Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Chalk portrait of Michelangelo by Daniele da Volterra
Birth name	Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Born	March 6, 1475(1475-03-06) near Arezzo, in Caprese, Tuscany
Died	February 18, 1564 (aged 88) Rome
Field	sculpture, painting, architecture and poetry
Training	Apprentice to Domenico Ghirlandaio
Movement	High Renaissance

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (March 6, 1475 – February 18, 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. Daniele Ricciarelli (c 1509 - April 4 1566) better known as Daniele da Volterra, was an Italian mannerist painter Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Arezzo ( Latin Arretium) is a city in central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Caprese Michelangelo is a village and Comune in the Province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 Events 3102 BC - Epoch (origin of the Kali Yuga. 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II Holy Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 &ndash January 11, 1494) was a renowned Florentine Renaissance painter a contemporary of Botticelli The High Renaissance, in the History of art, denotes the culmination of the art of the Italian Renaissance between 1450 and 1527 Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Events 3102 BC - Epoch (origin of the Kali Yuga. 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II Holy The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival and fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer

Michelangelo's output in every field during his long life was prodigious; when the sheer volume of correspondence, sketches and reminiscences that survive is also taken into account, he is the best-documented artist of the 16th century. Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and the David, were sculpted before he turned thirty. This article is about the earliest and best-known Pietà by Michelangelo David is a Masterpiece of Renaissance Sculpture sculpted by Michelangelo from 1501 to 1504 Despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo also created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512 is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. The Last Judgment is a Mural by Michelangelo on the Altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina is the best-known Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Later in life he designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the same city and revolutionised classical architecture with his use of the giant order of pilasters. The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St In Classical architecture, a giant order is an order whose Columns or Pilasters span two (or more stories A pilaster is a slightly-projecting flattened Column built into or applied to the face of a wall

In a demonstration of Michelangelo's unique standing, two biographies were published of him during his lifetime. One of them, by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all artistic achievement since the beginning of the Renaissance, a viewpoint that continued to have currency in art history for centuries. Giorgio Vasari ( 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian painter and Architect, who is today famous The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere In his lifetime he was also often called Il Divino ("the divine one"). ^[1] One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and it was the attempts of subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelo's impassioned and highly personal style that resulted in the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance, Mannerism. The High Renaissance, in the History of art, denotes the culmination of the art of the Italian Renaissance between 1450 and 1527 Mannerism is a period of European art which emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520.

Biography

Early life

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475^[a] in Caprese near Arezzo, Tuscany. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Caprese Michelangelo is a village and Comune in the Province of Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy. Arezzo ( Latin Arretium) is a city in central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 ^[2] His father, Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti di Simoni, was the resident magistrate in Caprese and podestà of Chiusi. A magistrate is a judicial officer In Common law systems a magistrate usually has limited authority to administer and enforce the Law. For information on the phantom island of the same name see Podesta (island. For the city in the Province of Arezzo, see Chiusi della Verna Chiusi ( Latin: Clusium; Etruscan: Clevsin His mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena. ^[3] The Buonarroti claimed to descend from Countess Mathilde of Canossa; this claim was probably false, but Michelangelo himself believed it. Matilda of Canossa ( Italian: Matilde, Latin: Mathilde; 1046 &ndash 24 July 1115) called la Gran Contessa ^[4] However, Michelangelo was raised in Florence and later, during the prolonged illness and after the death of his mother, lived with a stonecutter and his wife and family in the town of Settignano where his father owned a marble quarry and a small farm. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Settignano is a picturesque Frazione ranged on a hillside northeast of Florence, Italy, with spectacular views that have attracted expatriates ^[3] Michelangelo once said to the biographer of artists Giorgio Vasari, "If there is some good in me, it is because I was born in the subtle atmosphere of your country of Arezzo. Giorgio Vasari ( 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian painter and Architect, who is today famous Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, with which I make my figures. "^[2]

Michelangelo's father sent him to study grammar with the humanist Francesco da Urbino in Florence as a young boy. Grammar is the field of Linguistics that covers the Rules governing the use of any given natural language. Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal ^[5][2][b] The young artist, however, showed no interest in school, preferring instead to copy paintings from churches and seek the company of painters. ^[5] Michelangelo was apprenticed in painting with Domenico Ghirlandaio when he was thirteen^[6] and in sculpture with Bertoldo di Giovanni. Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 &ndash January 11, 1494) was a renowned Florentine Renaissance painter a contemporary of Botticelli Bertoldo di Giovanni (circa 1435/40 &ndash 28 December 1491) was an Italian sculptor and medallist Michelangelo's father managed to persuade Ghirlandaio to pay the fourteen year old artist, which was highly unusual at the time. ^[7] When in 1489 Florence's ruler Lorenzo de' Medici asked Ghirlandaio for his two best pupils, Ghirlandaio sent Michelangelo and Francesco Granacci. Lorenzo de' Medici (January 1 1449 &ndash 9 April 1492 was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance Francesco Granacci (1469–1543 was an Italian painter of the Renaissance ^[8] From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo attended Lorenzo's school and was influenced by many prominent people who modified and expanded his ideas on art, following the dominant Platonic view of that age, and even his feelings about sexuality. Platonism is the Philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it It was during this period that Michelangelo met literary personalities like Pico della Mirandola, Angelo Poliziano and Marsilio Ficino. Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola ( February 24, 1463 - November 17, 1494) was an Italian Renaissance Philosopher. Angelo Ambrogini, best known as Poliziano ( July 14, 1454 &ndash September 24, 1494) was a Florentine Classical Marsilio Ficino ( Latin name Marsilius Ficinus; October 19 1433 - October 1 1499) was one of the most influential humanist ^[9] Michelangelo finished Madonna of the Steps (1490–1492) and Battle of the Centaurs (1491–1492). Madonna of the Stairs (c 1490–1492 is a relief done by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, created during the time he was in the school of Lorenzo de' Medici Battle of the Centaurs is a relief done by the Italian High Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti, around 1492 The latter was based on a theme suggested by Poliziano and was commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici. ^[10]

Early adulthood

Lorenzo's death on April 8, 1492 brought a complete reversal of Michelangelo's circumstances. ^[11] Michelangelo left the security of the Medici court and returned to his father's house. In the following months he produced a Wooden crucifix (1493), as a gift to the prior of the church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito who had permitted him some studies of anatomy on the corpses of the church's hospital. The Crucifix is a Polychrome wood sculpture by High Renaissance master Michelangelo, finished in 1492. The Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito ("St Mary of the Holy Spirit" is one of the main churches in Florence, Italy. Anatomy (from the Greek anatomia, from ana separate apart from and temnein, to cut up cut open is a branch of Biology that is the consideration ^[12] Between 1493 and 1494 he bought the marble for a larger than life statue of Hercules, which was sent to France and disappeared sometime in the 1700s. Hercules is the Roman name for the Mythical Greek hero Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. ^[10][c] He re-entered the court on January 20, 1494, when, after a great deal of snow had fallen, the young Piero de Medici commissioned a snow statue from him.

The same year, however, the Medici were expelled from Florence after the rise of Savonarola, while Michelangelo had left the city before the end of the political upheaval, moving to Venice and then to Bologna. Girolamo Savonarola ( September 21, 1452 &ndash May 23, 1498) was an Italian Dominican priest and leader of Florence from Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy ^[11] Here he was commissioned to finish the carving of the last small figures of the tomb and shrine of St. Dominic, in the church with the same name. The Arca di San Domenico (Ark of Saint Dominic is a monument containing the remains of Saint Dominic. He returned to Florence at the end of 1494, as Charles VIII had suffered defeats and Florence was no longer in danger of being sacked by the French. Charles VIII, called the Affable (l'Affable 30 June 1470 &ndash 7 April 1498 was King of France from 1483 to his death He did not receive any commissions from the new city government under Savonarola, and so linked up with the Medicis. ^[13] During the half year he spent in Florence he worked on two statuettes; a child St. John the Baptist and a sleeping Cupid. Michelangelo created two sculptures of Cupid, the first of which was a forgery designed to look like an antique sculpture through which he first came to the attention of patrons Supposedly, his commissioner, Lorenzo de Pierfrancesco 'de Medici, for whom Michelangelo had sculpted St. John the Baptist, asked that Michelangelo "fix it so that it looked as if it had been buried" so he could "send it to Rome…pass [it off as] an ancient work and…sell it much better. " Both Lorenzo and Michelangelo were unwittingly cheated out of the real value of the piece by a middleman. Cardinal Raffaele Riario, to whom Lorenzo had sold it, found out that it was a fraud, but was so impressed by the quality of the sculpture that he invited the artist to Rome. Raffaele Sansoni Galeoti Riario ( May 3, 1461 &ndash July 9, 1521) was an Italian Cardinal of the Renaissance ^[14][d] This apparent success in selling his sculpture abroad as well as the conservative Florentine situation may have encouraged Michelangelo to accept the prelate's invitation. ^[13]

Rome

Michelangelo's Pietà was carved in 1499, when the sculptor was 24 years old. This article is about the earliest and best-known Pietà by Michelangelo

On June 25, 1496^[15] at the age of twenty-one, Michelangelo arrived in Rome. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians On July 4 Michelangelo started to carve an over-life-size statue of the Roman wine god, Bacchus, commissioned by Cardinal Raffaele Riario; the work was rejected by the cardinal, and subsequently entered the collection of the banker Jacopo Galli, for his garden. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Bacchus ( 1497) is a Marble sculpture by the Italian High Renaissance sculptor painter architect and poet Michelangelo Raffaele Sansoni Galeoti Riario ( May 3, 1461 &ndash July 9, 1521) was an Italian Cardinal of the Renaissance

Subsequently, in November of 1497, the French ambassador in the Holy See commissioned one of his most famous works, the Pietà. This article is about the earliest and best-known Pietà by Michelangelo The contemporary opinion about this work — "a revelation of all the potentialities and force of the art of sculpture" — was summarized by Vasari: "It is certainly a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever have been reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh. "

The contract was agreed in the August of the following year. Though he devoted himself mainly to sculpture, during his first stay in Rome Michelangelo never stopped his daily practice of drawing. In Rome, Michelangelo lived near the church of Santa Maria di Loreto: here, according to the legends, he fell in love (probably a Platonic love) with Vittoria Colonna, marquise of Pescara and poet. Vittoria Colonna (April 1490 - February 25, 1547) Marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian Noblewoman and Tim Parks, from On the Beach Italian Style on Daily Telegraph, 6 January 2007 |The genius of Pescara His house was demolished in 1874, and the remaining architectural elements saved by the new proprietors were destroyed in 1930. Today a modern reconstruction of Michelangelo's house can be seen on the Gianicolo hill. Janiculum ( Gianicolo in Italian) is a hill in western Rome. Although the second-tallest hill (after Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of

Works

Michelangelo created the colossal Statue of David, one of the most renowned works of the Renaissance. David is a Masterpiece of Renaissance Sculpture sculpted by Michelangelo from 1501 to 1504

Statue of David

Main article: David (Michelangelo)

Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1499–1501. David is a Masterpiece of Renaissance Sculpture sculpted by Michelangelo from 1501 to 1504 Things were changing in the city after the fall of Savonarola and the rise of the gonfaloniere Pier Soderini. Piero di Tommaso Soderini, also known as Pier Soderini, ( May 18, 1450 - June 13, 1522) was an Italian Statesman He was asked by the consuls of the Guild of Wool to complete an unfinished project begun 40 years earlier by Agostino di Duccio: a colossal statue portraying David as a symbol of Florentine freedom, to be placed in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Agostino di Duccio (1418 &ndash c 1481 was an Italian early Renaissance sculptor The Palazzo Vecchio (IPA pronunciation vɛkio (Italian for Old Palace is the town hall of Florence, Italy Michelangelo responded by completing his most famous work, the Statue of David in 1504. David is a Masterpiece of Renaissance Sculpture sculpted by Michelangelo from 1501 to 1504 This masterwork, created out of a marble block from the quarries at Carrara that had already been worked on by an earlier hand, definitively established his prominence as a sculptor of extraordinary technical skill and strength of symbolic imagination. Carrara is a City in the Province of Massa-Carrara ( Tuscany, Italy) famous for the white or blue-gray Marble quarried there

Also during this period, Michelangelo painted the Holy Family and St John, also known as the Doni Tondo or the Holy Family of the Tribune: it was commissioned for the marriage of Angelo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi and in the 17th Century hung in the room known as the Tribune in the Uffizi. The Doni Tondo or Doni Madonna is the only known preserved panel picture painting by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti (c The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi one of the oldest and most famous Art Museums in the world is housed in the Palazzo degli Uffizi, a He also may have painted the Madonna and Child with John the Baptist, known as the Manchester Madonna and now in the National Gallery, London. Saint John the Baptist ( heb. Jochanan ben Sacharja, arab. يحيى Yaḥyā or يوحنا Yūḥanna, aram.

Sistine Chapel ceiling

Main article: Sistine Chapel ceiling

Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512 is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina is the best-known Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City.

In 1505 Michelangelo was invited back to Rome by the newly elected Pope Julius II. Pope Julius II (5 December 1443 &ndash 21 February 1513 born Giuliano Della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513 He was commissioned to build the Pope's tomb. Under the patronage of the Pope, Michelangelo had to constantly stop work on the tomb in order to accomplish numerous other tasks. Because of these interruptions, Michelangelo worked on the tomb for 40 years. The tomb, of which the central feature is Michelangelo's statue of Moses, was never finished to Michelangelo's satisfaction. The Moses is a Marble sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti 1513-1515 which depicts the Biblical figure Moses. It is located in the Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. For other churches of this dedication see St Peter ad Vincula (disambiguation.

The major interruption on the tomb was the commission to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which took approximately four years to complete (1508–1512). According to Michelangelo's own account, reproduced in contemporary biographies, Bramante and Raphael convinced the Pope to commission Michelangelo in a medium not familiar to the artist, in order that he might be diverted from his preference for sculpture into fresco painting, and thus suffer from unfavorable comparisons with his rival Raphael. Donato Bramante (1444 – March 11, 1514) was an Italian Architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance Raphael Sanzio, usually known by his first name alone (in Italian Raffaello) (April 6 or March 28 1483 – April 6 1520 was an Italian painter and However, this story is discounted by modern historians on the grounds of contemporary evidence, and may be merely a reflection of the artist's own perspective.

Michelangelo was originally commissioned to paint the 12 Apostles, but lobbied for a different and more complex scheme, representing Creation, the Downfall of Man and the Promise of Salvation through the prophets and Genealogy of Christ. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " The work is part of a larger scheme of decoration within the chapel which represents much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church

The composition eventually contained over 300 figures and had at its centre nine episodes from the Book of Genesis, divided into three groups: God's Creation of the Earth; God's Creation of Humankind and their fall from God's grace; and lastly, the state of Humanity as represented by Noah and his family. Noah (or Noe, Noach;; Nūḥ; Arabic: نوح; "Rest") was according to the Bible, the tenth and last of On the pendentives supporting the ceiling are painted twelve men and women who prophesied the coming of the Jesus. They are seven prophets of Israel and five Sibyls, prophetic women of the Classical world. In Religion, a prophet (or prophetess) is a person who has encountered the Supernatural or the divine and serves as an intermediary The word sibyl probably comes (via Latin) from the Greek word sibylla, meaning Prophetess (Other schools of thought suggest that the word

Among the most famous paintings on the ceiling are the Creation of Adam, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Great Flood, the Prophet Isaiah and the Cumaean Sibyl. The Creation of Adam is a Fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo circa 1511. Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living Not to be confused with Eden Gardens.The Garden of Eden ( Hebrew "pleasure" גַּן עֵדֶן Arabic: جنات عدن, Isaiah (; Greek:, Ēsaiās; Arabic: اشعیاء, Ash-ee-yaa; "Salvation of/is YHWH " is The ageless Cumaean Sibyl was the priestess presiding over the Apollonian Oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony located near Naples, Around the windows are painted the ancestors of Christ.

Under Medici Popes in Florence

Michelangelo's Moses. The Moses is a Marble sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti 1513-1515 which depicts the Biblical figure Moses.

In 1513 Pope Julius II died and his successor Pope Leo X, a Medici, commissioned Michelangelo to reconstruct the façade of the basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence and to adorn it with sculptures. Pope Leo X, born Giovanni de' Medici (December 11 1475 – December 1 1521 was Pope from 1513 to his death The Basilica di San Lorenzo ( Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s Michelangelo agreed reluctantly. The three years he spent in creating drawings and models for the facade, as well as attempting to open a new marble quarry at Pietrasanta specifically for the project, were among the most frustrating in his career, as work was abruptly cancelled by his financially-strapped patrons before any real progress had been made. The basilica lacks a facade to this day.

Apparently not the least embarrassed by this turnabout, the Medici later came back to Michelangelo with another grand proposal, this time for a family funerary chapel in the basilica of San Lorenzo. The Basilica di San Lorenzo ( Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s Fortunately for posterity, this project, occupying the artist for much of the 1520s and 1530s, was more fully realized. Though still incomplete, it is the best example we have of the integration of the artist's sculptural and architectural vision, since Michelangelo created both the major sculptures as well as the interior plan. Ironically the most prominent tombs are those of two rather obscure Medici who died young, a son and grandson of Lorenzo. Il Magnifico himself is buried in an unfinished and comparatively unimpressive tomb on one of the side walls of the chapel, not given a free-standing monument, as originally intended. Lorenzo de' Medici (January 1 1449 &ndash 9 April 1492 was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance

Michelangelo's The Last Judgment. The Last Judgment is a Mural by Michelangelo on the Altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Saint Bartholomew is shown holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin. Saint Bartholomew was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. Bartholomew (Βαρθολομαίος transliterated "Bartholomaios" comes from The face of the skin is recognizable as Michelangelo.

In 1527, the Florentine citizens, encouraged by the sack of Rome, threw out the Medici and restored the republic. The Sack of Rome on 6 May 1527, carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V Holy Roman Emperor, marked a crucial imperial victory in A siege of the city ensued, and Michelangelo went to the aid of his beloved Florence by working on the city's fortifications from 1528 to 1529. The city fell in 1530 and the Medici were restored to power. Completely out of sympathy with the repressive reign of the ducal Medici, Michelangelo left Florence for good in the mid-1530s, leaving assistants to complete the Medici chapel. Years later his body was brought back from Rome for interment at the Basilica di Santa Croce, fulfilling the maestro's last request to be buried in his beloved Tuscany. The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a Minor basilica of the Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3

Last works in Rome

Michelangelo designed the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, although it was unfinished when he died. The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St

The fresco of The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel was commissioned by Pope Clement VII, who died shortly after assigning the commission. Fresco (plural either frescos or frescoes) is any of several related Painting types done on Plaster on walls or The Last Judgment is a Mural by Michelangelo on the Altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. For the Antipope (1378&ndash1394 see Antipope Clement VII. Pope Clement VII ( May 26, 1478 &ndash September Paul III was instrumental in seeing that Michelangelo began and completed the project. Michelangelo labored on the project from 1534 to October 1541. The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment is a depiction of the second coming of Christ and the apocalypse; where the souls of humanity rise and are assigned to their various fates, as judged by Christ, surrounded by the Saints.

Once completed, the depictions of nakedness in the papal chapel was considered obscene and sacrilegious, and Cardinal Carafa and Monsignor Sernini (Mantua's ambassador) campaigned to have the fresco removed or censored, but the Pope resisted. Mantua (Màntova in the local dialect of Lombard language Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the After Michelangelo's death, it was decided to obscure the genitals ("Pictura in Cappella Ap. ca coopriantur"). So Daniele da Volterra, an apprentice of Michelangelo, was commissioned to cover with perizomas (briefs) the genitals, leaving unaltered the complex of bodies. Daniele Ricciarelli (c 1509 - April 4 1566) better known as Daniele da Volterra, was an Italian mannerist painter When the work was restored in 1993, the conservators chose not to remove all the perizomas of Daniele, leaving some of them as a historical document, and because some of Michelangelo’s work was previously scraped away by the touch-up artist's application of “decency” to the masterpiece. A faithful uncensored copy of the original, by Marcello Venusti, can be seen at the Capodimonte Museum of Naples. Marcello Venusti (1512/5 - 1579 was an Italian Mannnerist painter active in Rome in mid 1500s The Palace and Museum of Capodimonte is a grand Bourbon Palazzo in Naples, Italy, formerly the summer residence of the kings Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the

Censorship always followed Michelangelo, once described as "inventor delle porcherie" ("inventor of obscenities", in the original Italian language referring to "pork things"). The infamous "fig-leaf campaign" of the Counter-Reformation, aiming to cover all representations of human genitals in paintings and sculptures, started with Michelangelo's works. The Counter-Reformation (also Catholic Reformation denotes the period of Catholic revival from the pontificate of Pope Pius IV in 1560 to the close of the To give two examples, the marble statue of Cristo della Minerva (church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome) was covered by added drapery, as it remains today, and the statue of the naked child Jesus in Madonna of Bruges (The Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium) remained covered for several decades. Cristo della Minerva, also known as Christ the Redeemer or Christ Carrying the Cross, is a marble sculpture by the Italian Santa Maria sopra Minerva is a Basilica church in Rome. The church located in the Campus Martius region is considered the only Gothic Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Madonna of Bruges is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo, of Mary with the infant Jesus. ||-||}The Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Bruges, Belgium, dates mainly from the 13th 14th and 15th centuries Bruges (Brugge is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Also, the plaster copy of the David in the Cast Courts (Victoria and Albert Museum) in London, has a fig leaf in a box at the back of the statue. The Cast Courts (originally called the Architectural Courts of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, comprise two large halls It was there to be placed over the statue's genitals so that they would not upset visiting female royalty.

In 1546, Michelangelo was appointed architect of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, and designed its dome. The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St As St. Peter's was progressing there was concern that Michelangelo would pass away before the dome was finished. However, once building commenced on the lower part of the dome, the supporting ring, the completion of the design was inevitable.

Last sketch found

On December 7, 2007, Michelangelo's red chalk sketch for the dome of St Peter's Basilica, his last before his 1564 death, was discovered in the Vatican archives. Events 43 BC - Marcus Tullius Cicero assassinated 1696 - Connecticut Route 108, one of the oldest highways Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. It is extremely rare, since he destroyed his designs later in life. The sketch is a partial plan for one of the radial columns of the cupola drum of Saint Peter's. ^[16]

Architectural work

Michelangelo's own tomb, at Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze, Florence

Michelangelo worked on many projects that had been started by other men, most notably in his work at St Peter's Basilica, Rome. The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a Minor basilica of the The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St The Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo during the same period, rationalized the structures and spaces of Rome's Capitoline Hill. The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. Its shape, more a rhomboid than a square, was intended to counteract the effects of perspective. The major Florentine architectural projects by Michelangelo are the unexecuted façade for the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence and the Medici Chapel (Capella Medicea) and Laurentian Library there, and the fortifications of Florence. The Basilica di San Lorenzo ( Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s The Laurentian Library ( Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) in Florence, Italy is famous as a repository of more than 11000 Manuscripts and 4500 The major Roman projects are St. Peter's, Palazzo Farnese, San Giovanni de' Fiorentini and the Sforza Chapel (Capella Sforzesca), Porta Pia and Santa Maria degli Angeli. For other palaces with this name see Palazzo Farnese (disambiguation. Porta Pia is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome. Italy. One of Pope Pius IV 's civic improvements to the city it is named after him

Laurentian Library

Around 1530 Michelangelo designed the Laurentian Library in Florence, attached to the church of San Lorenzo. The Laurentian Library ( Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) in Florence, Italy is famous as a repository of more than 11000 Manuscripts and 4500 He produced new styles such as pilasters tapering thinner at the bottom, and a staircase with contrasting rectangular and curving forms. A pilaster is a slightly-projecting flattened Column built into or applied to the face of a wall

Medici Chapel

Main article: Medici Chapel

Michelangelo designed the Medici Chapel. The Basilica di San Lorenzo ( Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s The Basilica di San Lorenzo ( Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s The Medici Chapel has monuments in it dedicated to certain members of the Medici family. Michelangelo never finished it, so his pupils later completed it. Lorenzo the Magnificent was buried at the entrance wall of the Medici Chapel. Lorenzo de' Medici (January 1 1449 &ndash 9 April 1492 was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance Sculptures of the "Madonna and Child" and the Medici patron saints Cosmas and Damian were set over his burial. The "madonna and child" was Michelangelo's own work.

Michelangelo the man

Michelangelo, who was often arrogant with others and constantly dissatisfied with himself, saw art as originating from inner inspiration and from culture. In contradiction to the ideas of his rival, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo saw nature as an enemy that had to be overcome. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer The figures that he created are forceful and dynamic; each in its own space apart from the outside world. For Michelangelo, the job of the sculptor was to free the forms that were already inside the stone. He believed that every stone had a sculpture within it, and that the work of sculpting was simply a matter of chipping away all that was not a part of the statue.

Several anecdotes reveal that Michelangelo's skill, especially in sculpture, was greatly admired in his own time. For other uses see Anecdota. For a comparison of anecdote with other kinds of stories see Myth legend fairy tale and fable. Another Lorenzo de Medici wanted to use Michelangelo to make some money. He had Michelangelo sculpt a cupid that looked worn and old. Lorenzo paid Michelangelo 30 ducats, but sold the cupid for 200 ducats. Cardinal Raffaele Riario became suspicous and sent someone to investigate. The man had Michelangelo do a sketch for him of a cupid, and then told Michelangelo that while he received 30 ducats for his cupid, Lorenzo had passed the cupid off for an antique and sold it for 200 ducats. Michelangelo then confessed that he had done the cupid, but had no idea that he had been cheated. After the truth was revealed, the Cardinal later took this as proof of his skill and commissioned his Bacchus. Another better-known anecdote claims that when finishing the Moses (San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome), Michelangelo violently hit the knee of the statue with a hammer, shouting, "Why don't you speak to me?"

In his personal life, Michelangelo was abstemious. For other churches of this dedication see St Peter ad Vincula (disambiguation. He told his apprentice, Ascanio Condivi: "However rich I may have been, I have always lived like a poor man. Ascanio Condivi (1525–1574 was an Italian painter and writer " ^[17] Condivi said he was indifferent to food and drink, eating "more out of necessity than of pleasure"^[17] and that he "often slept in his clothes and . . . boots. "^[17] These habits may have made him unpopular; his biographer Paolo Giovio says "His nature was so rough and uncouth that his domestic habits were incredibly squalid, and deprived posterity of any pupils who might have followed him. Paolo Giovio ( April 19 1483 – December 11, 1552) was an Italian physician historian and biographer and prelate "^[18] He may not have minded, since he was by nature a solitary and melancholy person; he had a reputation for being bizzarro e fantastico because he "withdrew himself from the company of men. " ^[19]

Relationships

Drawing for The Libyan Sybil, Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City,

The Libyan Sybil, Sistine Chapel. Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina is the best-known Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City.

Fundamental to Michelangelo's art is his love of male beauty, which attracted him both aesthetically and emotionally. In part, this was an expression of the Renaissance idealization of masculinity. But in Michelangelo's art there is clearly a sensual response to this aesthetic. ^[20] Such feelings caused him great anguish, and he expressed the struggle between Platonic ideals and carnal desire in his sculpture, drawing and his poetry, too, for among his other accomplishments Michelangelo was also a great Italian lyric poet of the 16th century.

The sculptor's expressions of love have been characterized as both Neoplatonic and openly homoerotic; recent scholarship seeks an interpretation which respects both readings, yet is wary of drawing absolute conclusions. Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by Homoeroticism refers to the representation of same-sex love and desire most especially as it is depicted or manifested in the Visual arts and Literature. One example of the conundrum is the story of the sixteen year old Cecchino dei Bracci, whose death, only a year after their meeting in 1543, inspired the writing of forty eight funeral epigrams, which by some accounts allude to a relationship that was not only romantic but physical as well:

La carne terra, e qui l'ossa mia, prive
de' lor begli occhi, e del leggiadro aspetto
fan fede a quel ch'i' fu grazia nel letto,
che abbracciava, e' n che l'anima vive. ^[21]
or
The flesh now earth, and here my bones,
Bereft of handsome eyes, and jaunty air,
Still loyal are to him I joyed in bed,
Whom I embraced, in whom my soul now lives.

According to others, they represent an emotionless and elegant re-imagining of Platonic dialogue, whereby erotic poetry was seen as an expression of refined sensibilities (Indeed, it must be remembered that professions of love in 16th century Italy were given a far wider application than now). ^[22] Some youths were street wise and took advantage of the sculptor. Febbo di Poggio, in 1532, peddled his charms—in answer to Michelangelo's love poem he asks for money. Earlier, Gherardo Perini, in 1522, had stolen from him shamelessly. Michelangelo defended his privacy above all. When an employee of his friend Niccolò Quaratesi offered his son as apprentice suggesting that he would be good even in bed, Michelangelo refused indignantly, suggesting Quaratesi fire the man.

The greatest written expression of his love was given to Tommaso dei Cavalieri (c. 1509–1587), who was 23 years old when Michelangelo met him in 1532, at the age of 57. Cavalieri was open to the older man's affection: I swear to return your love. Never have I loved a man more than I love you, never have I wished for a friendship more than I wish for yours. Cavalieri remained devoted to Michelangelo till his death.

Michelangelo dedicated to him over three hundred sonnets and madrigals, constituting the largest sequence of poems composed by him. Some modern commentators assert that the relationship was merely a Platonic affection, even suggesting that Michelangelo was seeking a surrogate son. ^[23] However, their homoerotic nature was recognized in his own time, so that a decorous veil was drawn across them by his grand nephew, Michelangelo the Younger, who published an edition of the poetry in 1623 with the gender of pronouns changed. John Addington Symonds, the early British homosexual activist, undid this change by translating the original sonnets into English and writing a two-volume biography, published in 1893. John Addington Symonds ( October 5 1840 - April 19, 1893) was an English poet and literary critic

Ignudo, Sistine Chapel.

The sonnets are the first large sequence of poems in any modern tongue addressed by one man to another, predating Shakespeare's sonnets to his young friend by a good fifty years. William Shakespeare ( baptised

I feel as lit by fire a cold countenance

That burns me from afar and keeps itself ice-chill;

A strength I feel two shapely arms to fill

Which without motion moves every balance.

— (Michael Sullivan, translation)

Late in life he nurtured a great love for the poet and noble widow Vittoria Colonna, whom he met in Rome in 1536 or 1538 and who was in her late forties at the time. Vittoria Colonna (April 1490 - February 25, 1547) Marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian Noblewoman and They wrote sonnets for each other and were in regular contact until she died, though many scholars note the intellectualized or spiritual quality of this passion.

It is impossible to know for certain whether Michelangelo had physical relationships (Condivi ascribed to him a "monk-like chastity"),^[24] but through his poetry and visual art we may at least glimpse the arc of his imagination. Ascanio Condivi (1525–1574 was an Italian painter and writer ^[25]

See also

• List of works by Michelangelo
• Cappella Paolina
• Sistine Chapel ceiling
• Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
• Renaissance painting

Entities named after Michelangelo include the asteroid 3001 Michelangelo and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character Michelangelo. The following is a list of works of painting sculpture and architecture by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo. The Cappella Paolina (Pauline Chapel is a famous chapel in the Vatican Palace, which serves as the Parish church of the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512 is one of the most renowned artworks of the High Renaissance. The restoration of the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel was one of the most significant Art Renaissance painting bridges the period of European art history between the art of the Middle Ages and Baroque art. TemplateInfobox Planet. --> 3001 Michelangelo is a small main belt Asteroid, which was discovered Michelangelo (or Mike or Mikey) is a Fictional character, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT

Footnotes

References

Further reading

• Ackerman, James (1986). The Architecture of Michelangelo. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226002408.  
• Clément, Charles (1892). Michelangelo. Harvard University, Digitized June 25, 2007: S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, ltd. : London.  
• Condivi, Ascanio; Alice Sedgewick (1553). Ascanio Condivi (1525–1574 was an Italian painter and writer The Life of Michelangelo. Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-01853-4.  
• Baldini, Umberto; Liberto Perugi (1982). The Sculpture of Michelangelo. Rizzoli. ISBN 0-8478-0447-x.  
• Hart, Michael (1992). Michael H Hart (born April 28, 1932 in New York City) is an Astrophysicist who has also written three books on History and controversial The 100. The 100 A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History is a 1978 book by Michael H Carol. ISBN 0-8065-1350-0.  
• Liebert, Robert (1983). Michelangelo: A Psychoanalytic Study of his Life and Images. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-02793-1.  
• Sala, Charles (1996). Michelangelo: Sculptor, Painter, Architect. Editions Pierre Terrail. ISBN 978-2879390697.  
• Stone, Irving (1987). Irving Stone ( July 14 1903 San Francisco California – August 26 1989) was an American Writer known for his The Agony and the Ecstasy. Signet. ISBN 0-451-17135-7.  
• Tolnay, Charles (1947). The Youth of Michelangelo. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.  
• Néret, Gilles (2000). Michelangelo. Taschen. ISBN 978-3822859766.  

External links

• Michelangelo in the "A World History of Art"
• Michelangelo in the "Vatican Secret Archives"
• Photographs of details at the Campidoglio
• "The Michelangelo Code", suggesting Michelangelo's coded use of his knowledge of anatomy
• Works by Michelangelo Buonarroti at Project Gutenberg
• Kids IQ Test Center A nice essay on Michalangelo. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works
• The Digital Michelangelo Project
• The BP Special Exhibition Michelangelo Drawings - closer to the master
• Michelangelo's Drawings: Real or Fake? How to decide if a drawing is by Michelangelo.
• Michelangelo's Florence
• Models Michelangelo used to make his sculptures and paintings