An introduction to the history of michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian painter, poet and sculptor. He was one of the most famous artists of that time. This mighty composition spans the entire wall behind the altar of Sistine Chapel.

Visit Website Did you know? Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate "Renaissance man," practiced all the visual arts and studied a wide range of topics, including anatomy, geology, botany, hydraulics and flight.

His frescoes were said to have decorated cathedrals at Assisi, Rome, Padua, Florence and Naples, though there has been difficulty attributing such works with certainty. Inthe sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti c. The other major artist working during this period was the painter Masaccioknown for his frescoes of the Trinity in the Church of Santa Maria Novella c.

Masaccio painted for less than six years but was highly influential in the early Renaissance for the intellectual nature of his work, as well as its degree of naturalism.

Florence in the Renaissance Though the Catholic Church remained a major patron of the arts during the Renaissance—from popes and other prelates to convents, monasteries and other religious organizations—works of art were increasingly commissioned by civil government, courts and wealthy individuals.

Much of the art produced during the early Renaissance was commissioned by the wealthy merchant families of Florence, most notably the Medici. Three great masters— Leonardo da VinciMichelangelo and Raphael—dominated the period known as the High Renaissance, which lasted roughly from the early s until the sack of Rome by the troops of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain in Michelangelo Buonarroti drew on the human body for inspiration and created works on a vast scale.

He carved the latter by hand from an enormous marble block; the famous statue measures five meters high including its base. Though Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor first and foremost, he achieved greatness as a painter as well, notably with his giant fresco covering the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, completed over four years and depicting various scenes from Genesis.

Raphael Sanzio, the youngest of the three great High Renaissance masters, learned from both da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Among the other great Italian artists working during this period were Bramante, Giorgione, Titian and Correggio. Renaissance Art in Practice Many works of Renaissance art depicted religious images, including subjects such as the Virgin Mary, or Madonna, and were encountered by contemporary audiences of the period in the context of religious rituals.

Today, they are viewed as great works of art, but at the time they were seen and used mostly as devotional objects. Many Renaissance works were painted as altarpieces for incorporation into rituals associated with Catholic Mass and donated by patrons who sponsored the Mass itself. Renaissance artists came from all strata of society; they usually studied as apprentices before being admitted to a professional guild and working under the tutelage of an older master.

Far from being starving bohemians, these artists worked on commission and were hired by patrons of the arts because they were steady and reliable.

The middle years

In addition to sacred images, many of these works portrayed domestic themes such as marriage, birth and the everyday life of the family. Expansion and Decline Over the course of the 15th and 16th centuries, the spirit of the Renaissance spread throughout Italy and into France, northern Europe and Spain.

Oil painting during the Renaissance can be traced back even further, however, to the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck diedwho painted a masterful altarpiece in the cathedral at Ghent c. By the later s, the Mannerist style, with its emphasis on artificiality, had developed in opposition to the idealized naturalism of High Renaissance art, and Mannerism spread from Florence and Rome to become the dominant style in Europe.

Renaissance art continued to be celebrated, however:Watch video · Michelangelo is widely regarded as the most famous artist of the Italian Renaissance.

Among his works are the "David" and "Pieta" statues and the Sistine Chapel frescoes.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo, in full Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, (born March 6, , Caprese, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died February 18, , Rome, Papal States), Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.

Jan 01,  · The story of one of the world's most talented artists is the topic of this biography about Michelangelo. To be well known by only your first name for over five hundred years attests to the genius of this sculptor, painter, and poet/5.

In The Genius of Michelangelo, internationally recognized Michelangelo expert and award-winning Professor of Art History William E. Wallace gives you a comprehensive perspective on one of history's greatest artists/5(5).

Art History Guide. The history of art mirrors the history of humankind, and the study of works of art and the lives of artists illuminates much about our shared past. An Introduction to Representational Art. List. Caravaggio - A th Anniversary Exhibition. List. 10 Famous Left-Handed Artists: Chance or Destiny?

Leonardo, Michelangelo. Andrew-Dixon details the history and project of Michelangelo depicting the Biblical stories on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with all its subtleties and complexities.

I wish this book would have been available when I saw this work of art in /5.