Michelangelo Buornarriti

Michelangelo Buonarroti was one of the greatest artists of all time. Many people all over the world throughout history have admired his work and he is possibly the most renowned artist of all time. Michelangelo completed many artistic pieces during his lifetime, and he did them very beautifully and in a very inspiring way.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 in the city of Caprese, Italy, just outside of Florence. Michelangelo's mother died in 1481 when he was at an early age. Because of this and the fact that his father was governor of his village, Michelangelo was sent to live in the home of a stonecutter. His family then moved to Florence, Italy. At the age of ten, Michelangelo was called back home with his four brothers to "study the academic subjects which gentlemen were expected to know"() . His father did not approve of Michelangelo's first desires to become an artist. He considered the profession to be beneath a gentleman. However, Michelangelo didn't enjoy his schoolwork and his father couldn't keep him from drawing.

Eventually, in 1488, he was sent away for a three-year apprenticeship under the artist, Domenico Ghirlandaio. Michelangelo tried to get out of this apprenticeship after only a short time with Ghirlandaio. He claimed that he was mostly self-taught, fearing that he may be viewed as a product of the workshop system, rather than being viewed as a genuine, original artist. After one year of being Ghirlandaio's apprentice, he was admitted to a school of sculpture set up by the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de Medici. Founded in the gardens of Lorenzo's palace, Michelangelo was able to meet and study with many famous artists of that time. During his time at the school, Michelangelo carved his first two marble reliefs. One was called Madonna of the Steps and the other was known as the Battle of the Centaurs, which was based on one of his master's pieces. In 1492, when Michelangelo was 17 years old, Lorenzo died and the school broke up.

After Lorenzo's death, Michelangelo worked mainly independently for rulers and religious leaders in Italy. His first commission was for three marble figures for the tomb of St. Dominic in 1494. Michelangelo left Florence and fled to Bologna before Charles VIII invaded Florence. It was here in Bologna that Michelangelo carved an angle for the tomb. He returned to Florence for a short time in 1495 and carved the Cupid and a St. John. On June 25 of the following year, Cardinal Riario invited Michelangelo to Rome. It is here that Michelangelo gained recognition. In 1497, he carved the drunken Bacchus, which is one of the two first important pieces in his career. The next year he carved his second marble figure called The Pieta for St. Peter's Cathedral. The Pieta was a beautifully carved and finished statue of the dead Jesus lying across Mary's lap. Many consider it the greatest work of his early years. Michelangelo created a sculpture so complex and difficult at the age of only 24 that many artists could never figure out how he did it.

On August 16 of 1501, he was commissioned to complete a sculpture to stand in the Piazza Della Signora. The city of Florence gave Michelangelo a huge block of marble. It was with this that he carved the 14 foot, 3 inch David. The David was also one of his most famous works of art. Resembling the athletic David from the story of David and Goliath, he is shown holding the slingshot over his shoulder and wearing no clothing, which shocked many people of Michelangelo's time.

Shortly after Michelangelo completed the David, he was commissioned to paint a battle scene on the wall in the Council Chamber of the Palazzo. He began painting the Battle of Cascina while his main rival Leonardo was painting the Battle of Anghiari on the opposite wall. However, neither painting was ever completed.

In March of 1505, Pope Julius II called Michelangelo to Rome in order to design a funerary monument for him. The project was expected to be the highlight of his career, including about 40 figures, and to be located in St. Peter's. Unfortunately, the project brought forth much controversy and didn't work out as well as everyone had hoped. Pope Julius II died on February 24, 1513. The contract for the tomb was revised and amended many times before everyone reached an agreement. The final product wasn't nearly the great work that it was intended to be. One of the sculptures that complements the tomb is the figure Moses. Two sculptures of slaves were carved, one of which was the Dying Slave, which was to be a focal point of the monument; but now it resides in the Louvre in Paris, France. Four unfinished slaves helped to express Michelangelo's method of carving. Drawing the figures on a block of marble or stone, he then worked inward from that side.

Before Julius II died, he had called Michelangelo back to Rome in 1508. Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. On March 10 of that year he began working on his greatest piece of art and one of the most breathtaking accomplishments done by any artist. He did not trust any of his assistants and felt they couldn't live up to his expectations. Early on in the project, he gave up trying to deal with them and completed the task on his own. The scenes he painted on the ceiling were his idea of the early passages in the Bible. The vaulted ceiling alternated larger and smaller panels, and in the corners of the smaller panels, he painted cherubic figures that many thought of as angels. In 1510 Michelangelo was halfway complete with the project. This break in the painting allowed him to see the effect of his work from the ground, previously hidden by the scaffolds. In 1512 he finally finished this