Michelangelo What role did he play in society

Michelangelo – What role did he play in society? (1475 -1564) Italian painter and sculptor, e. g. , David, 1504; Sistine Chapel, 1508 -1512.

Early Life • Born March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy. • His father saw lucky stars in the sky and thought his son would have heavenly powers. • Named Michelangelo - angelo in Italian means angel. • Went to school to become a scholar - but was interested in sketching and painting. • His father and uncles were angry - they thought art was a job for peasants.

• They cruelly tried to change his mind. • Finally at age 13, his father agreed to let him study with Domenico Ghirlandaio, a popular Florence painter. • In Florence, M studied art of the old masters. • He learned to paint frescoes (paintings done on wet plaster walls). • Highly skilled; egoistical. • Hot tempered and outspoken.

Life as an Artist • Age 16 - sent to study sculpture under Bertoldo de Giovanni. • M fell in love with the size and power of the Greek style of sculpture. • Obsessed with creating the perfect human form in marble. • Studied anatomy (he secretly cut up dead bodies to see how the body looked and moved).

Pietà • Pieta refers to a type of image in which Mary supports the dead Christ across her knees. • Located in St. Peter’s Cathedral.

David • Warrior statue portrays the Biblical King David in the nude, at the moment that he decides to battle with Goliath. • Made of marble started in 1501 and completed in 1504. • Reflected the power and determination of Republican Florence.

Design of Pope Julius II tomb • At age 30, M was asked to design the Pope’s tomb. • It took 40 years to construct the tomb. • It was so large that a church had to be constructed around it - St. Peter’s Basilica.

Sistine Chapel • Started painting the ceiling of the chapel in 1508 and finished in 1512. • It measures 40 feet by 130 feet - 60 feet above the ground. Exterior of Chapel

Problems - How do you paint a ceiling 60 feet high? • A scaffold was built that was suspended from the ceiling from ropes. • M saw it and thought it was bad - M knew that when the scaffolding was removed, it would leave holes in the ceiling and ruin the painting. • M came up with solution: flat wooden platform on brackets built out from the wall, high up near the top of the windows. • A series of zigzag ladders allowing getting up and down from the platform. • Lies on back and paints the ceiling.

Modern Renovations of the Sistine Chapel - 1994

Ready to paint? • M sends for artists in Florence to assist him in this huge job. • But he found their quality of work to be lacking and locked them out of the chapel and refused to let them back in. • He continues work on ceiling allowing workers to carry materials and equipment up the ladders (lime, sand, and water for plaster; trowels for applying it; brushes, paint, and paint pots)

Scenes from the Ceiling • • Ancestors from Jesus. Stories from Noah Creation and downfall of Adam and Eve. The Creation. �od creates G Adam.

Before and After the Restoration • Controversy - cleaning too severe. • Technique - was questionable. • Started in 1984 - finished in 1994. Before After

End of Life • It was said that when M was 60, he could carve faster than three sculptors. • Lived to be 89 - worked right up until his death in Rome. • Died Feb 18, 1564 (weakened fever).

Great Quotes from Michelangelo

“My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness. ”

“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. ”

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. ”

“If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all. ”

“Genius is eternal patience. ”