Full nameMichelangelo Born1475 Influential AreasArtist Known ForPainting, Sculpture, Architecture and Poetry

Michelangelo was a renowned Italian sculptor, painter, and architect of the Renaissance period, best known for his works like David, Pieta, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Vision

Michelangelo was a man of remarkable talent who always aspired to reach the perfection of divine creation. His vision was to bring out the ideal beauty hidden within the marble and to make his sculptures as lifelike as possible. He believed that the artist's job was to free the forms that were already inside the stone. He was a firm believer in the philosophy of Neo-Platonism that was prevalent during the Renaissance, which saw beauty as a pathway to the divine.

Biography

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475, in the small village of Caprese, Italy. He was the second of five sons in his family. His mother's illness forced him to live with a stonecutter's family, where he was introduced to sculpture. In 1488, at the age of 13, he began his artistic training in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio, a prominent Florentine painter. After a year, he moved to the palace of Florentine ruler Lorenzo de' Medici, where he studied classical sculpture in the Medici gardens. This exposure to the Classical Antiquity kindled his interest in sculpture. After the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, Michelangelo moved to Rome, where he was able to examine many newly unearthed classical statues and ruins. He began to sculpt in the marble workshops of Rome, producing a Bacchus for Cardinal Raffaele Riario and winning the patronage of the elderly Cardinal di San Giorgio, who commissioned the Pieta. Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1495 and began working on a colossal statue of David, which established him as the most prominent sculptor of the time. In 1505, he was summoned back to Rome by Pope Julius II and was commissioned to build the Pope's tomb. Over the next forty years, Michelangelo worked on the tomb, which contains the famous statues of Moses and the enslaved humans. He also painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling, perhaps his most famous work in Rome. Michelangelo continued to work on a variety of projects until his death in 1564.

Awards and Recognition

Michelangelo's work has been acclaimed since his lifetime and continues to be celebrated today. His pieces like David, Pieta, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling are considered some of the greatest works of Western art. During his life, he was awarded several commissions by the Catholic Church and various patrons. Although awards as we understand them today did not exist during Michelangelo's time, he was highly respected and recognized by his contemporaries and by patrons such as the Medici family and various Popes. Today, his works are preserved in museums around the world and continue to be studied and admired by scholars, artists, and visitors alike.

References

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Vision

Biography

Awards and Recognition

References

Michelangelo was a renowned Italian sculptor, painter, and architect of the Renaissance period, best known for his works like David, Pieta, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

City of Residence

Rome

Known For

Painting, Sculpture, Architecture and Poetry

Born

1475

Location

Artist

Education

Apprenticeship under Domenico Ghirlandaio

Personal Details

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western

Recognition

His creations of David and Pieta stand among the most accomplished sculptures ever created and his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and The Last Judgment on its altar wall secured his place as a prominent painter. He was also the first Weste