In renaissance Italy, as well as today, Michelangelo is considered a master of the arts. He was a painter, a sculptor, and an architect who was respected and admired by many people. Last year, I did a project about Michelangelo, so I was really excited to see all the works of art I had learned about.
Michelangelo was born in Caprese, Italy, and moved to Florence at a young age. While we toured Florence, we saw a plaque which indicated he had lived there. I think it would be amazing to live in a house previously occupied by a famous artist.
Before coming to Florence we were able to see a sculpture by Michelangelo called “Madonna and Child” in the city of Bruges in Belgium. It was a very beautiful statue with the two figures and gave us a small taste of what Michelangelo was capable of creating with the marble.
When we visited the Uffizi art gallery in Florence I finally had the opportunity to see a painting by Michelangelo. It is called “Doni Tondo”, or “The Holy Family”. I like this painting because of the colours of the clothing worn by the main figures and how the painting is in a circular frame. Most of the paintings I have seen are square or rectangular shaped, so this was a very creative way to present this piece of art and shows Michelangelo’s ability to innovate.
I was excited to visit the Academia art gallery because we could see 4 incomplete sculptures by Michelangelo called “The Young Slave”, “The Bearded Slave”, “The Awakening Slave”, and “Atlas”. Although they are unfinished, one can still see Michelangelo’s talent as an artist. If you look close enough, you can actually see some marks on the sculptures from the chisel that carved them. Some people also say Michelangelo left the sculptures this way on purpose, representing the eternal struggle of humanity.
When I looked down the hallway of the Slaves, I saw one of Michelangelo’s most famous and incredible pieces of art, his statue of “David“. In contrast to the unfinished slave sculptures, “David” is well defined and so realistic, it looks as though at any moment he could start speaking! Some parts of the sculpture are bigger than they should be, like the head and right hand, because it was originally made to stand on the top of the Duomo. When the sculpture was finished, the cardinal who commissioned it thought it would be a shame to put such an amazing work of art on a roof where it couldn’t be seen. It was put instead in the Piazza della Signoria but was moved inside the Academia to be protected from the elements. I think the cardinal was right to keep it where people can see and enjoy its beauty. Today a replica of the sculpture stands in the piazza, but is nothing compared to the real thing.
When Michelangelo died in 1564 at the age 88, it was a great loss to the arts. He was buried in the Florentine church Santa Croce along with other famous people like Galileo the astronomer and Machiavelli the politician. His tomb is very ornate with carvings and frescoes like the ones he did in his lifetime.
Michelangelo was an amazing person and I truly admire and respect his creativity, talent, and genius. I think he is the master of renaissance art and I am so glad I had the opportunity to see his amazing masterpieces in person.
Comments
6 responses to “Artist + Architect + Sculptor + Genius = Michelangelo”
Truly remarkable! Thank you for sharing. The photos are beautiful and I especially like the one of “David” and of the family in front of “David.” It would have been lovely to have lived in his former house! Love, Baba
Hi Baba,
I wonder if the house would come with some paintings by Michelangelo? I’d want that house a lot! 🙂
Three words: Living my dream!
Hello Herta,
It’s never too late!
Hi, Mikhaila, I enjoyed this posting very much. I learned about Michelangelo first in school when I was about your age and our teacher gave us a photo of the Pieta in Rome. I still have it to this day. When I saw the statue of David for the first time I was surprised by the beautiful face. I loved your posting because it has so much information about the masters life. Thank you, lots of hugs
Hi Oma,
I think the Pieta is a lot more beautiful in person. It is definitely awe-inspiring! The David is also magnificent which goes to show how great of an artist Michelangelo was.