Michelangelo
This paragraph is about one of the most famous artists in history: Michelangelo Buonarroti. He lived in the time of the Renaissance and was a sculptor, a painter, an architect, an engineer and a poet. A real Renaissance person!
Michelangelo was born in Capprese on March 6, 1475 and died February 18, 1564 at the age of 88. Although his father, a respected government official, didn’t want him to become an artist, he became an apprentice of the famed artist Domenico Ghirlandaro. After his apprenticeship he went to a school set up by Lorenzo the Magnificent. Lorenzo De Medici family ruled the city of Florence and were very powerful and rich. Lorenzo encouraged many artist like Michelangelo and also supported them with money.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Michelango_Portrait_by_Volterra.jpg Two of Michelangelo’s most famous sculptures are the David and the Pietā. Michelangelo lived in Rome from 1496 till 1501. There, he started working on the Pietā in 1498 and finished it in 1499. The Pietā is a marble statue of about 1.70 meters high and 2 meters wide and shows the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. This theme is of Northern origin, popular in France, but not yet in Italy. This was a style that Michelangelo really loved. The statue is one of the most highly finished works by Michelangelo and can be found in the St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican city.
http://www.univirtual.it/corsi%20V%20ciclo/II%20sem%20IND/galesso/download/Immagini%20SSIS%202004/A4%202003/3MichelangeloPietāVaticana.jpg When Michelangelo returned to Florence, he sculpted the David in the years 1501 till 1504. The David is one of Michelangelo’s most famous art works ever. The David was made out of Carrara Marble in Florence. It is something like 5.10 meters high and was and is still an amazing sight to see for people. It holds the title of the most recognizable statue in the history of art. It has become regarded as a symbol both of strength and youthful human beauty. The statue portrays Biblical King David at the moment that he decides to do battle with Goliath.
http://www.world-mysteries.com/david.jpg Another famous masterpiece of Michelangelo is his ceiling paintings in the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo moved back to Rome where he worked for Pope Julius II, who had him decorate the ceiling of a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in the Vatican City. It took him 4 years (1508 - 1512) to paint this masterpiece.
http://www.wga.hu/art/m/michelan/3sistina/1chapel.jpg Michelangelo was definitely one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, and he will be remembered for some of the most beautiful pieces of art ever created!
Interview: interview-with-michelangelo.mp3
