Michelangelp Buonarotti

Michelangelo Buonarotti

"Michelangelo Buonarotti was the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance, and one of the greatest artists of all time." (Encyclopedia, pg.398) Michelangelo was a sculpture, architect, and painter. He started to develop his talents, at an early age.

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, in the small Italian village of Caprese near Florence. (Personal, pg.1) At age 12, Michelangelo became an apprentice painter, to Domenico Ghirlandajo. There after he started sculpting, one of the less popular forms of art during this time period. (Encyclopedia, pg.398)

Sculpting was Michelangelo's one true passion. "Michelangelo resisted the paintbrush, vowing with his characteristic vehemence that his sole tool was the chisel." (Sunsite, pg.1) Michelangelo's statue named "David" is his most well known. He started creating the statue of "David" in 1501 and completed his masterpiece in 1504. The statue is carved from marble and stands at a towering 14 feet 3 inches. "The choice of David was supposed to reflect the power and determination of Republican Florence and was under constant attack from supporters of the usurped Medicis." (Rubens, pg.1)

Even though Michelangelo loved to sculpt it was not his only artistic talent. Another artistic talent of his was painting. Michelangelo's largest and most famous paint was that on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It took him 4 years to complete, from 1508 to 1512. (Castela, pg.1)He also painted the "Last Judgment" over the altar in the chapel. The "Last Judgment" took 6 years for him to finish, from 1535 and 1541.

Michelangelo was also a magnificent architect. In 1560, he designed a dome to cover a massive opening, on the Sistine Chapel. They began to construct the dome that he had designed in 1560. (The Panorama, p276)The dome was completed,