The life of Michelangelo Buonarroti. The Great Michelangelo: paintings and biography

Michelangelo Buonarroti (aka Michelagnolo di Lodovico di Lionardo di Buonarroto Simoni) (1475-1564), Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet. In the art of Michelangelo, both the deeply human ideals of the High Renaissance, full of heroic pathos, and the tragic sense of crisis of the humanistic worldview, characteristic of the late Renaissance, were embodied with enormous expressive power. Michelangelo studied in Florence in the workshop of D. Ghirlandaio (1488-1489) and with the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni (1489-1490), however, his acquaintance with the works of Giotto, Donatello, Masaccio, Jacopo della Quercia, and the study of monuments were of decisive importance for the creative development of Michelangelo antique plastic. Already in his youthful works (reliefs “Madonna of the Stairs”, “Battle of the Centaurs”, circa 1490-1492, Casa Buonarroti, Florence) the main features of the sculptor’s work were determined - monumentality and plastic power, internal tension and dramatic images, reverence for human beauty. Working in Rome in the late 1490s, Michelangelo paid tribute to his passion for ancient sculpture in the statue “Bacchus” (1496-1497, National Museum, Florence); He introduced new humanistic content and vivid convincing images into the canonical scheme of the group “Lamentation of Christ” (circa 1498, St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome). In 1501, Michelangelo returned to Florence, where he created the colossal statue “David” (1501-1504, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence), embodying the heroic impulse and civic valor of the Florentines who threw off the yoke of Medici tyranny. In 1505, Pope Julius II invited Michelangelo to Rome and commissioned him to create his own tomb. For the tomb of Julius II, completed only in 1545 (the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome), Michelangelo created a number of statues, including one endowed with a powerful will, titanic strength and temperament “Moses” (1515-1516), full of tragedy “The Dying Slave” and “The Rebellious Slave” (1516, Louvre), as well as 4 unfinished figures of a slave (1532-1534) in which the process of the sculptor’s work is clearly visible, boldly delving into the stone block in some places and leaving other places almost unfinished . In the painting cycle executed by Michelangelo on the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the artist created a grandiose, solemn, easily visible composition in general and in detail, perceived as a hymn to physical and spiritual beauty, as an affirmation of the limitless creative possibilities of God and man created in his image. In the most difficult conditions, for four years, from 1508 to 1512, Michelangelo worked, completing the entire painting of the huge ceiling (600 sq.m. area) with his own hand. In accordance with the architectonics of the chapel, he divided the vault covering it into a number of fields, placing in a wide central field nine compositions on scenes from the Bible about the creation of the world and the first people on earth:

"Separation of light from darkness"

"Creation of Adam"

"The Creation of Eve"


"The Fall"


“Flood”, etc. On the sides of them, on the slopes of a huge vault, are depicted figures of prophets and sibyls (soothsayers), in the corners of the fields - sitting naked young men; in the vault sails, formwork and lunettes above the windows are episodes from the Bible and the so-called ancestors of Christ. The grandiose ensemble, including more than three hundred figures, seems to be an inspired hymn to the beauty, power, and intelligence of man, glorifying his creative genius and heroic deeds. Even in the image of God - a majestic, mighty old man, what is emphasized first of all is the creative impulse expressed in the movements of his hands, as if truly capable of creating worlds and giving life to man. Titanic strength, intelligence, insightful wisdom and sublime beauty characterize the images of the prophets: the deeply thoughtful, mournful Jeremiah, poetically
Detail of the painting “The Creation of Adam”
the spiritualized Isaiah, the mighty Sibyl of Cumae, the beautiful young Sibyl of Delphi. The characters created by Michelangelo have a tremendous power of generalization; for each character he finds a special pose, turn, movement, gesture. Frescoes of the Sistine ceiling
Fragment of the painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel Expanded panorama of Michelangelo Buonarroti's fresco of the chapel vault


Michelangelo Buonarroti
The Sistine Chapel
Flood (fragment)

Michelangelo Buonarroti
The Sistine Chapel
The Flood (fragment) Michelangelo Buonarroti
The Sistine Chapel
Delphic Sibyl

Michelangelo Buonarroti
The Libyan Sibyl by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Erythraean Sibyl

Michelangelo Buonarroti
The Cumaean Sibyl by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Persian Sibyl

The chapels, like other paintings by Michelangelo, are characterized by clarity of plastic modeling, intense expressiveness of design and composition, and a predominance of muted, refined colors in the colorful range. In 1516-1534, Michelangelo Buonarroti worked in Florence on the design of the facade of the Church of San Lorenzo and the architectural and sculptural ensemble of the tomb of the Medici family in the New Sacristy of the same church,

David

Pieta Madonna and Child
and also over the sculptures for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Michelangelo's worldview in the 1520s acquired a tragic character. The deep pessimism that gripped him in the face of the death of political and civil liberties in Italy, the crisis of Renaissance humanism, was reflected in the figurative structure of the sculptures of the Medici tomb - in the heavy thought and aimless movement of the statues of the Dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano, devoid of portrait features, in the dramatic symbolism of the four figures depicting “ Evening”, “Night”, “Morning” and “Day” and personifying the irreversibility of the flow of time. In 1534 Michelangelo moved again to Rome, where he spent the last 30 years of his life. The Last Judgment (fragment)

Fresco "The Last Judgment"
Late paintings the masters amaze tragic force images (the fresco “The Last Judgment” on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, 1536-1541), are permeated with bitter reflections on the futility of human life, on the painful hopelessness of the search for truth (partly anticipating the Baroque painting of the Paolina Chapel in the Vatican, 1542-1550).

Creation of Adam



Noah's Sacrifice

Prophet Daniel

Prophet Zechariah

Prophet Ezekiel

Prophet Jeremiah

Prophet Joel


Prophet Isaiah

The last sculptural works of Michelangelo include the “Pieta”, marked by the tragic expression of artistic language, for the Florentine Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (before 1550-1555, destroyed by Michelangelo and restored by his student M. Calcagni; now in the Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence) and the sculptural group “Pieta” Rondanini” (1555-1564, Museum of Ancient Art, Milan), intended by him for his own tombstone and unfinished. Michelangelo's late work is characterized by a gradual departure from painting and sculpture and a turn to architecture and poetry. From 1546, Michelangelo supervised the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral and the construction of the ensemble of the Capitol Square in Rome (both works were completed after his death). The trapezoidal Capitol Square with the ancient equestrian monument of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the center, the first Renaissance urban ensemble designed by one artist, is closed by the Palace of the Conservatives, flanked by two symmetrically placed palaces on its sides and opens into the city with a wide staircase.

Bacchus


Evening (Twilight)

Morning (Aurora)

Bound slave
Victory

In the plan of St. Peter's Cathedral, Michelangelo, developing the ideas of Bramante and preserving the idea of ​​centricity, strengthened the significance of the center of the cross in the internal space. During Michelangelo's lifetime, the eastern part of the cathedral was built with the base of a grandiose dome, erected in 1586-1593 by Michelangelo's student, the architect Giacomo della Porta, who somewhat lengthened its proportions. Michelangelo's lyrics are marked by depth of thought and high tragedy. In his madrigals and sonnets, love is interpreted as man’s eternal desire for beauty and harmony, lamentation of the artist’s loneliness in hostile world side by side with the bitter disappointments of a humanist in the face of triumphant violence. The work of Michelangelo, which became brilliant the final stage Italian Renaissance, played a huge role in the development of European art, largely prepared the formation of Mannerism, and had a great influence on the formation of the principles of Baroque.
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The culmination of the High Renaissance and at the same time a reflection of the deep contradictions in the culture of the era was the work of the third of the titans of Italian art - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564). Even in comparison with Leonardo and Raphael, who are striking in their versatility, Michelangelo is distinguished by the fact that in each of the areas of artistic creativity he left works of grandiose scale and power, embodying the most progressive ideas of the era. Michelangelo was a brilliant sculptor, painter, architect, draftsman, military engineer, poet, and at the same time he was a fighter for high humanistic ideals, a citizen who defended the freedom and independence of his homeland with arms in hand.

The great artist and fighter are inseparable in the idea of ​​Michelangelo. His whole life is a constant heroic struggle to assert the human right to freedom and creativity. Throughout his long creative career, the artist’s focus was on a person who was effective, active, ready for a feat, and overwhelmed by great passion. His works of the late period reflect the tragic collapse of Renaissance ideals.

Michelangelo was born in Caprese (in the vicinity of Florence), in the family of a city governor. As a thirteen-year-old boy, he entered Ghirlandaio’s workshop, and a year later he entered art school at court Lorenzo Medici Magnificent. Here, in the so-called Medici gardens at the monastery of San Marco, he continued his studies under the guidance of Bertoldo di Giovanni, a staunch admirer of antiquity. Having become acquainted with the rich, sophisticated culture of the Medici court, wonderful works antique and contemporary art, with famous poets and humanists, Michelangelo did not isolate himself in an elegant court environment. Already his early independent works confirmed his attraction to large monumental images, full of heroism and strength. The relief “Battle of the Centaurs” (early 1490s, Florence, Casa Buonarroti) reveals the drama and stormy dynamics of the battle, the fearlessness and energy of the fighters, the powerful plasticity of interconnected strong figures, permeated with a single rapid rhythm.

Final formation public consciousness Michelangelo comes at the time of the expulsion of the Medici from Florence and the establishment of a republican system there. Trips to Bologna and Rome help complete art education. Antiquity opens up to him the gigantic possibilities hidden in sculpture. In Rome, the marble group “Pieta” (1498–1501, Rome, St. Peter’s Cathedral) was created - the master’s first large original work, imbued with faith in the triumph of the humanistic ideals of the Renaissance. The sculptor solves the dramatic theme of Christ’s mourning by the Mother of God in a deeply psychological way, expressing immeasurable grief by tilting his head, exactly found in the gesture of the Madonna’s left hand. Moral purity The images of Mary, the noble restraint of her feelings, reveal the strength of character and are conveyed in classically clear forms, with amazing perfection. Both figures are arranged into an indissoluble group in which not a single detail violates the closed silhouette or its plastic expressiveness.

Deep conviction and the excitement of a person striving for a feat are captured in the statue of David (Florence, Academy of Fine Arts), executed in 1501–1504 upon the sculptor’s return to Florence. In the image legendary hero The idea of ​​civil feat, courageous valor and intransigence was embodied. Michelangelo abandoned the narrative style of his predecessors. Unlike Donatello and Verrocchio, who depicted David after defeating the enemy, Michelangelo presented him before the battle. He focused on the strong-willed composure and intensity of all the hero’s powers, conveyed by plastic means. This colossal statue clearly expresses the peculiarity of Michelangelo’s plastic language: with the hero’s outwardly calm pose, his entire figure with a powerful torso and superbly modeled arms and legs, his beautiful, inspired face expresses the utmost concentration of physical and spiritual forces. All muscles seem to be permeated with movement. Michelangelo's art returned to nudity the ethical meaning it had in ancient sculpture. The image of David acquires even more broad meaning, as an expression creative forces free man. Already in those days, the Florentines understood the civic pathos of the statue and its significance, installing it in the city center in front of the Palazzo Vecchio as a call for the defense of the fatherland and for fair rule.

Having found a convincing form for the statue (with support on one leg), masterfully modeling it, Michelangelo made him forget about the difficulties that he had to overcome in working with the material. The statue was carved from a block of marble, which everyone believed had been ruined by an unlucky sculptor. Michelangelo managed to fit the figure into a ready-made block of marble so that it fit extremely compactly.

At the same time as the statue of David, cardboard was made for painting the Council Hall of the Palazzo Vecchio “The Battle of Cascina” (known from engravings and a pictorial copy). By entering into competition with Leonardo, the young Michelangelo received greater public appreciation for his work; He contrasted the theme of exposing the war and its atrocities with the glorification of the sublime feelings of valor and patriotism of the soldiers of Florence, who rushed to the battlefield at the call of the trumpet, ready for heroism.

Having received an order from Pope Julius II to build his tombstone, Michelangelo, without finishing the Battle of Cascina, moved to Rome in 1505. He creates a project for a majestic mausoleum, decorated with numerous statues and reliefs. To prepare the material - marble blocks - the sculptor went to Carrara. During his absence, the pope lost interest in the idea of ​​​​building a tomb. Insulted, Michelangelo left Rome and only after persistent calls from the pope returned. This time he received a new grandiose order - painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he accepted with great reluctance, since he considered himself primarily a sculptor, and not a painter. This painting became one of greatest creations Italian art.

Under the most difficult conditions, Michelangelo worked for four years (1508–1512), completing the entire painting of the huge ceiling (600 sq. m.) with his own hand. In accordance with the architectonics of the chapel, he divided the vault covering it into a number of fields, placing in a wide central field nine compositions on scenes from the Bible about the creation of the world and the life of the first people on earth: “The Separation of Light from Darkness”, “The Creation of Adam”, “The Fall” , “The Intoxication of Noah”, etc. On the sides of them, on the slopes of the vault, are depicted figures of prophets and sibyls (soothsayers), in the corners of the fields are seated naked young men; in the vault sails, formwork and lunettes above the windows are episodes from the Bible and the so-called ancestors of Christ. The grandiose ensemble, including more than three hundred figures, seems to be an inspired hymn to the beauty, power, and intelligence of man, glorifying his creative genius and heroic deeds. Even in the image of God - a majestic, powerful old man, what is emphasized first of all is the creative impulse expressed in the movements of his hands, as if truly capable of creating worlds and giving life to man. Titanic strength, intelligence, insightful wisdom and sublime beauty characterize the images of the prophets: the deeply thoughtful, mournful Jeremiah, the poetically inspired Isaiah, the mighty Cumaean Sibyl, the beautiful young Delphic Sibyl. The characters created by Michelangelo have a tremendous power of generalization; for each character he finds a special pose, turn, movement, gesture.

If tragic thoughts were embodied in individual images of the prophets, then in the images of naked young men, the so-called slaves, a feeling of the joy of being, irrepressible strength and energy is conveyed. Their figures, presented in complex angles and movements, receive the richest plastic development. All of them, without destroying the plane of the vaults, enrich them, reveal tectonics, enhancing the overall impression of harmony. The combination of grandiose scale, harsh power of action, beauty and concentration of color gives rise to a feeling of freedom and confidence in the triumph of man.

One of the most influential figures in Western art, Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni remains one of the most famous artists in the world, more than 450 years after his death. I invite you to get acquainted with Michelangelo's most famous works, from the Sistine Chapel to his sculpture of David.

Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

When you mention Michelangelo, what immediately comes to mind is the artist’s beautiful fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Michelangelo was hired by Pope Julius II and worked on the fresco from 1508 to 1512. The work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel depicts nine stories from the Book of Genesis and is considered one of greatest works High Renaissance. Michelangelo himself initially refused to take on the project, since he considered himself more of a sculptor than a painter. Nevertheless, this work continues to delight the approximately five million visitors to the Sistine Chapel each year.

Statue of David, Accademia Gallery in Florence

The Statue of David is the most famous sculpture in the world. Michelangelo's David took three years to sculpt, and the master took on it at the age of 26. Unlike many more early descriptions Biblical hero who depict David triumphant after the battle with Goliath, Michelangelo was the first artist to depict him in tense anticipation before the legendary fight. Originally placed in Florence's Piazza della Signoria in 1504, the 4-meter-tall sculpture was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia in 1873, where it remains to this day. You can read more about the Accademia Gallery in the selection of Florence attractions on LifeGlobe.

Sculpture of Bacchus in the Bargello Museum

Michelangelo's first large-scale sculpture is the marble Bacchus. Together with the Pietà, it is one of only two surviving sculptures from Michelangelo's Roman period. It is also one of several works by the artist that focus on pagan rather than Christian themes. The statue depicts the Roman god of wine in a relaxed position. The work was originally commissioned by Cardinal Raffaele Riario, who eventually abandoned it. However, by the early 16th century, Bacchus had found a home in the garden of the Roman palace of banker Jacopo Galli. Since 1871 Bacchus has been shown in the Florentine National Museum Bargello along with other works by Michelangelo, including a marble bust of Brutus and his unfinished sculpture of David-Apollo.

Madonna of Bruges, Church of Our Lady of Bruges

The Madonna of Bruges was the only sculpture by Michelangelo to leave Italy during the artist's lifetime. It was donated to the Church of the Virgin Mary in 1514, after it was bought by the family of the cloth merchant Mouscron. The statue left the church several times, first during the French Wars of Independence, after which it was returned in 1815, only to be stolen again by Nazi soldiers during World War II. This episode is dramatically depicted in the 2014 film Treasure Hunters, starring George Clooney.

The Torment of Saint Anthony

Main asset Art Museum Kimbell in Texas is the painting "The Torment of St. Anthony" - the first of famous paintings Michelangelo. It is believed that the artist painted it at the age of 12 - 13 years old, based on an engraving by the 15th century German painter Martin Schongauer. The painting was created under the tutelage of his older friend Francesco Granacci. The Torment of St. Anthony was praised by the 16th-century artists and writers Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi - Michelangelo's earliest biographers - as a particularly curious work with a creative take on Schongauer's original engraving. The picture received wide acclaim from peers.

Madonna Doni

Madonna Doni (Holy Family) is the only easel work by Michelangelo that has survived to this day. The work was created for the wealthy Florentine banker Agnolo Doni in honor of his wedding to Maddalena, daughter of the prominent Tuscan noble Strozzi family. The painting is still in its original frame, created from wood by Michelangelo himself. The Doni Madonna has been in the Uffizi Gallery since 1635 and is the only painting by the master in Florence. With his unusual presentation of objects, Michelangelo laid the foundation for later artistic direction Mannerist.

Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican

Along with David, the Pietà from the late 15th century is considered one of Michelangelo's most important and famous works. Originally created for the tomb of French Cardinal Jean de Biglier, the sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Body of Christ after his crucifixion. It was common topic for funeral monuments in the Renaissance era of Italy. Moved to St. Peter's Basilica in the 18th century, the Pietà is the only work of art signed by Michelangelo. The statue has suffered significant damage over the years, especially when Hungarian-born Australian geologist Laszlo Toth hit it with a hammer in 1972.

Michelangelo's Moses in Rome

Located in the beautiful Roman basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, "Moses" was commissioned in 1505 by Pope Julius II, as part of his funeral monument. Michelangelo never finished the monument before the death of Julius II. The sculpture, carved from marble, is famous for the unusual pair of horns on the head of Moses - the result of a literal interpretation Latin translation Vulgate Bible. It was intended to combine the statue with other works, including the Dying Slave, now located in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel

Another masterpiece of Michelangelo is located in the Sistine Chapel - the Last Judgment is on the wall of the church altar. It was completed 25 years after the artist painted his awe-inspiring fresco on the ceiling of the Chapel. The Last Judgment is often mentioned as one of the most complex work Michelangelo. The magnificent work of art depicts God's judgment on humanity, which was initially condemned due to nudity. The Council of Trent condemned the fresco in 1564 and hired Daniele da Volterra to cover up the obscene parts.

Crucifixion of St. Peter, Vatican

The Crucifixion of St. Peter is the final fresco by Michelangelo in the Vatican's Cappella Paolina. The work was created by order of Pope Paul III in 1541. Unlike many other Renaissance-era depictions of Peter, Michelangelo's work focuses on a much darker topic—his death. The five-year, €3.2 million restoration project began in 2004 and has revealed a very interesting aspect of the mural: researchers believe that the blue-turbaned figure in the upper left corner is in fact the artist himself. Thus, the Crucifixion of St. Peter in the Vatican is the only known self-portrait of Michelangelo and a real pearl of the Vatican Museums.

In 1475, in the family of a poor but noble Florentine nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti, a boy was born who was to become the greatest sculptor throughout the history of mankind. Father "by command" higher powers” named his son Michelangelo. The paintings and sculptures created by his hand are truly divine, just like his name.

The beginning of creativity

Most The boy spent his childhood in the village with a nurse, where he learned to work with clay and a chisel, which helped to identify him. Seeing this, Lodovico Buonarotti sent his son to the workshop of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio for training, and a year later - to the famous sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni. It is here that the work of the young talent is noticed and appreciated by Lorenzo de' Medici. He invites him to his palace. For three years, Michelangelo lived and created for Lorenzo the Magnificent, where he met many painters and sculptors, as well as art connoisseurs.

In Rome

Soon his works began to interest the highest clergy, and he was invited to Rome, where he carried out orders from Cardinal Rafael Riario, and then from Pope Julius II, on whose behalf Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for four years. According to the plan, it was supposed to be more than 300 works on biblical themes, and Michelangelo did an excellent job with them. These paintings became the most accurate reproductions of biblical stories: “The Creation of Heaven and Earth”, “The Separation of Light from Darkness”, “The Creation of Adam”, “The Creation of Eve”, “The Fall”, “The Flood”, etc. Despite the fact that by the nature of his talent Michelangelo Buonarroti was primarily a sculptor, nevertheless his most grandiose plans were realized precisely in painting. This is evidenced by the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Some paintings by Michelangelo with titles

“The Last Judgment”

This painting was commissioned by Pope Paul III over a period of seven years (1534-1541). It became the most powerful fresco in the history of world painting. Michelangelo painted it on a huge white altar wall. He was 60 years old, he was sick, infirm, and it was very difficult for him to write it. Nevertheless, this was exactly what later glorified the name of Michelangelo for centuries. Paintings of this scale were usually painted by several masters at once, but the elderly artist completed this work alone. Those who saw her once will never forget.

“The Torment of Saint Anthony”

Until 2008, this painting was considered an unknown work and only this year it was recognized as the work of Michelangelo Buonarroti. By the way, this is the earliest of his surviving creations.

Michelangelo's painting “The Creation of Adam”

The great painter painted this fresco in 1511. It is one of the nine central compositions depicted on the vault and is considered one of Michelangelo's best works. The paintings adorning the ceiling, every single one, are simply magnificent. However, they are at a sufficient height, and in order to study them carefully, you need to tilt your head back, which is not very comfortable. Therefore, at the entrance to the chapel, and in many bookstores in Italy, you can purchase an album of Michelangelo’s works, including reproductions of the great artist’s creations.

Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni is the most famous painter from Italy, a genius of architectural and sculptural works, a thinker of the High Renaissance and the early Baroque period. 9 of the 13 popes who were on the throne during the time of Michelangelo invited a master to carry out work in and.

Little Michelangelo was born in the early morning of March 6, 1475, Monday, into the family of the bankrupt banker and nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni in the Tuscan town of Caprese, near the province of Arezzo, where his father held the position of podestà ), head of the Italian medieval administration.

Family and childhood

Two days after his birth, on March 8, 1475, the boy was baptized in the Church of San Giovanni di Caprese. Michelangelo was the 2nd child in a large family. Mother, Francesca Neri del Miniato Siena, gave birth to her first son Lionardo in 1473, Buonarroto was born in 1477, and fourth son Giovansimone was born in 1479. in 1481 the younger Gismondo was born. Exhausted by frequent pregnancies, the woman dies in 1481, when Michelangelo was barely 6 years old.

In 1485, the father of a large family married for the second time to Lucrezia Ubaldini di Galliano, who was unable to give birth to her own children and raised adopted boys as her own. Unable to cope with the large family, his father gave Michelangelo to the Topolino foster family in the city of Settignano. The father of the new family worked as a stonemason, and his wife knew the child from childhood, as she was Michelangelo’s wet nurse. It was there that the boy began working with clay and picked up a chisel for the first time.

To give the heir an education, the father assigned Michelangelo to educational institution Francesco Galatea da Urbino, located in Firenze. But he turned out to be an unimportant student; the boy liked to draw more, copying icons and frescoes.

First works

In 1488 young painter achieves his goal and goes to study in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio, where whole year learns the basics of drawing techniques. During his year of study, Michelangelo created several pencil copies of famous paintings and a copy of an engraving by the German painter Martin Schongauer entitled “Tormento di Sant’Antonio”.

In 1489, the young man was enrolled in the art school of Bertoldo di Giovanni, organized under the patronage of Lorenzo Medici, the ruler of Florence. Noticing the genius of Michelangelo, the Medici took him under his protection, helping him develop his abilities and fulfill expensive orders.

In 1490, Michelangelo continued his studies at the Academy of Humanism at the Medici court, where he met the philosophers Marsilio Ficino and Angelo Ambrogini, the future Popes: Leo PP. X and Clement VII (Clemens PP. VII). During 2 years of study at the Academy, Michelangelo creates:

• Marble relief of the “Madonna of the Staircase” (“Madonna della scala”), 1492, is exhibited in the Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence;
• Marble relief "Battle of the Centaurs" ("Battaglia dei centauri"), 1492, exhibited in Casa Buonarroti;
• Sculpture by Bertoldo di Giovanni.

On April 8, 1492, the influential patron of talent, Lorenzo de' Medici, dies, and Michelangelo decides to return to his father's house.

In 1493, with the permission of the rector of the church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito, he studied anatomy on corpses at the church hospital. In gratitude for this, the master makes for the priest a wooden “Crucifix” (“Crocifisso di Santo Spirito”), 142 cm in height, which is now displayed in the church in the side chapel.

In Bologna

In 1494, Michelangelo left Florence not wanting to participate in the Savonarola uprising (Savonarola) and went to (Bologna), where he immediately took on the task of completing an order of 3 small figurines for the tomb of St. Dominic (San Domenico) in the church of the same name “St. Dominic” (“Chiesa di San Domenico”):

• “Angel with a candelabra” (“Angelo reggicandelabro”), 1495;
• “Saint Petronio” (“San Petronio”), patron saint of Bologna, 1495;
• "Saint Proclus" ("San Procolo"), Italian warrior-saint, 1495

In Bologna, the sculptor learns to create difficult reliefs by observing the actions of Jacopo della Quercia in the Basilica of San Petronio. Elements of this work would be reproduced by Michelangelo later on the ceiling ("Cappella Sistina").

Florence and Rome

In 1495, the 20-year-old master again came to Florence, where power was in the hands of Girolamo Savonarola, but did not receive any orders from the new rulers. He returns to the Medici Palace and begins working for Lorenzo’s heir, Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’ Medici, creating for him the now lost statues:

• “John the Baptist” (“San Giovannino”), 1496;
• “Sleeping Cupid” (“Cupido dormiente”), 1496

Lorenzo asked the last statue to be aged; he wanted to sell the work of art at a higher price, passing it off as an antique find. But Cardinal Raffaele Riario, who purchased the fake, discovered the deception, however, impressed by the work of the author, he did not make claims against him, inviting him to work in Rome.

June 25, 1496 Michelangelo arrives in Rome, where in 3 years he creates greatest masterpieces: marble sculptures of the god of wine Bacchus (Bacco) and (Pietà).

Heritage

Throughout his subsequent life, Michelangelo repeatedly worked in Rome and Florence, fulfilling the most labor-intensive orders of the Popes.

The creativity of the brilliant master was manifested not only in sculptures, but also in painting and architecture, leaving many unsurpassed masterpieces. Unfortunately, some works have not reached our time: some were lost, others were deliberately destroyed. In 1518, the sculptor first destroyed all the sketches for painting the Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina), and 2 days before his death, he again ordered his unfinished drawings to be burned so that his descendants would not see his creative torment.

Personal life

It is not known for certain whether Michelangelo had a close relationship with his passions or not, but the homosexual nature of his attraction is evident in many of the maestro’s poetic works.

At the age of 57, he dedicated many of his sonnets and madrigals to the 23-year-old Tommaso dei Cavalieri(Tommaso Dei Cavalieri). Many of them are joint poetic works talk about mutual and touching love to each other.

In 1542, Michelangelo met Cecchino de Bracci, who died in 1543. The Maestro was so saddened by the loss of his friend that he wrote a cycle of 48 sonnets, praising grief and sadness over an irreparable loss.

One of the young men posing for Michelangelo, Febo di Poggio, constantly asked the master for money, gifts and jewelry in exchange for reciprocated love, receiving the nickname “little blackmailer” for this.

The second young man, Gherardo Perini, also posing for the sculptor, did not hesitate to take advantage of Michelangelo’s favor and simply robbed his admirer.

In his twilight years, the sculptor felt a wonderful sense of affection for a female representative, the widow and poetess Vittoria Colonna, whom he had known for more than 40 years. Their correspondence constitutes a significant monument of Michelangelo's era.

Death

Michelangelo's life was interrupted on February 18, 1564 in Rome. He died in the presence of a servant, doctors and friends, having managed to dictate his will, promising the Lord his soul, the earth his body, and his relatives his property. A tomb was built for the sculptor, but two days after his death the body was temporarily transported to the Basilica of Santi Apostoli, and in July he was buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in the center of Florence.

Painting

Despite the fact that the main manifestation of Michelangelo's genius was the creation of sculptures, he has many masterpieces of painting. According to the author, high-quality paintings should resemble sculptures and reflect the volume and relief of the presented images.

“The Battle of Cascina” (“Battaglia di Cascina”) was created by Michelangelo in 1506 for painting one of the walls of the Great Council Hall in the Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico) commissioned by the gonfaloniere Pier Soderini. But the work remained unfinished, since the author was summoned to Rome.

On a huge cardboard in the premises of the Sant’Onofrio hospital, the artist masterfully depicted soldiers in a hurry to stop swimming in the Arno River. The bugle from the camp called them to battle and the men in a hurry grab their weapons, armor, pull clothes over their wet bodies, while helping their comrades. The cardboard housed in the Papal Hall became a school for artists such as Antonio da Sangallo, Raffaello Santi, Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, Francesco Granacci, and later Andrea del Sarto del Sarto), Jacopo Sansovino, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Perino del Vaga and others. They came to work and copied from a unique canvas, trying to get closer to the talent of the great master. The cardboard has not survived to this day.

“Madonna Doni” or “Holy Family” (Tondo Doni) – round picture with a diameter of 120 cm is exhibited at the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. Made in 1507 in the “Cangiante” style, when the skin of the depicted characters resembles marble. Most of the picture is occupied by the figure of the Mother of God, with John the Baptist behind her. They are holding the Christ child in their arms. The work is filled with complex symbolism, subject to various interpretations.

Manchester Madonna

The unfinished “Manchester Madonna” (Madonna di Manchester) was executed in 1497 on a wooden board and is kept in the National Gallery in London. The first title of the painting was “Madonna and Child, John the Baptist and Angels,” but in 1857 it was first presented to the public at an exhibition in Manchester, receiving its second title, by which it is known today.

Entombment (Deposizione di Cristo nel sepolcro) was executed in 1501 in oil on wood. Another unfinished work by Michelangelo, owned by the London National Gallery. The main figure of the work was the body of Jesus taken from the cross. His followers carry their teacher to the grave. Presumably, John the Evangelist is depicted to the left of Christ in red clothes. Other characters could be: Nikodim and Joseph of Arimathea. On the left, Mary Magdalene is kneeling in front of the teacher, and on the bottom right, the image of the Mother of God is outlined, but not drawn.

Madonna and Child

The sketch “Madonna and Child” (Madonna col Bambino) was made between 1520 and 1525 and can easily turn into a full-fledged painting in the hands of any artist. Kept in the Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence. First, on the first piece of paper, he drew the skeletons of future images, then on the second, he “increased” muscles on the skeleton. Nowadays, the work has been exhibited with great success in museums in America over the past three decades.

Leda and the swan

The lost painting “Leda and the Swan” (“Leda e il cigno”), created in 1530 for the Duke of Ferrara Alfonso I d’Este (Italian: Alfonso I d’Este) is known today only through copies. But the Duke did not get the painting; the nobleman sent to Michelangelo for the work commented on the master’s work: “Oh, this is nothing!” The artist kicked out the envoy and gave the masterpiece to his student Antonio Mini, whose two sisters were soon getting married. Antonio took the work to France, where it was bought by the monarch Francis I (François Ier). The painting belonged to the Château de Fontainebleau until it was destroyed in 1643 by François Sublet de Noyers, who considered the image too voluptuous.

Cleopatra

The painting “Cleopatra” from 1534 is an ideal female beauty. The work is interesting because on the other side of the sheet there is another sketch in black chalk, but it is so ugly that art historians have made the assumption that the author of the sketch belongs to one of the master’s students. Portrait Egyptian queen Michelangelo gave it to Tommaso dei Cavalieri. Perhaps Tommaso tried to paint one of the ancient statues, but the work was not crowned with success, then Michelangelo turned the page and turned the squalor into a masterpiece.

Venus and Cupid

The cardboard "Venere and Cupid", created in 1534, was used by the painter Jacopo Carucci to create the painting "Venus and Cupid". The oil painting on wood panel measures 1 m 28 cm by 1 m 97 cm and is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. ABOUT The original of Michelangelo's work has not survived to this day.

Pieta

The drawing “Pietà per Vittoria Colonna” was written in 1546 for Michelangelo’s friend, the poetess Vittoria Colonna. The chaste woman not only dedicated her work to God and the church, but also forced the artist to penetrate deeper into the spirit of religion. It was to her that the master dedicated a series of religious drawings, among which was “Pieta”.

Michelangelo repeatedly wondered if he was competing with God himself in an attempt to achieve perfection in art. The work is kept in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Epiphany

The sketch “Epiphany” (“Epifania”) is a grandiose work by the artist, completed in 1553. It was made on 26 sheets of paper with a height of 2 m 32 cm 7 mm after much thought (multiple traces of changes in the sketch are noticeable on the paper). In the center of the composition is the Virgin Mary, who with her left hand pushes Saint Joseph away from her. At the feet of the Mother of God is the baby Jesus, in front of Joseph is the baby St. John. On Mary’s right hand there is a figure of a man, unidentified by art historians. The work is exhibited in British Museum(British Museum) in London.

Sculptures

Today, 57 works belonging to Michelangelo are known, about 10 sculptures have been lost. The master did not sign his work and cultural workers continue to “find” more and more new works by the sculptor.

Bacchus

The sculpture of the drunken god of wine made of Bacchus marble, 2 m 3 cm high, is depicted in 1497 with a glass of wine in his hand and with bunches of grapes, symbolizing the hair on his head. He is accompanied by a goat-legged satyr. The customer for one of Michelangelo's first masterpieces was Cardinal Raffaele della Rovere, who subsequently refused to take the work back. In 1572, the statue was bought by the Medici family. Today it is exhibited in the Italian Bargello Museum in Florence.

Roman Pieta

Order to paint a ceiling with an area of ​​about 600 sq. m. “Sistine Chapel” (“Sacellum Sixtinum”), Pope Julius II (Iulius PP. II) gave the Apostolic Palace to the master after their reconciliation. Before this, Michelangelo lived in Florence, he was angry with the pope, who refused to pay for the construction of his own tomb.

Previously talented sculptor I have never done frescoes, but I completed the order of a royal person as soon as possible, painting the ceiling with three hundred figures and nine scenes from the Bible.

Creation of Adam

“The Creation of Adam” (“La creazione di Adamo”) is the most famous and beautiful fresco of the chapel, completed in 1511. One of the central compositions is full of symbolism and hidden meaning. God the Father, surrounded by angels, is depicted flying into infinity. He reaches out his hand to meet Adam's outstretched hand, breathing the soul into the ideal human body.

Last Judgment

The Last Judgment fresco (“Giudizio universale”) is the largest fresco of Michelangelo’s era. The master worked on the image measuring 13 m 70 cm by 12 m for 6 years, finishing it in 1541. In the center is the figure of Christ with a raised right hand. He is no longer a messenger of peace, but a formidable judge. Next to Jesus were the apostles: Saint Peter, Saint Lawrence, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Sebastian and others.

The dead look at the judge with horror, awaiting the verdict. Those saved by Christ are resurrected, but the sinners are carried away by the devil himself.

“The Universal Flood” is the first fresco painted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the chapel in 1512. The sculptor was helped to carry out this work by masters from Florence, but soon their work ceased to satisfy the maestro and he refused outside help. The image represents human fears at the last moment of life. Everything is already flooded with water, except for a few high hills, where people are desperately trying to avoid death.

“Libyan Sibyl” (“Libyan sibyl”) is one of the 5 depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the chapel. A graceful woman with a folio is presented half-turned. According to art historians, the artist copied the image of the Sibyl from a posing young man. According to legend, she was a dark-skinned African woman of average height. The maestro decided to portray a soothsayer with white skin and blond hair.

Separation of Light from Darkness

The fresco “The Separation of Light from Dark,” like other frescoes in the chapel, is filled with a riot of colors and emotions. Higher intelligence, full of love for everything that exists, has such incredible power that Chaos is unable to prevent him from separating light from darkness. Giving the Almighty a human form suggests that each person has the power to create a small universe within himself, distinguishing between good and evil, light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

At the beginning of the 16th century, Michelangelo, as an architect, participated in the creation of the plan for St. Peter's Basilica together with the architect Donato Bramante. But the latter disliked Buonarroti and constantly plotted against his opponent.

Forty years later, the construction completely passed into the hands of Michelangelo, who returned to Bramante's plan, rejecting the plan of Giuliano da Sangallo. The maestro introduced more monumentality into the old plan when he abandoned the complex division of space. He also increased the dome pylons and simplified the shape of the semi-domes. Thanks to innovations, the building acquired integrity, as if it were cut from one piece of material.

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Chapel Paolina

Michelangelo was able to begin painting the “Cappella Paolina” in the Apostolic Palace only in 1542 at the age of 67 years. Long work on the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel greatly undermined his health; inhaled fumes of paint and plaster led to general weakness and heart disease. The paint ruined his vision, the master hardly ate, did not sleep, and did not take off his boots for weeks. As a result, Buonarroti stopped work twice and returned to it again, creating two amazing frescoes.

“Conversion of the Apostle Paul” (“Conversione di Saulo”) is Michelangelo’s first fresco in the “Paolina Chapel” measuring 6 m 25 cm by 6 m 62 cm, completed in 1545. The Apostle Paul was considered the patron saint of Pope Paul III (Paulus PP III) . The author depicted a moment from the Bible, which describes how the Lord himself appeared to Saul as an implacable persecutor of Christians, turning the sinner into a preacher.

Crucifixion of Saint Peter

The fresco “Crucifixion of St. Peter” (“Crocifissione di San Pietro”) measuring 6 m 25 cm by 6 m 62 cm was completed by Michelangelo in 1550 and became the artist’s final painting. Saint Peter was sentenced to death by Emperor Nero, but the condemned man wished to be crucified upside down, since he did not consider himself worthy to accept death like Christ.

Many artists, depicting this scene, encountered misunderstandings. Michelangelo solved the problem by presenting the crucifixion scene before the erection of the cross.

Architecture

During the second half of his life, Michelangelo increasingly began to turn to architecture. Maestro during construction architectural monuments The Renaissance successfully destroyed the old canons, putting into the work all the knowledge and skills accumulated over the years.

In the Basilica of St. Lawrence (Basilica di San Lorenzo), Michelangelo worked not only on the Medici tombs. The church, built in 393 during reconstruction in the 15th century, was supplemented with the Old Sacristy according to the design of Filippo Brunelleschi.

Later, Michelangelo became the author of the project for the New Sacristy, built on the other side of the church. In 1524, by order of Clement VII (Clemens PP. VII), the architect designed and built the building of the Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) on the south side of the church. A complex staircase, floors and ceilings, windows and benches - every little detail was carefully thought out by the author.

“Porta Pia” is a gate in the northeast (Mura aureliane) in Rome on the ancient Via Nomentana. Michelangelo made three projects, of which the customer, Pope Pius IV (Pius PP. IV), approved the least expensive option, where the facade resembled a theater curtain.

The author did not live to see the construction of the gate completed. After the gate was partially destroyed by lightning in 1851, Pope Pius IX (Pius PP. IX) ordered its reconstruction, changing the original appearance of the building.

The titular basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri) is located on the Roman (Piazza della Repubblica) and was erected in honor of Our Lady, the holy martyrs and God's angels. Pope Pius IV entrusted the development of a construction plan to Michelangelo in 1561. The author of the project did not live to see the completion of the work, which occurred in 1566.

Poetry

The last three decades of Michelangelo's life were not only engaged in architecture; he wrote many madrigals and sonnets, which were not published during the author's lifetime. In poetry, he sang love, glorified harmony and described the tragedy of loneliness. Buonarroti's poems were first published in 1623. In total, about three hundred of his poems, just under 1,500 letters from personal correspondence and about three hundred pages of personal notes have survived.

1. Michelangelo's talent was evident in the fact that he saw his works before they were created. The master personally selected pieces of marble for future sculptures and transported them to the workshop himself. He always stored and treasured unprocessed blocks as finished masterpieces.
2. The future “David,” which appeared before Michelangelo as a huge piece of marble, turned out to be the sculpture that two previous masters had already abandoned. For 3 years the maestro worked on his masterpiece, presenting the naked “David” to the public in 1504.
3. At the age of 17, Michelangelo quarreled with 20-year-old Pietro Torrigiano, also an artist, who managed to break his opponent’s nose in a fight. Since then, in all the images of the sculptor he is presented with a disfigured face.
4. The “Pieta” in St. Peter’s Basilica impresses the audience so much that it has been repeatedly attacked by individuals with unstable psyches. In 1972, Australian geologist Laszlo Toth committed an act of vandalism by hitting the sculpture 15 times with a hammer. After this, the Pietà was placed behind glass.
5. Darling sculptural composition The author's Pieta "Lamentation of Christ" turned out to be the only signed work. When the masterpiece was unveiled in St. Peter's Basilica, people began to speculate that its creator was Cristoforo Solari. Then Michelangelo, having made his way into the cathedral at night, embossed on the folds of the Mother of God’s clothing “Michelangelo Buonarroti, a Florentine sculpture,” but later he regretted his pride, never signing his works again.
6. While working on The Last Judgment, the master accidentally fell from tall forests, seriously injuring his leg. He saw this as a bad omen and did not want to work anymore. The artist locked himself in the room, not letting anyone in and deciding to die. But the famous doctor and friend of Michelangelo, Baccio Rontini, wanted to cure the wayward stubborn man, and since the doors did not open for him, with great difficulty he made his way into the house through the cellar. The doctor forced Buonarroti to take medication and helped him recover.
7. The power of the master's art only gains strength over time. Over the past 4 years, more than a hundred people have sought medical help after visiting rooms with Michelangelo's works on display. Particularly impressive to viewers is the statue of a naked “David”, in front of which people have repeatedly lost consciousness. They complained of disorientation, dizziness, apathy and nausea. Doctors at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital call this emotional state “David syndrome.”

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