Michelangelo Buonarroti

Essay by Sean1High School, 11th gradeA+, January 1997

download word file, 4 pages 4.2

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475. He was born in a small

town called Caprese, in Tuscany, Italy. Michelangelo was one of the most

famous artists of the Italian Renaissance. According to Charles de Tolnay

Michelangelo's three greatest works of his later life, were the Tomb of Pope

Julius II, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the Medici Chapel(37).

Michelangelo's specialty was painting the human body unclothed. In

order to learn to paint the human body so well he would dissect human

corpses. His artistic talents were noticed at a very early age. Michelangelo

went to study with Domenico Ghirlandago, who taught him about painting.

He then went on to work with Donatello to learn about sculpture. Between

the years of 1490-1492 Michelangelo lived in the house of Lorenzo de'

Medici and was influenced by Neoplatonic thought. Some of Michelangelo's

early painting showed the influence of Giotto and Masaccio. Also many of

his early sculptures show the influence of Donatello (Columbia University

Press) .

Michelangelo's artistic career can be divided into two periods. In the

early period he focused on realism. During this early period Michelangelo's

works included the "Pieta" and the "David." At the age of 24 he completed

a statue called the "Pieta," showing the dead Jesus Christ in his mother's

arms. In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence, Italy to sculpt the famous

nude sculpture called the "David." The "David" measures 18 feet tall, and is

so massive that it took 40 men to move it from Michelangelo's

workshop(World Book 5016)

The second period of Michelangelo's career was based upon his

imagination. In 1505 Michelangelo was summoned by Pope Julius II to

fabricate his tomb. Michelangelo was so excited about making the tomb for

the Pope that he spent many months looking for the perfect piece of marble...