Magnifico.” He was a good man who always surrounded himself with the famous and learned
men of the day—among them artists, writers, philosophers, and theologians. Michelangelo was introduced to these talented men and
allowed to listen and learn from their discussions. Through them, Michelangelo was educated and he learned much about ancient
Greek and Roman philosophies, art, history, and especially poetry [during his lifetime, he wrote more than 300 sonnets].
Michelangelo always strived for perfection in himself and in others. Consequently, he criticized the art he saw—that of others as
well as his own, and his verbal attacks often created much animosity. One day, fellow sculpture student, Pietro Torrigiano, struck
Michelangelo, stating that he, “got more angry than usual, and clenching my fist, I gave him such a blow on the nose that I felt bone
and cartilage go down like a biscuit beneath my knuckles; and this mark of mine he will carry to the grave.” Michelangelo was not a
handsome man, but after this incident, he nose was permanently disfigured and he became bitter and sensitive about his appearance.
(The injury was, in the long run, more disastrous for Torrigiano, however—in fear of punishment by Lorenzo, he fled Florence and,
after a tepid career in England and Spain, eventually died in prison.)
In 1492, after three years in the Medici household, Lorenzo died. Grief-stricken, Michelangelo left the Medici palace and went to
live with his own father. Although he would continue to be of service to the Medici family throughout his life, he would never again
find the same warm relationship that he had enjoyed with Lorenzo, “Il Magnifico.”
On June 25, 1496, Michelangelo, age 21, arrived in Rome; he remained there for five years. Just two works from this period survive.
The first, begun in 1497 for a wealthy patron’s sculpture garden, is a statue of Bacchus, “in the style of the Ancients.” The patron
was so pleased that he next recommended Michelangelo to a French Cardinal who wanted a life-size sculpture of Jesus. The patron
said that any piece created by Michelangelo would undoubtedly surpass all other works in Rome. The result was, “The Pietà,” a
famous sculpture of the Virgin holding the dead body of Jesus in her lap, that is today one of Rome’s greatest treasures. In this
sculpture, Michelangelo’s Christian sense of piety and suffering blended exquisitely with his idealized sense of purity and beauty.
“The Pietà” was also the only work that Michelangelo actually signed; it is said that he carved, “Michelangelo Buonarroti,
Florentine, made this,” on the Virgin’s sash after he happened to overhear his sculpture being attributed to another artist.
Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1501. He won a commission to work with an immense block of white marble that had been
abandoned by another sculptor some 40 years earlier. Michelangelo produced the magnificent sculpture, “David,” that was unveiled
in 1504. Standing almost 17 feet tall, “David,” or “Il Gigante,” as the people also called it, demonstrated a richness of detail and
precision of anatomy unseen before and its popularity guaranteed that Michelangelo would never again be without work.
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Michelangelo Buonarroti
Biography
The “David” became a centerpiece of civic pride and was given a place of honor on Florence’s main Piazza della Signoria outside
the entrance to the Town Hall, Palazzo Vecchio [today, a copy of the statue now stands on the original site and Michelangelo’s
original sculpture can be found on display in the Galleria dell’ Academia in Florence].
In 1505, Pope Julius II called Michelangelo to Rome in order to create a memorial Tomb for Julius. The project was planned to
include 40 larger-than-life statues as well as several smaller relief sculptures. The contract stated that the Tomb would be completed
in just five years! Michelangelo spent the first eight months at a marble quarry supervising the selection of the stone for the Tomb
and, during that time, Julius lost interest in the project and decided, instead, to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica. In 1506, out of frustration
and anger, Michelangelo left Rome and fled to Florence. This would be but one of many interruptions that he would have to endure
regarding the Julius II Tomb project.
In 1508, Pope Julius once again called Michelangelo back to Rome. This time he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel. Despite protesting that painting was not his profession, in January, 1509, Michelangelo started to paint. The
method used was fresco, a special wet-plaster technique that is exacting, exhausting and time-consuming. Assistants first applied wet
plaster to the surface. Next, a small portion of the scene, a “cartoon,” was transferred to the plaster and then paint—ground pigment
mixed with water—was painted over the damp plaster. The paint was sucked into the plaster to become part of the surface. If the
plaster was too wet, it would not hold the paint, or mold would appear, as it did initially on the Sistine ceiling. If the plaster was too
dry, the pigments wouldn’t soak in and would later crumble off. It was vital that the artist also be able to account for differences
between the color of wet pigments when applied and their final appearance once dry.
The Sistine Chapel’s barrel-vaulted ceiling is about 131’ long by 46’wide, and 68’ at its highest point. Including the side walls above
the windows, the area to be painted amounted to nearly 12,000 square feet. A special scaffolding system was needed to accomplish
the project and Michelangelo designed it and supervised its construction. He then labored four years, in great physical discomfort,
standing daily with his brush stretched high above him, with his chin up, his back and head arched backward, his eyes staring
upward in order to paint the gigantic masterpiece. Using scenes and Prophets from the Old Testament as well as female Sibyls of
pagan myth, Michelangelo painted 343 figures that ranged from life-size to almost 18 feet in height. The “Creation of Adam” is one
of the most successful central ceiling panels and the image is probably one of Michelangelo’s most recognized works. The features
on the figures of God and several Prophets that appear in other panels foreshadowed those on the face of the sculpture, “Moses,” that
Michelangelo carved between 1513 and 1515. Some said that the stern images all looked very much like Pope Julius II himself.
When half of the ceiling was finished, Julius opened the chapel for public viewing, despite Michelangelo’s protest. When the people
heard about it, so many rushed to see the ceiling that Julius had to quickly send an order to close the Chapel again. Yet, he often
visited himself and constantly asked when it would all be finished. Michelangelo always replied that he would finish when he could.
One day Julius became so infuriated with the reply that he threatened to throw Michelangelo off the scaffolding and when Julius left,
Michelangelo immediately ordered the removal of the scaffolding. On October 31, 1512, the completed ceiling was displayed.
Michelangelo was just 37 years old, yet he was now regarded as the greatest living artist with the well-deserved new nickname of,
“Il Divino”.
Once the Sistine Chapel ceiling was finished, Michelangelo was ready to again concentrate on the Tomb for Pope Julius. When
Julius’ died in 1513, however, Michelangelo was told to design a smaller project that still included a sculpture of Moses that he was
in the process of carving. The “Moses” combined the qualities of sculpture and painting, “…as though the chisel had become a
paintbrush creating great rolls of flowing hair in the long beard...” There was also the noted resemblance to the painted Prophets and
God on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. While this statue was originally supposed to have been displayed high on Julius’ Tomb, so that
it would loom over the viewer, it took many years before the “Moses” was to be finally installed on the ground-level of the Tomb.
In 1523, Michelangelo accepted a commission to build a funerary chapel for the Medici family. He devoted 15 years of his life to
this project and found his work constantly interrupted by the stormy political events of the time. When finally installed, there were
two Tomb facades, one with the figure of Giuliano de Medici [the Duke of Nemours by marriage] and the other with the figure of
Lorenzo. Their statues were not portraits but idealized symbols of man’s Contemplative and Active lives. When criticized for the
lack of specific resemblance, Michelangelo replied that in 1,000 years, no one would know what the Medicis had looked like,
anyway. In addition to the Medici statues of Lorenzo and Giuliano, Michelangelo also created four reclining nude figures, Night &
Day and Dawn & Evening, that symbolized the times of the day as well as the never-ending cycle of life, inevitable death, and of
eternity.
On Sept. 23, 1534, Michelangelo returned to Rome for the last time. Two days later, Pope Clement VII died and was succeeded by
Pope Paul III. This new Pope was aware that Michelangelo had previously agreed to paint “The Last Judgment” for the altar wall of
the Sistine Chapel and now called upon him to get started. It took Michelangelo seven years to complete the wall fresco that
covered an area of over 2,000 square feet.
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Michelangelo Buonarroti
Biography
After completing “The Last Judgment” in 1541, Michelangelo felt free to try and finish the Julius II Tomb. A final contract (the
fifth) was signed that required him to provide just three statues, the. “Moses” he had carved earlier, and two more statues that
represented Jacob’s wives, “Rachel” and “Leah”. These female figures showed none of the violence or anger that is contained in
“The Last Judgment”, but are, instead, full of grace and tenderness. After 40 years, in 1545, the Julius II Tomb was finally
completed.
From1546 until his death, Michelangelo worked on his most important architectural commission: the completion of St. Peter’s
Basilica that he worked on, “for the love of God and without a fee.” The reconstruction had been started by Bramante (1444-1514),
and, after his death, continued by da Sangallo (1483- 1546). Michelangelo modified their earlier plans and the Basilica, as it stands
today, owes more to Michelangelo than to any other single architect. He designed the Dome that has often been called the “Crown of
the Renaissance.” The Dome stands 452 feet high and, after Michelangelo’s death, was finally completed in 1590 by the architect,
Giacomo della Porta.
Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564, at the age of 89. Although he had repeatedly expressed his wish to be buried in Florence,
all of Rome wanted him buried in Rome. Through the efforts of his nephew and friends, however, Michelangelo’s body was secretly
transported to Florence for burial in the Church of Santa Croce.
At his death, Michelangelo was venerated by younger artists as the ultimate symbol of achievement, although “the pinnacle of fame
to which his genius had carried him was a lonely habitat.” Throughout his life he was often oversensitive and suspicious, always
driven, temperamental, and passionate, and he was also extremely kind and helpful to those who were honorable and in need.
Although he did have a few good friends, he was neither easy to get along with nor always easy to understand. At times, he found
himself doubting his own abilities as an artist. However, to the rest of the world, his talent and technical skills, his artistic knowledge
and comprehension, his imagination and drive, and his philosophy about art, life, death, and politics all marked him as an
extraordinary, true genius.
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