Life of Michelangelo. The end of the earthly journey

Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni (1475 - 1564) - great Italian sculptor, artist, architect, poet, thinker. One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance.

BIOGRAPHY OF MICHELANGELO

One of famous sculptors, artists, poets, painters and architects of all times - Michelangelo Buonarotti was born on 03/06/1475 in the city of Caprese, where he studied at primary school, and upon graduation, in 1488, he began to study sculpture, being a student of Bertoldo in the workshop of the greatest painter of history - Domenico Ghirlandaio.

Attention Lorenzo Medici attracted the boy's talent, so he accepted him into his home and financially helped Michelangelo develop. When Lorenzo died, Buonarotti went to Bologna, where he erected a marble angel with a candelabra, as well as a statue for the Church of St. Petronius. In 1494 he returned to Florence again. Has begun new period his work, in which he boldly exaggerated the forms of nature in order to express his ideas and better convey characters.

In 1503, Michelangelo was invited to Rome by Julius II to build a tombstone, which Julius wanted to make for himself during his lifetime. The sculptor agreed and came. Two years later, Buonarotti felt that the pope’s attention to him was not enough and, offended, returned to Florence.

The artist was in Rome already in 1508, where he was again summoned by Julius II to continue the work he had begun, as well as to complete a new order - decorating the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Palace fresco painting. Julius II died a couple of months after completing the painting of the Sistine ceiling.

The fall of Florence, which threatened Michelangelo with the danger of death, caused a serious shock in his soul and also worsened his health. And being already unsociable and stern, he became even more unsociable and gloomier, plunging completely and completely into his ideological world, which could not but affect the nature of his work.

In 1532, he received an invitation from the “new” pope to Rome to complete the decoration of the Sistine Chapel, depicting “ Last Judgment" on the altar wall, and "The Fall of Lucifer" on the opposite. Only the first was performed by Buonarotti in 1534-1541 without assistants.

The last works of Michelangelo were the frescoes in the chapel of the Vatican Palace. Buonarotti a little later parted with sculpture, his favorite industry, in which he worked in his old age.

The artist was engaged in architecture, living out his last years. He was appointed in 1546 as the chief architect of Peter's Cathedral, because Michelangelo was not only talented, but also experienced in construction.

THE WORK OF MICELANGELO

Michelangelo's work belongs to the era High Renaissance. Already in his youthful works, such as the reliefs “Madonna of the Stairs” and “Battle of the Centaurs” (both around 1490-1492), the main features of Michelangelo’s art emerge: monumentality, plastic power and dramatic images, reverence for the beauty of man. Fleeing the civil unrest resulting from Savonarola's reign, Michelangelo moved from Florence to Venice, then to Rome.

Madonna of the Stairs Battle of the Centaurs Bacchus

During his five years in Rome he created the first of his famous works, including the sculptures "Bacchus" (1496-1497) and "Pieta" (1498-1501) in St. Peter's Basilica. In 1500, at the invitation of the citizens of Florence, Michelangelo returned to this city in triumph.

Soon he had at his disposal a four-meter-high marble block, which two sculptors had already rejected. For the next three years, he worked selflessly, almost without leaving his workshop. In 1504, a monumental statue of a naked David was presented to the public.

In 1505, the power-hungry Pope Julius II ordered Michelangelo to return to Rome, ordering a tomb for himself. Sculptor whole year worked on a giant bronze statue that was supposed to crown the monument, so that almost immediately after finishing the work he could witness how his creation was melted down into cannons.

After the death of Julius II in 1513, his heirs insisted on completing another project for a tomb sculpture. This, including numerous alterations caused by the whims of customers, took 40 years of Michelangelo’s life. As a result, he was forced to abandon the implementation of his plan, which included the erection of a tomb as part of the internal architecture of St. Peter's Cathedral.

The colossal marble Moses and the statues known as "Slaves" remained forever impressive parts of an unfinished whole.

According to contemporaries, Michelangelo was a closed and self-absorbed person, subject to sudden outbursts of violence. IN privacy he was almost an ascetic, went to bed late and got up early. They said that he often slept without even taking off his shoes.

In 1547 he received the post of chief architect for the reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica and designed the huge dome, which remains one of the greatest masterpieces architecture.

Michelangelo was born into the family of the poorest Florentine nobleman, Lodovico Buonarotti. Due to lack of funds yet infant given to another Topolino couple for maintenance. It was they who taught the future genius to knead clay and work with a chisel before reading and writing. Michelangelo himself told his friend Giorgio Vasari:

“If there is anything good in my talent, it is because I was born in the rarefied air of your Aretina land, and both the chisels and the hammer with which I make my statues, I took from the statue of my nurse.”

Michelangelo created the famous statue of David from a piece of white marble that was left over from another sculptor. The valuable stone changed hands only because the previous owner was unable to do work on the piece and then abandoned it.

When Michelangelo completed his first Pietà and it was exhibited in St. Peter's Basilica, the author heard rumors that people attributed this work to another sculptor - Cristoforo Solari. Then Michelangelo carved on the belt of the Virgin Mary: “This was done by the Florentine Michelangelo Buonarotti.” He later regretted this outburst of pride and never signed his sculptures again.

The great master often complained about losses and was considered a poor man. All his life the master saved on literally everything. There was practically no furniture or jewelry in his house. However, after the death of the sculptor, it turned out that Michelangelo had collected a fortune. Researchers estimate that in modern terms his fortune was tens of millions of dollars.

In the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo painted about a thousand square meters ceiling and far walls of the chapel. It took the artist four years to paint the ceiling. During this time, the master’s health deteriorated greatly - while working great amount paint got into his lungs and eyes. Michelangelo worked without assistants, painted the ceiling for days, forgetting about sleep, and slept on scaffolding without taking off his boots for weeks. But it was undoubtedly worth the effort. Goethe wrote:

“Without seeing the Sistine Chapel, it is difficult to get a clear idea of what one person can do.”

In the winter of 1494, there was heavy snowfall in Florence. The ruler of the Florentine Republic, Piero de' Medici, who went down in history under the name Piero the Unlucky, summoned Michelangelo and ordered him to sculpt a snow statue. The work was completed, and contemporaries noted its beauty, but no information about what the snowman looked like or who he depicted was preserved.

Michelangelo depicted Moses with horns in his sculpture. Many art historians attribute this to misinterpretation of the Bible. The Book of Exodus says that when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the tablets, the Israelites found it difficult to look at his face. At this point in the Bible, a word is used that can be translated from Hebrew as both “rays” and “horns.” However, judging by the context, we can definitely say that we are talking specifically about rays of light - that Moses’ face shone, and was not horned.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Somov A.I. Michelangelo Buonarroti // encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Karel Schultz, “Stone and Pain” (text of the novel in the library of Alexander Belousenko)
Dazhina V.D. Michelangelo. Drawing in his work. - M.: Art, 1987. - 215 p.
P. D. Barenboim, Secrets of the Medici Chapel, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise Publishing House, 2006, ISBN 5-7621-0291-2
Barenboim Peter, Shiyan Sergey, Michelangelo. Mysteries of the Medici Chapel, Slovo, M., 2006. ISBN 5-85050-825-2
Michelangelo. Poetry. Letters. Judgments of contemporaries / comp. V.N.Grashchenkov. - M., 1983. - 176 p.
Michelangelo. Life. Creativity / Comp. V. N. Grashchenkov; introductory article V. N. Lazareva. - M.: Art, 1964.
Rotenberg E.I. Michelangelo. - M.: Art, 1964. - 180 p.
Michelangelo and his time / Ed. E. I. Rotenberg, N. M. Chegodaeva. - M.: Art, 1978. - 272 p. - 25,000 copies.
Irving Stone, “Torments and Joys”, big-library.info/?act=read&book=26322
Wallace, William E. Michelangelo: Skulptur, Malerei, Archtektur. - Köln: DuMont, 1999.(Monte von DuMont)
Tolnay K. Michelangelo. - Princeton, 1943-1960.
Gilles Néret Michelangelo. - Köln: Taschen, 1999. - 96 p. - (Basic Art).
Romain Rolland, "The Life of Michelangelo"
Peter Barenboim, “Michelangelo Drawings - Key to the Medici Chapel Interpretation”, Moscow, Letny Sad, 2006, ISBN 5-98856-016-4
Edith Balas, Michelangelo's Medici Chapel: a new Interpretation, Philadelphia, 1995
James Beck, Antonio Paolucci, Bruno Santi, Michelangelo. The Medici Chapel", London, New York, 2000
Władysław Kozicki, Michał Anioł, 1908. Wydawnictwo Gutenberg - Print, Warszawa

2014 announced year of Michelangelo as it marks 450 years since the death of the great creator.

Godovshina

The long earthly journey of a genius ended in Rome 18 February 1564, and there were only a few days left before his eighty-ninth birthday. Michelangelo lived 88 years, 11 months and 15 days.
He remained active until his last days, devoting himself mainly to the project of building St. Peter's Basilica. In recent years, he did not accept orders for sculptures, leaving the chisel free to serve only his own inspiration and desire. At the very last days throughout his life he continued to work on sculpture Pieta. This is evidenced by Daniele da Volterra in a letter to Giorgio Vasari from March 17, 1564: " He worked the entire Saturday day that preceded Monday, when he fell ill; and on Sunday, not remembering that it was the Lord’s Day, he wanted to get to work, but Antonio reminded him of this.”.

Last years in Rome

Michelangelo lived in Rome since 1534, when he left Florence, leaving the New Sacristy in the Medici Chapels unfinished, and in his workshop, among other things, foursculpturesunder the general name of Slaves. He never returned to his homeland again.
House in Rome, at Via Fornari Machel de Corvi, was located in a common, foul-smelling area of the city. The house itself was modest: on the top floor there were two bedrooms, on the first floor there was a workshop, a dining room, a kitchen, and in addition to that there was a basement, a vegetable garden and a stable. According to Michelangelo himself, it was a “dark tomb,” but he felt there “like pulp in his bark.” The house no longer exists, the entire area being demolished in 1902 to make way for the majestic Altar of the Fatherland in Piazza Venezia.
For that era, eighty-eight years old - as old as Michelangelo - was almost an age biblical prophet. In letters written during recent years nephew Leonardo, Michelangelo complained about his ailments and lamented that he felt very old: “ Regarding my well-being... my body suffers from all the diseases that plague old people: stone disease, which prevents me from urinating, my side and back hurt, so much so that sometimes I can’t climb a stepladder myself; and this is even worse because passion overwhelms me.” Rome, June 16, 1557.
In December 1563, Michelangelo had a high fever, and he himself wrote about his condition to his nephew in a letter dated December 28: “ Leonardo, I received your last letter and 12 cheeses, good and tasty, and I thank you, rejoicing in your good condition, and I am in a similar state.And although I received more than one message from you, I did not answer because my hand does not serve me; but from this day on I will ask others to write and I will sign myself. Nothing else happens to me. Rome, December 28, 1563. I, Michelagnolo( that's how he wrote his name) Buonarroti."

Last days

Tiberio Calcagni told how, approaching Michelangelo’s house on February 13, on a cold and rainy day, he found the master on the street without a hat, near the house, in an excited state. And when he was asked what he was doing here alone in the rain, Michelangelo answered sharply: “ What am I doing here, you ask? I feel bad, and I don’t find the slightest peace anywhere...". We managed to convince Michelangelo to come into the house and sit him in a chair by the fire. They immediately called Daniele da Volterra. It was Monday of Maslenitsa week. Michelangelo felt that he was dying and asked Daniele not to leave him and to summon Leonardo’s nephew to Rome.

IN letter February 14, written by Daniele and sent by Leonardo to Florence, it is this request that sounds most insistent: “Hurry up and come as soon as possible” and then follows in Michelangelo’s handwriting his signature: "Michelagnolo Buonarti", just like that with mistakes and omitted letters, which fully conveys the difficult state in which he was already in, and the drama of the extinction of one whose stroke was always perfect.
After two days spent in a chair that he did not want to leave, Michelangelo lost consciousness and was carried to bed. On this simple iron bed with a straw mattress he spent the last days of his earthly existence.

Death February 18

He was surrounded by only a few faithful people, except Daniele who arrived in time and Tommaso de Cavalieri. Michelangelo himself asked a servant to read aloud the Passion of Christ, especially the Gospel of Matthew. In his will he wrote that “ leaves his soul in the hands of God", and expressed the desire that " the body was buried, and the goods were buried to the closest relatives.”. He did not want the priest to be called, but died while listening to the reading of the Gospel. This happened on the first Friday of Lent, February 18, 1564, at sunset.

Death mask and bust

Immediately after the artist's death, Daniele da Volterra removed mask from the face of Michelangelo, which served as the basis for the bust, and the appearance of the great sculptor became a work of sculpture itself. They thought about dressing him in work clothes and putting a brush and a chisel next to him, then they decided to dress him as for travel: in a traveling caftan, an old-style hat, and boots with spurs.
No matter how much Leonardo's nephew was in a hurry, he arrived in Rome only after the death of his uncle, on Thursday, February 24.

Michelangelo had by that time been transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles, where his funeral service was already being held.

Michelangelo- an outstanding Italian sculptor, architect, artist, thinker, poet, one of the brightest figures of the Renaissance, whose multifaceted creativity influenced the art of not only this historical period, but also on the development of the entire world culture.

On March 6, 1475, a boy was born into the family of a city councilor, a poor Florentine nobleman living in the small town of Caprese (Tuscany), whose creations would be elevated to the rank of masterpieces, best achievements Renaissance art during the lifetime of their author. Lodovico Buonarroti said that higher powers inspired him to name his son Michelangelo. Despite the nobility, which gave grounds to be among the city elite, the family was not wealthy. Therefore, when the mother died, the father of many children had to give 6-year-old Michelangelo to be raised by his nurse in the village. Before he could read and write, the boy learned to work with clay and a chisel.

Seeing his son’s pronounced inclinations, Lodovico in 1488 sent him to study with the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, in whose workshop Michelangelo spent a year. Then he becomes a student famous sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, whose school was patronized by Lorenzo de' Medici, who at that time was the de facto ruler of Florence. After some time, he himself notices the talented teenager and invites him to the palace, introducing him to the palace collections. Michelangelo stayed at the patron's court from 1490 until his death in 1492, after which he left home.

In June 1496, Michelangelo arrived in Rome: having bought a sculpture he liked, Cardinal Raphael Riario summoned him there. From that time on, the biography of the great artist was associated with frequent moves from Florence to Rome and back. Early creations already reveal features that will distinguish creative manner Michelangelo: admiration for beauty human body, plastic power, monumentality, drama of artistic images.

During the years 1501-1504, returning to Florence in 1501, he worked on the famous statue of David, which the venerable commission decided to install in the main city square. Since 1505, Michelangelo is again in Rome, where Pope Julius II calls him to work on a grandiose project - the creation of his luxurious tomb, which, according to their joint plan, was to be surrounded by many statues. Work on it was carried out intermittently and was completed only in 1545. In 1508, he fulfilled another request of Julius II - he began painting frescoes on the vault in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican and completed this grandiose painting, working intermittently, in 1512

Period from 1515 to 1520 became one of the most difficult in the biography of Michelangelo, was marked by the collapse of plans, throwing “between two fires” - service to Pope Leo X and the heirs of Julius II. In 1534 his final move to Rome took place. Since the 20s The artist’s worldview becomes more pessimistic and takes on tragic tones. An illustration of the mood was the huge composition “The Last Judgment” - again in the Sistine Chapel, on the altar wall; Michelangelo worked on it in 1536-1541. After the death of the architect Antonio da Sangallo in 1546, he took the position of chief architect of the Cathedral of St. Petra. The largest work of this period, work on which lasted from the late 40s. to 1555, there was a sculptural group “Pieta”. Over the last 30 years of the artist's life, the emphasis in his work gradually shifted to architecture and poetry. Deep, permeated with tragedy, dedicated to the eternal themes of love, loneliness, happiness, madrigals, sonnets and other poetic works were highly appreciated by his contemporaries. The first publication of Michelangelo's poetry was posthumous (1623).

On February 18, 1564, the great representative of the Renaissance died. His body was transported from Rome to Florence and buried in the Church of Santa Croce with great honors.

Biography from Wikipedia

Michelangelo Buonarroti, full name Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni(Italian: Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni; March 6, 1475, Caprese - February 18, 1564, Rome) - Italian sculptor, artist, architect, poet, thinker. One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance and early Baroque. His works were considered the highest achievements of Renaissance art during the lifetime of the master himself. Michelangelo lived for almost 89 years, an entire era, from the period of the High Renaissance to the origins of the Counter-Reformation. During this period, there were thirteen Popes - he carried out orders for nine of them. Many documents about his life and work have been preserved - testimonies from contemporaries, letters from Michelangelo himself, contracts, his personal and professional records. Michelangelo was also the first representative of Western European art whose biography was published during his lifetime.

Among his most famous sculptural works are "David", "Bacchus", "Pieta", statues of Moses, Leah and Rachel for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo's first official biographer, wrote that "David" "robbed the glory of all statues, modern and ancient, Greek and Roman." One of the artist’s most monumental works are the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, about which Goethe wrote that: “Without seeing the Sistine Chapel, it is difficult to get a clear idea of what one person can do.” Among his architectural achievements are the design of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, the stairs of the Laurentian Library, Campidoglio Square and others. Researchers believe that Michelangelo's art begins and ends with the image of the human body.

Life and art

Childhood

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the Tuscan town of Caprese, north of Arezzo, in the family of the impoverished Florentine nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti (Italian: Lodovico (Ludovico) di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni) (1444-1534), who at that time was the 169th Podesta. For several generations, representatives of the Buonarroti-Simoni family were petty bankers in Florence, but Lodovico failed to maintain the financial condition of the bank, so he took government positions from time to time. It is known that Lodovico was proud of his aristocratic origins, because the Buonarroti-Simoni family claimed blood relationship with the Margravess Matilda of Canossa, although there was not enough documentary evidence to confirm this. Ascanio Condivi argued that Michelangelo himself believed in this, recalling the aristocratic origins of the family in his letters to his nephew Leonardo. William Wallace wrote:

“Before Michelangelo, very few artists claimed such origins. The artists did not have not only coats of arms, but also real surnames. They were named after their father, profession or city, and among them were: famous contemporaries Michelangelo as Leonardo da Vinci and Giorgione"

According to Lodovico's record, which is kept in the Casa Buonarroti Museum (Florence), Michelangelo was born "(...) on Monday morning, at 4 or 5:00 before dawn." This register also states that the christening took place on 8 March in the Church of San Giovanni di Caprese, and lists the godparents:

About his mother, Francesca di Neri del Miniato del Siena (Italian: Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena), who married early and died from exhaustion due to frequent pregnancies in the year of Michelangelo’s sixth birthday, the latter never mentions in his voluminous correspondence with his father and brothers . Lodovico Buonarroti was not rich, and the income from his small property in the village was barely enough to support many children. In this regard, he was forced to give Michelangelo to a nurse, the wife of a Scarpelino from the same village, called Settignano. There, raised by the Topolino couple, the boy learned to knead clay and use a chisel before reading and writing. In any case, Michelangelo himself later said to his friend and biographer Giorgio Vasari:

“If there is anything good in my talent, it is because I was born in the rarefied air of your Aretina land, and I extracted both the chisels and the hammer with which I make my statues from the milk of my nurse.”

"Count of Canossa"
(Drawing by Michelangelo)

Michelangelo was the second son of Lodovico. Fritz Erpeli gives the birth years of his brothers Lionardo (Italian: Lionardo) - 1473, Buonarroto (Italian: Buonarroto) - 1477, Giovansimone (Italian: Giovansimone) - 1479 and Gismondo (Italian: Gismondo) - 1481. In the same year, his mother died, and in 1485, four years after her death, Lodovico married for the second time. Michelangelo's stepmother was Lucrezia Ubaldini. Soon Michelangelo was sent to the school of Francesco Galatea da Urbino (Italian: Francesco Galatea da Urbino) in Florence, where the young man did not show much inclination to study and preferred communicating with artists and redrawing church icons and frescoes.

Youth. First works

In 1488, the father came to terms with his son’s inclinations and placed him as an apprentice in the workshop of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. Here Michelangelo had the opportunity to familiarize himself with basic materials and techniques; his pencil copies of works by such Florentine artists as Giotto and Masaccio date back to the same period; already in these copies Michelangelo’s characteristic sculptural vision of forms appeared. His painting “The Torment of St. Anthony” (a copy of an engraving by Martin Schongauer) dates back to the same period.

He studied there for one year. A year later, Michelangelo moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto master of Florence. The Medici recognized Michelangelo's talent and patronized him. From approximately 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo was at the Medici court. Here he met the philosophers of the Platonic Academy (Marsilio Ficino, Angelo Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola and others). He was also friends with Giovanni (Lorenzo's second son, future dad Leo X) and Giulio Medici (illegitimate son of Giuliano Medici, future Pope Clement VII). Perhaps at this time " Madonna at the Stairs" And " Battle of the Centaurs" It is known that at this time Pietro Torrigiano, who was also Bertoldo’s student, quarreled with Michelangelo and broke the guy’s nose with a blow to the face. After the death of the Medici in 1492, Michelangelo returned home.

In 1494-1495, Michelangelo lived in Bologna, creating sculptures for the Arch of St. Dominic. In 1495, he returned to Florence, where the Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola ruled, and created sculptures “ Saint Johannes" And " Sleeping Cupid" In 1496, Cardinal Raphael Riario bought Michelangelo's marble "Cupid" and invited the artist to work in Rome, where Michelangelo arrived on June 25. In 1496-1501 he creates " Bacchus" And " Roman Pieta».

In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence. Commissioned works: sculptures for " altar of Piccolomini" And " David" In 1503, work was completed on order: “ Twelve Apostles", start of work on " Saint Matthew"for the Florentine Cathedral. Around 1503-1505, the creation of " Madonna Doni», « Madonna Taddei», « Madonna Pitti" And " Brugger Madonna" In 1504, work on " David"; Michelangelo receives an order to create " Battles of Kashin».

In 1505, the sculptor was summoned by Pope Julius II to Rome; he ordered a tomb for him. An eight-month stay in Carrara follows, selecting the marble necessary for the work. In the years 1505-1545, work was carried out (with interruptions) on the tomb, for which sculptures were created “ Moses», « Tied up slave», « Dying Slave», « Leah».

In April 1506 he returned to Florence again, followed by reconciliation with Julius II in Bologna in November. Michelangelo receives an order for bronze statue Julia II, worked on in 1507 (later destroyed).

In February 1508, Michelangelo returned to Florence again. In May, at the request of Julius II, he goes to Rome to paint ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel; He works on them until October 1512.

In 1513, Julius II dies. Giovanni Medici becomes Pope Leo X. Michelangelo enters into a new contract to work on the tomb of Julius II. In 1514, the sculptor received an order for “ Christ with the cross"and the chapel of Pope Leo X in Engelsburg.

In July 1514, Michelangelo returned to Florence again. He receives an order to create the facade of the Medici Church San Lorenzo in Florence, and he signs the third contract for the creation of the tomb of Julius II.

In the years 1516-1519, numerous trips took place to buy marble for the façade of San Lorenzo to Carrara and Pietrasanta.

In 1520-1534, the sculptor worked on the architectural and sculptural complex of the Medici Chapel in Florence, and also designed and built the Laurentian Library.

Death and burial

A few days before Michelangelo's death, his nephew, Leonardo, arrived in Rome, to whom on February 15, at Michelangelo's request, Federico Donati wrote a letter.

Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564 in Rome, just short of his 89th birthday. Witnesses to his death were Tommaso Cavalieri, Daniele da Volterra, Diomede Leone, doctors Federico Donati and Gherardo Fidelissimi, as well as servant Antonio Franzese. Before his death, he dictated his will with all his characteristic laconicism: “I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives.”

Pope Pius IV planned to bury Michelangelo in Rome, building him a tomb in St. Peter's Basilica. On February 20, 1564, Michelangelo's body was temporarily laid to rest in the Basilica of Santi Apostoli.

In early March, the sculptor's body was secretly transported to Florence and solemnly buried on July 14, 1564 in the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, not far from Machiavelli's tomb.

Works

The genius of Michelangelo left its mark not only on the art of the Renaissance, but also on all subsequent world culture. His activities are mainly related to two Italian cities- Florence and Rome. By the nature of his talent, he was primarily a sculptor. This is also felt in the master’s paintings, which are unusually rich in plasticity of movements, complex poses, and distinct and powerful sculpting of volumes. In Florence, Michelangelo created an immortal example of the High Renaissance - the statue “David” (1501-1504), which became the standard image of the human body for many centuries; in Rome - sculptural composition“Pieta” (1498-1499), one of the first incarnations of the figure of a dead man in plastic. However, the artist was able to realize his most ambitious plans precisely in painting, where he acted as a true innovator of color and form.

Commissioned by Pope Julius II, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512), representing biblical story from the creation of the world to the flood and including more than 300 figures. In 1534-1541, in the same Sistine Chapel, he painted the grandiose, dramatic fresco “The Last Judgment” for Pope Paul III. The architectural works of Michelangelo - the ensemble of the Capitol Square and the dome of the Vatican Cathedral in Rome - amaze with their beauty and grandeur.

The arts have reached such perfection in him that you will not find either among ancient or modern people over many, many years. He had such and such a perfect imagination, and the things that seemed to him in idea were such that it was impossible to carry out such great and amazing plans with his hands, and he often abandoned his creations, moreover, he destroyed many; so, it is known that shortly before his death he burned big number drawings, sketches and cardboards created with his own hand, so that no one could see the labors he overcame, and the ways in which he tested his genius in order to show it as nothing less than perfect.
Giorgio Vasari. "Biographies are the most famous painters, sculptors and architects." T. V. M., 1971.

Notable works

Madonna at the stairs. Marble. OK. 1491. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.
Battle of the Centaurs. Marble. OK. 1492. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.
Pieta. Marble. 1498-1499. Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica.
Madonna and Child. Marble. OK. 1501. Bruges, Notre Dame Church.
David. Marble. 1501-1504. Florence, Academy fine arts.
Madonna Taddei. Marble. OK. 1502-1504. London, Royal Academy of Arts.
Madonna Doni. 1503-1504. Florence, Uffizi Gallery.
Madonna Pitti. OK. 1504-1505. Florence, National Bargello Museum.
Apostle Matthew. Marble. 1506. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
Painting the vault of the Sistine Chapel. 1508-1512. Vatican.
- Creation of Adam
Dying slave. Marble. OK. 1513. Paris, Louvre.
Moses. OK. 1515. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.
Atlant. Marble. Between 1519, ca. 1530-1534. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
Medici Chapel 1520-1534.
Madonna. Florence, Medici Chapel. Marble. 1521-1534.
Laurentian Library. 1524-1534, 1549-1559. Florence.
Tomb of Duke Lorenzo. Medici Chapel. 1524-1531. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
Tomb of Duke Giuliano. Medici Chapel. 1526-1533. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
Crouching boy. Marble. 1530-1534. Russia, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum.
Brutus. Marble. After 1539. Florence, National Bargello Museum.
Last Judgment. The Sistine Chapel. 1535-1541. Vatican.
Tomb of Julius II. 1542-1545. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.
Pieta (Entombment) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Marble. OK. 1547-1555. Florence, Opera del Duomo Museum.

In 2007, Michelangelo's last work was found in the Vatican archives - a sketch of one of the details of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. The red chalk drawing is "a detail of one of the radial columns that make up the drum of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome." It is believed that this is the last work famous artist, executed shortly before his death in 1564.

This is not the first time that Michelangelo's works have been found in archives and museums. So, in 2002, in storage National Museum design in New York among the works unknown authors During the Renaissance, another drawing was found: on a sheet of paper measuring 45x25 cm, the artist depicted a menorah - a candlestick for seven candles. At the beginning of 2015, it became known about the discovery of the first and probably the only bronze sculpture by Michelangelo that has survived to this day - a composition of two panther riders.

Poetic creativity

Michelangelo's poetry is considered one of the brightest examples of the Renaissance. About 300 poems by Michelangelo have survived to this day. The main themes are the glorification of man, the bitterness of disappointment and the loneliness of the artist. Favorite poetic forms are madrigal and sonnet. According to R. Rolland, Michelangelo began writing poetry as a child, however, there are not many of them left, since in 1518 he burned most of his early poems, and destroyed another part later, before his death.

Some of his poems were published in the works of Benedetto Varchi (Italian: Benedetto Varchi), Donato Giannotto (Italian: Donato Giannotti), Giorgio Vasari and others. Luigi Ricci and Giannotto offered to take him away best poems for publication. In 1545, Giannotto began preparing the first collection of Michelangelo, however, things did not go any further - Luigi died in 1546, and Vittoria died in 1547. Michelangelo decided to abandon this idea, considering it vanity.

Vittoria and Michelangelo at "Moses", 19th century painting

Thus, during his lifetime, a collection of his poems was not published, and the first collection was published only in 1623 by his nephew Michelangelo Buonarroti (the younger) under the title “Poems of Michelangelo, collected by his nephew” in the Florentine publishing house Giuntine. This edition was incomplete and contained certain inaccuracies. In 1863, Cesare Guasti published the first accurate edition of the artist’s poems, which, however, was not chronological. In 1897, the German art critic Karl Frey published “The Poems of Michelangelo, collected and commented by Dr. Karl Frey "(Berlin). The edition by Enzo Noe Girard (Bari, 1960) Italian: Enzo Noe Girardi) consisted of three parts, and was much more advanced than Frey's edition in the accuracy of the text and was distinguished by a better chronology of the arrangement of verses, although not entirely indisputable.

Research poetic creativity Michelangelo was involved, in particular, German writer Wilhelm Lang, who defended this topic dissertation published in 1861.

Use in music

Even during his lifetime, some of the poems were set to music. Among the most famous composers-contemporaries of Michelangelo are Jacob Arkadelt (“Deh dimm" Amor se l"alma” and “Io dico che fra voi”), Bartolomeo Tromboncino, Constanza Festa (a lost madrigal on a poem by Michelangelo), Jean de Cons (also - Consilium).

Also, composers such as Richard Strauss (a cycle of five songs - the first with words by Michelangelo, the rest by Adolf von Schack, 1886), Hugo Wolf (vocal cycle “Songs of Michelangelo” 1897) and Benjamin Britten (song cycle “ Seven Sonnets by Michelangelo", 1940).

On July 31, 1974, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote a suite for bass and piano (opus 145). The suite is based on eight sonnets and three poems by the artist (translated by Abram Efros).

In 2006, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies completed Tondo di Michelangelo (for baritone and piano). The work includes eight sonnets by Michelangelo. The premiere took place on October 18, 2007.

In 2010 Austrian composer Matthew Dewey wrote "Il tempo passa: music to Michelangelo" (for baritone, viola and piano). It uses a modern translation of Michelangelo's poems into English language. The world premiere of the work took place on January 16, 2011.

Appearance

There are several portraits of Michelangelo. Among them are Sebastiano del Piombo (c. 1520), Giuliano Bugiardini, Jacopino del Conte (1544-1545, Uffizi Gallery), Marcello Venusti (museum in the Capitol), Francisco d'Holanda (1538-1539), Giulio Bonasone (1546) etc. Also, his image was in the biography of Condivi, which was published in 1553, and in 1561 Leone Leoni minted a coin with his image.

Describing Michelangelo's appearance, Romain Rolland chose portraits of Conte and d'Hollande as a basis:

Bust of Michelangelo
(Daniele da Volterra, 1564)

“Michelangelo was of medium height, broad-shouldered and muscular (...). His head was round, his forehead was square, indented with wrinkles, with strongly pronounced brow ridges. Black, pretty rare hair, slightly curly. Small light brown eyes, the color of which was constantly changing, dotted with yellow and blue specks (...). Wide straight nose with a small hump (...). Thinly defined lips, the lower lip protrudes slightly. Thin sideburns, and a forked thin beard of a faun (...) a high-cheeked face with sunken cheeks.”

However, the cinema preferred to portray him as more attractive than he really was.

Michelangelo did not leave behind a single documented self-portrait, however, a number of his works are considered by researchers to be possible images of the artist. Among them are “Saint Proclus of Bologna”, the head of Holofernes in the fresco “Judith and Holofernes” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the loser in the sculptural group “Spirit of Victory”, the face on the skinned Saint Bartholomew (the fresco “The Last Judgment”), Saint Nicodemus in “ Drink II."

It is also believed that he is depicted in Raphael's fresco "The School of Athens", although this statement is not unequivocal. After Michelangelo's death, Daniele da Volterra made the sculptor's death mask and bust.

Spiritual quest and personal life

In 1536, Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara, came to Rome, where this 47-year-old widowed poetess earned the deep friendship of 61-year-old Michelangelo. Vittoria became the only woman whose name is firmly associated with Michelangelo. Researcher Norton argued that “his poems to her... are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the sonnets to the young man Tommaso Cavalieri, and it is also known that Michelangelo himself sometimes replaced the address “signor” with “signora” before releasing his poems to the people.” In the future, his poems were censored by his great-nephew before publication.

Her departure to Orvieto and Viterbo in 1541 due to the rebellion of her brother Ascanio Colonna against Paul III did not cause a change in her relationship with the artist, and they continued to visit each other and correspond as before. She returned to Rome in 1544.

Sonnet No. 60
And the highest genius will not add
One thought to the fact that marble itself
It conceals in abundance - and that’s all we need
A hand obedient to reason will reveal.

Am I waiting for joy, is anxiety pressing on my heart,
The wisest, good donna, - to you
I am obliged to everything, and the shame is heavy for me,
That my gift does not glorify you as it should.

Not the power of Love, not your beauty,
Or coldness, or anger, or the oppression of contempt
They bear the blame for my misfortune, -
Because death is merged with mercy
In your heart - but my pathetic genius
By loving, he is capable of extracting one death.
Michelangelo

Biographers of the famous artist noted that “the correspondence of these two wonderful people is not only of high biographical interest, but is also an excellent monument to a historical era and a rare example of a live exchange of thoughts, full of minds, subtle observation and irony."

Researchers wrote about the sonnets dedicated to Michelangelo Vittoria: “The deliberate, forced platonism of their relationship aggravated and brought to crystallization the love-philosophical structure of Michelangelo’s poetry, which largely reflected the views and poetry of the Marchioness herself, who during the 1530s played the role of Michelangelo’s spiritual guide . Their poetic “correspondence” attracted the attention of their contemporaries; Perhaps the most famous was sonnet 60, which became the subject of special interpretation.”

Records of conversations between Vittoria and Michelangelo, heavily processed, were preserved in the posthumously published notes of the Portuguese artist Francesco d'Holland.

Grade

Michelangelo was considered the greatest master during his lifetime. Now he is considered one of the greatest masters in the history of mankind. A significant number of his sculptures, paintings and works of architecture are the most famous in the world. His most famous work is the statue of David.

To the cinema

“Agony and Ecstasy” / The Agony and the Ecstasy - dir. Carol Reed, (USA-UK, 1965)
Performance by G. Mackevicius "Overcoming"
Documentary film "Michelangelo Superstar"

As a child, I read a lot, and there was a period when I became hooked on books from the “Lives of Remarkable People” series. I enjoyed reading the biographies of various writers, musicians, and artists, but I was especially struck by the biography of Michelangelo Buonaotti. I even begged my mother for an album with illustrations of his works, however, in German and terribly expensive for those times (3 rubles 40k), I still have it.

1. Portrait of Michelangelo Buanorotti. OK. 1535. Marcello Venusti. Capitoline Museum, Florence.

"The life and work of Michelangelo Buonarroti lasted almost a whole century - from 1475 to 1564. Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, in Tuscany. He was the son of a minor official. His father named him Michelangelo: without thinking for a long time, but by inspiration from above, he wanted it show that this being was heavenly and divine in to a greater extent than it happens with mortals, as was later confirmed. His childhood was spent partly in Florence, partly in the countryside, on the family estate. The boy's mother died when he was six years old. According to the tax system, the family had belonged to the highest strata of the city for centuries, and Michelangelo was very proud of this. At the same time, he remained lonely, lived quite modestly and, unlike other artists of his era, never sought to improve his own financial situation. He cared first and foremost about his father and four brothers. Only for a short period, already at the age of sixty, along with creative activity, he also acquired deep vital meaning friendly relations with Tommaso Cavalieri and Vittoria Colonna.

1. Marble bas-relief. 1490-1492. (Florence, Buonarroti Museum.)

In 1488, his father sent thirteen-year-old Michelangelo to study in the bottega (workshop) of Domenico Ghirlandaio, who at that time was revered as one of the best masters not only in Florence, but throughout Italy. Michelangelo's skill and personality grew so much that Domenico was amazed to see how he did some things differently than a young man should, for it seemed to him that Michelangelo defeated not only other students, and Ghirlandaio had many of them, but also often is not inferior to him in the things created by him as a master. So, when one of the young men who studied with Domenico, drew several figures of dressed women with a pen from Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo snatched this sheet from him and, with a thicker pen, re-circulated the figure of one of the women in a manner that he considered more perfect, so that it amazes not only the difference between the two manners, but also the skill and taste of such a brave and daring youth, who had the courage to correct the work of his teacher. And so it happened that when Domenico was working in the large chapel in Santa Maria Novella and somehow came out of there, Michelangelo began to draw from life a plank scaffold with several tables covered with all the accessories of art, as well as several young men who worked there. It was not for nothing that when Domenico returned and saw Michelangelo’s drawing, he said: “Well, this one knows more than I do” - so he was amazed at the new manner and the new way of reproducing nature.

2. "Holy family"("Madonna Doni") 1503 -1504. Florence, Uffizi Gallery.

But a year later, Lorenzo Medici, nicknamed the Magnificent, called him to his palace and gave him access to his gardens, where there was a rich collection of works by ancient masters. The boy practically independently mastered the necessary technical skills of the sculptor's craft. He sculpted from clay and drew from the works of his predecessors, accurately choosing exactly what could help him develop his own innate inclinations. They say that Torrigiano, who became friends with him, but motivated by envy because, as he saw, he was valued higher and was worth more than him in art, as if in jest, punched him on the nose with such force that he forever marked it broken and an ugly crushed nose; for this Torrigiano was expelled from Florence...

3. Crucifixion.

After the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1492, Michelangelo returned to his father's house. For the church of Santo Spirito in the city of Florence, he made a wooden crucifix, placed and still stands above the semicircle of the high altar with the consent of the prior, who provided him with premises where, often dissecting corpses to study anatomy, he began to perfect that great art of drawing which he purchased later.

Shortly before the French king Charles VIII forced the artist's patrons, the Medici, to leave Florence in 1494, Michelangelo fled to Venice and then to Bologna. Michelangelo realized that he was wasting his time; he returned with pleasure to Florence, where for Lorenzo, the son of Pierfrancesco de' Medici, he carved St. John as a child and immediately from another piece of marble of a life-size sleeping Cupid, and when it was finished, through Baldassarre del Milanese it was shown as a beautiful thing to Pierfrancesco, who agreed with this and said to Michelangelo: “If you bury it in the ground and then send it to Rome, having forged it as an old one, I am sure that it will pass for an ancient one there and you will get much more for it than if you sell it here.”

4. Lamentation of Christ ("Pieta"), 1498 - 1499. Vatican, Cathedral of St. Petra.

Thanks to this story, Michelangelo's fame became such that he was immediately summoned to Rome. An artist of such rare talent left a worthy memory of himself in a city so famous by sculpting a marble, entirely round sculpture of the lamentation of Christ, which upon its completion was placed in the Cathedral of St. Peter's in the chapel of the Virgin Mary, healer of fever, where the temple of Mars used to be. Michelangelo put so much love and work into this creation that only on it (which he did not do in his other works) he wrote his name along the belt tightening the chest of the Mother of God.

On August 4, 1501, after several years of civil unrest, a republic was proclaimed in Florence. Some of his friends wrote to him from Florence asking him to come there, for the marble that lay spoiled in the care of the cathedral should not be missed. A wealthy corporation of wool merchants gave the master an order to create a sculpture of David.

5.David, 1501-1504. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

Michelangelo breaks with the traditional way of interpreting the image of David. He did not depict the winner with a giant's head at his feet and a strong sword in his hand, but presented the young man in the situation that precedes the clash, perhaps just at the moment when he senses the confusion of his fellow tribesmen before the duel and from afar distinguishes Goliath mocking his people. The artist gave his figure the most perfect contrapposto, as in the most beautiful images of Greek heroes. When the statue was completed, a commission consisting of prominent citizens and artists decided to install it on main square city, in front of Palazzo Vecchio. This was the first time since antiquity, that is, in more than a thousand years, that a monumental statue of a naked hero had appeared in a public place. This could have happened due to the fortunate coincidence of two circumstances: firstly, the ability of the artist to create for the residents of the commune a symbol of its highest political ideals and, secondly, the ability of the community of townspeople to understand the power of this symbol. His desire to defend the freedom of his people answered at this moment the most sublime aspiration of the Florentines.

6. Moses. OK. 1515. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli .

After the Lamentation of Christ, the Florentine giant and the cardboard, Michelangelo's fame became such that in 1503, when Julius II was elected after the death of Pope Alexander VI (and Michelangelo was then about 29 years old), he was invited with great respect by Julius II to work on his tomb. Since antiquity, nothing like this has been built for an individual in the West. In total, this work included forty marble statues, not counting the various stories, putts and decorations, all the cutting of cornices and other architectural bummers. He also completed a marble Moses five cubits high (235 cm!), and none of the statues can compare with this statue in beauty. modern works. They say that while Michelangelo was still working on it, the rest of the marble that was intended for the said tomb and remained in Carrara arrived by water, and was transported to the rest in the Piazza St. Petra; and since the delivery had to be paid, Michelangelo went, as usual, to the pope; but since on that day His Holiness was busy with important matters relating to the events in Bologna, he returned home and paid for the marble with his own money, believing that His Holiness would immediately give orders in this regard. The next day he went again to talk to the pope, but when they did not let him in, the gatekeeper said that he should be patient, because he was ordered not to let him in.

7. Madonna and Child, 1504 (Church of Notre Dame, Bruges, Netherlands).

Michelangelo did not like this act, and since it seemed to him that this was not at all like what had happened to him before, he, angry, told the papal gatekeepers that if His Holiness needed him in the future, let him be told where he was going - left. Returning to his workshop, he boarded the post office at two o'clock in the morning, ordering his two servants to sell all household items to the Jews and then follow him to Florence, where he was leaving. Arriving in Poggibonsi, in the Florentine region, he stopped, feeling safe.

But not much time passed before five messengers arrived there with letters from the pope to bring him back. But, despite the requests and the letter in which he was ordered to return to Rome under pain of disfavor, he did not want to hear anything. Only yielding to the requests of the messengers, he finally wrote a few words in response to His Holiness that he asked for forgiveness, but was not going to return to him, for he had thrown him out like some kind of tramp, which he did not deserve for his faithful service, and that the pope could where Still look for a servant for yourself.

8. Christ Carrying the Cross, 1519-1521. Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome.

Soon dad, perhaps preoccupied by the absence suitable place for the tomb, he became interested in an even more ambitious project - the reconstruction of St. Peter's Cathedral. Therefore, he temporarily abandoned his previous plans. In 1508, the master finally returned to Rome, but did not get the opportunity to work on the tomb. His Holiness did not insist on completing his tomb, saying that building a tomb during his lifetime was bad luck and meant inviting death. An even more stunning order awaited him: in memory of Sixtus, the uncle of His Holiness, to paint the ceiling of the chapel built in the palace by Sixtus. But Michelangelo wanted to finish the tomb, and the work on the ceiling of the chapel seemed big and difficult to him: bearing in mind his little experience in painting with paints, he tried in every way to get rid of this burden. Seeing that His Holiness persisted, Michelangelo finally decided to take it on. Until October 31, 1512, Michelangelo painted more than three hundred figures on the vault of the Sistine Chapel.

9. "The Creation of Adam" (fragment of the Sistine Chapel painting)

After completing the chapel, he willingly took up the tomb in order to complete it this time without so many hindrances, but he always subsequently received more troubles and difficulties from it than from anything else, but throughout his life and for a long time he became known as one way or another, ungrateful towards the pope who so patronized and favored him. So, returning to the tomb, he worked on it continuously, at the same time putting in order the drawings for the walls of the chapel, but fate did not want this monument, begun with such perfection, to be completed in the same way, for something happened at that time the death of Pope Julius, and therefore this work was abandoned due to the election of Pope Leo X, who, shining with enterprise and power no less than Julius, wished to leave in his homeland, as a memory of himself and the divine artist, his fellow citizen, such miracles as he could to be created only by such a great sovereign as he. And therefore, since he ordered that the facade of San Lorenzo in Florence, the church built by the Medici family, be entrusted to Michelangelo, this circumstance was the reason that the work on the tomb of Julius remained unfinished.

10.Tomb of Duke Lorenzo. Medici Chapel. 1524—1531. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.

Throughout the pontificate of Leo X, political vicissitudes did not leave Michelangelo. Firstly, the pope, whose family was hostile to the della Rovere family, prevented the continuation of work on the tomb of Julius II, from 1515 he occupied the artist with the design, and from 1518 with the implementation of the facade of the Church of San Lorenzo. In 1520, after useless wars, the pope was forced to abandon the construction of the facade and, in turn, commissioned Michelangelo to erect the Medici Chapel next to San Lorenzo, and in 1524 ordered the construction of the Laurentian Library. But the implementation of these projects was also interrupted for a year when the Medici were expelled from Florence in 1526. For the Florentine Republic, now proclaimed for the last time, Michelangelo, acting as commander of the fortifications, hastened to carry out plans for new fortifications, but betrayal and political intrigue contributed to the return of the Medici, and his projects remained on paper.

11. Angel with a candlestick. 1494-1495. Church of San Domenico, Bologna.

The death of Leo led to such confusion among artists and art in both Rome and Florence that during the life of Adrian VI, Michelangelo remained in Florence and worked on the tomb of Julius. But when Adrian died and Clement VII was elected pope, who strove to leave behind glory in the arts of architecture, sculpture and painting, no less than Leo and his other predecessors, Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by the pope.

The Pope decided to paint the walls of the Sistine Chapel, in which Michelangelo painted the ceiling for his predecessor Julius II. Clement wanted the Last Judgment to be written on these walls, namely on the main one, where the altar is, so that it would be possible to show in this story everything that was possible in the art of drawing, and on the other wall, on the contrary, it was ordered It was above the main doors to show how Lucifer was expelled from heaven for his pride and how all the angels who sinned with him were cast into the depths of hell.

12. "The Last Judgment". 1534-1541

Many years later it was discovered that Michelangelo made sketches and various drawings for this plan, and one of them was used to paint a fresco in the Roman church of Trinita by a Sicilian painter who served Michelangelo for many months, rubbing his paints.

This work was commissioned by Pope Clement VII shortly before his death. His successor, Paul III Farnese, prompted Michelangelo to hastily complete this painting, the most extensive and spatially unified in the entire century. The first impression we get when standing before the Last Judgment is the feeling that before us is truly cosmic event. In the center of it is the powerful figure of Christ. In addition to the extraordinary beauty in this creation, one can see such a unity of painting and its execution that it seems as if it was painted in one day, and such subtlety of finishing cannot be found in any miniature. He worked on completing this creation for eight years and opened it in 1541, on Christmas Day, striking and surprising all of Rome with it, and moreover, the whole world.

13. Apostles Peter and Paul, c. 1503/1504. Cathedral, Siena.

In 1546, the artist was entrusted with the most significant architectural commissions of his life. For Pope Paul III, he completed the Palazzo Farnese (the third floor of the courtyard façade and the cornice) and designed for him a new decoration of the Capitol, the material embodiment of which, however, lasted for quite a long time. But, of course, the most important order, which prevented him from returning to his native Florence until his death, was for Michelangelo his appointment as the chief architect of St. Peter's Cathedral. Convinced of such trust in him and faith in him on the part of the pope, Michelangelo, in order to show his good will, wished that the decree should declare that he served on the construction for the love of God and without any remuneration. In full consciousness, he made a will consisting of three words: he gave his soul into the hands of the Lord, his body to the earth, and his property to his closest relatives, ordering his loved ones to remind him of the passions of the Lord when he departed from this life. And so on February 17, 1563, according to the Florentine reckoning (which would have been in 1564 according to the Roman reckoning), Michelangelo passed away.

14. Pieta Bandini (Pieta with Nicodemus). 1550. Museum of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence.

Michelangelo's talent was recognized during his lifetime, and not after death, as happens with many; for we saw that the high priests Julius II, Leo X, Clement VII, Paul III and Julius III, Paul IV, and Pius IV always wanted to have him with them, and also, as we know, Suleiman - the ruler of the Turks, Francis of Valois - the king French, Charles V - Emperor. The Venetian Signoria and Duke Cosimo de' Medici - all of them rewarded him with honor only in order to take advantage of his great talent, and this falls to the lot only of those people who have great merits. But he belonged to such people, for everyone knew and everyone saw that all three arts had achieved such perfection in him that you would not find either among ancient or modern people over many, many years. He had such and such a perfect imagination, and the things that seemed to him in idea were such that it was impossible to carry out such great and amazing plans with his hands, and he often abandoned his creations, moreover, he destroyed many; Thus, it is known that shortly before his death he burned a large number of drawings, sketches and cardboards created with his own hands, so that no one could see the work he had overcome, and the ways in which he tested his genius in order to show it as nothing less than perfect.

And let it not seem strange to anyone that Michelangelo loved solitude, like a man in love with his art, which requires that a person be completely devoted to it and think only about it; and it is necessary that the one who wants to engage in it avoids society, for the one who indulges in thinking about art is never left alone and without thoughts, but those who attribute this to eccentricities and oddities in him are mistaken, for whoever wants to work well, he should remove himself from all worries, since talent requires reflection, solitude and peace, and not mental wandering."

Giorgio Vasari. "Biography of Michelangelo."

15.Head of Christ (fragment of the Lamentation of Christ statue)

Personal life of Michelangelo.

In 1536, Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara, came to Rome, where this 47-year-old widow poetess earned deep friendship, or rather, even passionate love 61-year-old Michelangelo. Your great platonic love he dedicated several of his most ardent sonnets, created drawings for her, and spent many hours in her company. The ideas of religious renewal that worried the participants in Vittoria’s circle left a deep imprint on Michelangelo’s worldview in these years. Their reflection is seen, for example, in the fresco “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel.

Vittoria is the only woman whose name is firmly associated with Michelangelo, whom most researchers tend to consider homo-, or at least bisexual.

According to researchers of Michelangelo's intimate life, his ardent passion for the Marquise was the fruit of a subconscious choice, since her holy lifestyle could not pose a threat to his homosexual instincts, although Michelangelo's friend and biographer Condivi generally described his chastity as monastic. “He put her on a pedestal, but his love for her could hardly be called heterosexual: he called her “the man in the woman.”

16.Vittoria Colonna, portrait by Sebastiano del Piombo

Biographers of the famous artist note: “The correspondence of these two remarkable people is not only of high biographical interest, but is an excellent monument of a historical era and a rare example of a live exchange of thoughts, full of intelligence, subtle observation and irony.” Researchers write about the sonnets dedicated to Michelangelo Vittoria: “The deliberate, forced platonism of their relationship aggravated and brought to crystallization the love-philosophical structure of Michelangelo’s poetry, which largely reflected the views and poetry of the Marchioness herself, who during the 1530s played the role of Michelangelo’s spiritual guide . Their poetic “correspondence” attracted the attention of their contemporaries; Perhaps the most famous was sonnet 60, which became the subject of special interpretation.” Records of conversations between Vittoria and Michelangelo, heavily processed, were preserved in the posthumously published notes of the Portuguese artist Francesco d'Holland.

Sonnet No. 60

And the highest genius will not add
One thought to the fact that marble itself
It conceals in abundance - and that’s all we need
A hand obedient to reason will reveal.
Am I waiting for joy, is anxiety pressing on my heart,
The wisest, good donna, - to you
I am obliged to everything, and the shame is heavy for me,
That my gift does not glorify you as it should.
Not the power of Love, not your beauty,
Or coldness, or anger, or the oppression of contempt
They bear the blame for my misfortune, -
Because death is merged with mercy
In your heart, but my pathetic genius
By loving, he is capable of extracting one death.

Michelangelo

Fragments of the painting of the Sistine Chapel:

17. Christ.

18. "The Creation of Eve"

19. "Creation of luminaries and plants"

20. "The Fall"

21. "The Flood"

22. "Noah's Sacrifice"

23. Prophet Isaiah

24. Prophet Jeremiah.

25. Cumaean Sibyl

26. Delphic Sibyl

27. Erythraean Sibyl.

Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti (full name - Michelangelo de Francesco de Neri de Miniato del Sera and Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni, (Italian: Michelangelo di Francesci di Neri di Miniato del Sera i Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni); 1475-15 64) - Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, thinker. One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance.

Biography

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the Tuscan town of Caprese near Arezzo, in the family of Lodovico Buonarroti, a city councilor. As a child, he was brought up in Florence, then lived for some time in the town of Settignano.

In 1488, Michelangelo's father came to terms with his son's inclinations and placed him as an apprentice in the studio of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. He studied there for one year. A year later, Michelangelo moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto master of Florence.

The Medici recognized Michelangelo's talent and patronized him. For some time, Michelangelo lived in the Medici Palace. After the death of the Medici in 1492, Michelangelo returned home.

In 1496, Cardinal Raphael Riario bought Michelangelo's marble "Cupid" and invited the artist to work in Rome.

Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564 in Rome. He was buried in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. Before his death, he dictated his will with all his characteristic laconicism: “I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives.”

Works

Michelangelo's genius left its mark not only on the art of the Renaissance, but also on all subsequent world culture. His activities are connected mainly with two Italian cities - Florence and Rome. By the nature of his talent, he was primarily a sculptor. This is also felt in the master’s paintings, which are unusually rich in plasticity of movements, complex poses, and distinct and powerful sculpting of volumes. In Florence, Michelangelo created an immortal example of the High Renaissance - the statue of "David" (1501-1504), which became the standard image of the human body for many centuries, in Rome - the sculptural composition "Pieta" (1498-1499), one of the first incarnations of the figure of a dead man in plastic. However, the artist was able to realize his most ambitious plans precisely in painting, where he acted as a true innovator of color and form.

Commissioned by Pope Julius II, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512), representing the biblical story from the creation of the world to the flood and including more than 300 figures. In 1534-1541, in the same Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III, he performed a grandiose, dramatic fresco “The Last Judgment”. The architectural works of Michelangelo - the ensemble of the Capitol Square and the dome of the Vatican Cathedral in Rome - amaze with their beauty and grandeur.

The arts have reached such perfection in him that you will not find either among ancient or modern people over many, many years. He had such and such a perfect imagination, and the things that seemed to him in idea were such that it was impossible to carry out such great and amazing plans with his hands, and he often abandoned his creations, moreover, he destroyed many; Thus, it is known that shortly before his death he burned a large number of drawings, sketches and cardboards created with his own hands, so that no one could see the work he had overcome, and the ways in which he tested his genius in order to show it as nothing less than perfect.

Giorgio Vasari. "Biographies of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects." T. V. M., 1971.

Notable works

* David. Marble. 1501-1504. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

*David. 1501-1504

* Madonna at the stairs. Marble. OK. 1491. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.

* Battle of the centaurs. Marble. OK. 1492. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.

*Pieta. Marble. 1498-1499. Vatican, Cathedral of St. Petra.

* Madonna and Child. Marble. OK. 1501. Bruges, Notre Dame Church.

* Madonna of Taddei. Marble. OK. 1502-1504. London, Royal Academy of Arts.

*St. Apostle Matthew. Marble. 1506. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

*"Holy Family" Madonna Doni. 1503-1504. Florence, Uffizi Gallery.

*

Madonna mourning Christ

* Madonna Pitti. OK. 1504-1505. Florence, National Bargello Museum.

*Moses. OK. 1515. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.

* Tomb of Julius II. 1542-1545. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.

* Dying slave. Marble. OK. 1513. Paris, Louvre.

*Winner 1530-1534

*Winner 1530-1534

*Rebellious slave 1513-1515. Louvre

*Awakening slave. OK. 1530. Marble. Academy of Fine Arts, Florence

* Painting the vault of the Sistine Chapel. Prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. Vatican.

* Creation of Adam

* SISTINE CHAPEL Last Judgment

*Apollo drawing an arrow from his quiver, also known as "David-Apollo" 1530 (National Bargello Museum, Florence)

* Madonna. Florence, Medici Chapel. Marble. 1521-1534.

*Medici Library, Laurentian staircase 1524-1534, 1549-1559. Florence.
* Medici Chapel. 1520-1534.

* Tomb of Duke Giuliano. Medici Chapel. 1526-1533. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.

"Night"

When access to the chapel was opened, poets composed about a hundred sonnets dedicated to these four statues. The most famous lines of Giovanni Strozzi dedicated to “Night”

This is the night that sleeps so peacefully,
Before you is the creation of an Angel,
She is made of stone, but there is breath in her,
Just wake her up and she'll talk.

Michelangelo responded to this madrigal with a quatrain that became no less famous than the statue itself:

It's nice to sleep, it's nicer to be a stone,
Oh, in this age, criminal and shameful,
Not living, not feeling is an enviable lot.
Please be quiet, don't you dare wake me up. (Translation by F.I. Tyutchev)

* Tomb of Duke Giuliano de' Medici. fragment

* Tomb of Duke Lorenzo. Medici Chapel. 1524-1531. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.

*Statue of Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, Tomb of Duke Giuliano. Medici Chapel. 1526-1533

*Brutus. After 1539. Florence, National Bargello Museum

*Christ carrying the cross

* Crouching boy. Marble. 1530-1534. Russia, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum.

*Crouching boy 1530-34 Hermitage, St. Petersburg

*Atlant. Marble. Between 1519, ca. 1530-1534. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

"Lamentation" for Vittoria Colonna

"Pieta with Nicodemus" of the Florence Cathedral 1547-1555

"Conversion of the Apostle Paul" Villa Paolina, 1542-1550

"Crucifixion of the Apostle Peter" Villa Paolina, 1542-1550

* Pieta (Entombment) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Marble. OK. 1547-1555. Florence, Opera del Duomo Museum.

In 2007, Michelangelo's last work was found in the Vatican archives - a sketch of one of the details of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. The red chalk drawing is "a detail of one of the radial columns that make up the drum of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome." It is believed that this is the last work of the famous artist, completed shortly before his death in 1564.

This is not the first time that Michelangelo's works have been found in archives and museums. So, in 2002, another drawing by the master was accidentally found in the storage rooms of the National Design Museum in New York. It was among the paintings of unknown Renaissance authors. On a sheet of paper measuring 45x25 cm, the artist depicted a menorah - a candlestick for seven candles.
Poetic creativity
Michelangelo is better known these days as the author of beautiful statues and expressive frescoes; however, few people know that the famous artist wrote equally wonderful poems. Michelangelo's poetic talent fully manifested itself only towards the end of his life. Some of the great master’s poems were set to music and gained considerable popularity during his lifetime, but his sonnets and madrigals were first published only in 1623. About 300 of Michelangelo’s poems have survived to this day.

Spiritual quest and personal life

In 1536, Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara, came to Rome, where this 47-year-old widow poetess earned the deep friendship, or rather, even the passionate love of 61-year-old Michelangelo. Soon enough, “the first, natural, fiery attraction of the artist was introduced by the Marquise of Pescara with soft authority into the framework of restrained worship, which alone befitted her role as a secular nun, her grief for her husband who died from his wounds and her philosophy of an afterlife reunion with him.” He dedicated several of his most ardent sonnets to his great platonic love, created drawings for her and spent many hours in her company. The artist painted “The Crucifixion” for her, which has come down to us in later copies. The ideas of religious renewal (see Reformation in Italy), which worried the participants in Vittoria’s circle, left a deep imprint on Michelangelo’s worldview in these years. Their reflection is seen, for example, in the fresco “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel.

Interestingly, Vittoria is the only woman whose name is firmly associated with Michelangelo, whom most researchers tend to consider homo-, or at least bisexual. According to researchers of Michelangelo's intimate life, his ardent passion for the Marquise was the fruit of a subconscious choice, since her holy lifestyle could not pose a threat to his homosexual instincts. “He put her on a pedestal, but his love for her could hardly be called heterosexual: he called her “the man in the woman” (un uoma in una donna). His poems to her... are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the sonnets to the young man Tommaso Cavalieri; moreover, it is known that Michelangelo himself sometimes replaced the address “senior” with “signora” before releasing his poems to the people.” (In the future, his poems were once again censored by his great-nephew before publication).

Her departure to Orvieto and Viterbo in 1541 due to the revolt of her brother Ascanio Colonna against Paul III did not cause a change in her relationship with the artist, and they continued to visit each other and correspond as before. She returned to Rome in 1544.
The artist's friend and biographer Kondivi writes:
“Especially great was the love he had for the Marchioness of Pescara, falling in love with her divine spirit and receiving mad reciprocal love from her. He still keeps many of her letters, filled with the purest and sweetest feelings... He himself wrote many sonnets for her, talented and filled with sweet melancholy. Many times she left Viterbo and other places where she went for fun or to spend the summer, and came to Rome only to see Michelangelo.
And he, for his part, loved her so much that, as he told me, one thing upset him: when he came to look at her, already lifeless, he kissed only her hand, and not her forehead or face. Because of this death, he remained confused and, as it were, distraught for a long time."
Biographers of the famous artist note: “The correspondence of these two remarkable people is not only of high biographical interest, but is an excellent monument of a historical era and a rare example of a live exchange of thoughts, full of intelligence, subtle observation and irony.” Researchers write about the sonnets dedicated to Michelangelo Vittoria: “The deliberate, forced platonism of their relationship aggravated and brought to crystallization the love-philosophical structure of Michelangelo’s poetry, which largely reflected the views and poetry of the Marquise herself, who during the 1530s played the role of Michelangelo’s spiritual guide. Their poetic “correspondence” attracted the attention of their contemporaries; perhaps the most famous was sonnet 60, which became the subject of special interpretation.” Records of conversations between Vittoria and Michelangelo, unfortunately heavily processed, were preserved in the diaries of Francesco d'Holland, close to the spirituali circle.

POETRY
There is no more joyful and fun activity:
The golden braids of the flowers vied with each other
Touch your cute head
And kiss everywhere without exception!

And what a pleasure for the dress
Squeeze her waist and fall like a wave,
And how gratifying the golden grid
Embrace her cheeks!

The ligature is even more delicate than an elegant ribbon,
Shining with its patterned embroidery,
Closes around the young Perseus.

And the clean belt, curling tenderly,
It’s as if he’s whispering: “I won’t part with her...”
Oh, how much work there is for my hands!

***
Do I dare, my treasure,
To exist without you is torment,
Are you deaf to pleas to soften the separation?
I no longer melt my sad heart
No exclamations, no sighs, no sobs,
To show you, Madonna, the oppression of suffering
And my death is not far away;
But so that fate then my service
I couldn’t get it out of your memory, -
I leave my heart to you as a pledge.

There are truths in the sayings of old,
And here’s one: he who can, does not want;
You listened, Signor, to the fact that the lies were chirping,
And the talkers are rewarded by you;

I am your servant: my works are given
You are like a ray of sunshine, even though it defames
Your anger is all that my ardor to do reads,
And all my suffering is unnecessary.

I thought that your greatness would take over
Me to you is not an echo for the chambers,
And the blade of judgment and the weight of wrath;

But there is indifference to earthly merits
In heaven, and expect rewards from them -
What to expect from a dry tree.

***
He who created everything also created the parts -
And then I chose the best one,
So that here you can show us the miracle of your deeds,
Worthy of his high power...

***
Night

It’s sweet for me to sleep, and even more so - to be a stone,
When there is shame and crime all around;
Do not feel, do not see relief,
Shut up, friend, why wake me up?

The last sculpture of Michelangelo Buonarroti "Pieta Rondanini" 1552-1564, Milan, Castello Sforzesco

The creation of Michelangelo Buonarroti St. Peter's Basilica.