Michelangelo

Widely regarded as the greatest living artist of his own time, and continuing to be recognized as one of the most gifted and influential artists of all time, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, familiarly known as Michelangelo, scarcely requires introduction. A worthy contender for the title of archetypical Renaissance Man, his contributions to Humanism rivaling those of Leonardo da Vinci, the paintings, sculptures and poetry of Michelangelo bore a heavy influence on the emergence of Western Art.

Michaelango was born in Caprese, Italy (now called Caprese Michelangelo in honor of the artist) in 1475; the family moving to Florence shortly thereafter. The death of Michelangelo’s mother, when the artist was just six years old, would spur a move to Settignano where he stayed with the family of a stonecutter. This period was influential in the artist’s initial interest in sculpting.

Later, his father would send him back to Florence for schooling, but the young Michelangelo rejected the idea entirely, preferring to spend his time in the company of painters and copying artworks in the local churches. At age 13, he began an apprenticeship under Domenico Ghirlandaio; a position for which the artist would also earn a small salary, which was far from customary at the time.

In 1489, Lorenzo de Medici, who was then the de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, requested of Ghirlandaio that his “two best students” be sent to him. Along with Francesco Granacci, Michelangelo went to the Medici, where he participated in the Humanist Academy. During this period, Michelangelo would be influenced by important writers and philosophies of the era; and influence which had a definitive effect on his achievements as an artist.

Michelangelo was the original isolated, genius artist struggling with inner demons to create the best art possible. He was very unlike the charming Raphael, who received a commission for some tapestries for the Sistine Chapel at a price ten times what Michelangelo was given for the ceiling. However, with every interwoven panel a commemoration of mankind, the complexity of the ceiling’s design and the magnificence of its execution are Michelangelo’s Tour de Force.

Physiologically and psychologically battered, for four years on his back atop a scaffold, Michelangelo painted his view of Christianity in the most important chapel in Christendom, and its influence changed the future of art. One of the most powerful paintings ever created, The Creation of Adam resides in the center panel of the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. In this epic work, God touches life into the spiritless body of Adam. In a similarly profound and powerful way, Michelangelo, himself, touched life into art; a legacy destined to endure the ages.