Michelangelo-Marlow

 

The Creation of Adam (Sistine Chapel) by Michelangelo

• Who was Michelangelo? 

        Michelangelo was born in 1475 in a town called Caprese, which is a "republic of Florence". He was a "sculptor, painter, architect, and poet" who made a large impact on the world, especially during the Renaissance. Michelangelo, like Leonardo da Vinci, was a "Renaissance man" and is still known today as one of the greatest sculptors in the world. Although sculpting was his passion, and many of his most well known works were sculptures (David), he was also a very skilled painter. As many people know, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This is one of his better known works and it was a monumental painting that was actually a series of frescoes. Michelangelo also received a lot of fame and fortune during his lifetime and was able to "support his family" with the money he made from the many commissions he had been asked of. Although it is not surprising, since many artists can be this way, Michelangelo was known to be very particular and arrogant. One of the things that he was extremely particular about was the pieces of marble stone that he used to sculpt with. He was known to have a great hand at sculpting and made what Marlow stated was the "most universal symbol of artistic genius", which is the statue of David. This sculpture broke many norms due to the subject being a nude male figure who seemed to have a very sensual way about him. However, Marlow also stated that it revealed a "fusion of classical ideals and values of Christianity", even though many people in the church did not agree with Michelangelo's use of nude male figures. Overall, Michelangelo was a very influential artist during the Renaissance, and continues to influence many artists today. 

• What were his most significant contributions to art, society, science or history? Give an example and support your statement with facts. 

        From the Marlow documentary, I gathered that Michelangelo's most significant contributions to art were his sculpture of David, and his series of frescoes that cover the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The biography that I read about Michelangelo on Britannica online stated that "the high regard for the Sistine ceiling is partly a reflection of the greater attention paid to painting in the 20th century", which I thought made a lot of sense. I have heard a lot about Michelangelo's contributions to sculpture, but not nearly as much as I have heard about the Sistine Chapel ceiling. However, as I stated above, Marlow spoke to the idea that Michelangelo's David is the "most universal symbol of artistic genius". His sculptures were a way to open up the world to a whole new medium of art that can communicate so many things that paintings are not be able to. There is just something so valuable about sculpture and being able to see movement and intense emotion in a three-dimensional figure. So, I think that these two works of art are definitely his greatest contributions to the art world. 

• Post 1 question specifically about Michelangelo for classmates to respond to next lesson. 

        Why do you think for so many years, before Michelangelo, it was acceptable for people to utilize the nude female figure in art, but when Michelangelo decided to use a nude male figure it was frowned upon? 

Outside Sources:

Arts & Sciences. Arts & Sciences, artsci.wustl.edu/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.

“Michelangelo.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 19 Jan. 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Michelangelo.