Michelangelo: The Most Talented Renaissance Artist?

Portrait of Michelangelo at about 60

Forbidden Fruit portion of Sistine Chapel ceiling, preview of mannerism

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) had the longest lifespan of the three great High Renaissance artists, so his craft understandably evolved the most.  He rose as an artist through his father’s minor political career in Florence that brought connections with the Medici family and its access to numerous works and local apprenticeships with the successful Ghirlandaio and the sculptor Giovanni, a student of Donatello.  He was convinced that he had the blood of an ancient noble line, so he dressed appropriately and worked restlessly to gain social status.

Pieta, Michelangelo, 1499

He even received some humanist education through the Medicis, which made him aware of current issues and love the works of Dante and Petrarch.  His fame and Medici ties led him to eventually acquire popes Julius II and Leo X as patrons later in his life.  
          Michelangelo's initial delicate style is demonstrated by his first famous work, the Pieta (1499), the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Jesus, but is then replaced by his iconic David (1504), which varies drastically with its powerful and confident nature.  This sculpture was inspired by the bronze David of Donatello, although the predecessor had a child's body and wore a smirk instead of a powerful gaze.  Coincidently carved from marble quarried for Donatello, the mature and heroic David symbolized the pride of Florence, which had grown powerful despite being surrounded by larger states.  
          A fine architect, Michelangelo's numerous projects include the Laurentian Library, the fortifications of Florence, and the chapels of both the Sforzas and the Medicis.  He was in the process of designing a tomb for Julius II when the pope abandoned the project, prompting Michelangelo to temporarily leave Rome in anger.  Both men had unyielding personalities and never got along. Despite being known as a master of thrilling sculpture and his ongoing feud with Julius II, Michelangelo deviated from this talent with his biblical depictions on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which helped usher in the emergence of mannerism, the straining of

David, Michelangelo, 1504

what is real with impossible positions or through inaccurate perspective and proportion.   This can be shown from the odd distortions and the senses of stress confusion they invoke.  The artists of this future movement craved the creativity Michelangelo displayed later in his career and strived for similar emotional responses.  The depictions of the Chapel's ceiling begin with the creation of the world and end with the great flood.

David, Donatello, date unknown

          Michelangelo is remembered for his sculpture, primarily through the Pieta and David, but was known for rising to the occasion to silence his challengers, even if a project strayed from what he was comfortable with.  This, along with the impossible nature of some of his architectural projects and the obscene amount of commissions, led to a great deal of his work being left unfinished.  Like da Vinci and many other artists, abandoning work was frequent due to realizing that its completion could never match the mental image the creator had for it.  The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was a difficult task due to its positioning and sheer size.  Possessing the same ability to accurately depict the human body as da Vinci, but also combining it with stirring emotions defined Michelangelo’s legacy. 

The ceiling of Sistine Chapel, completed in 1512