Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo revolutionized the way art is created and viewed in many ways.
Born in 1475 in Caprese, Italy, Michelangelo was a descendent of a very powerful
family in the region. But due to his mother’s sickness, he was placed into family of stonecutters. With some stone from the nearby quarry, he began to sculpt. At the age of 13, Michelangelo left home and, living at the De Medici Estate, apprenticed Lorenzo De Medici. From artists at the estate, he gained new inspiration and techniques. He met powerful figures who became very useful contacts as he progressed in the art world. With the permission of the prior of the Florentine church of Santo
Spirito, he examined and dissected corpses from the church’s hospital in order to obtain
a better understanding of the human anatomy. Using his distinct techniques, he createdBacchus, his first major sculpture at the age of 21. For two years after that, Michelangelo sculpted the Pietà, one of the most well known pieces of art of all time. Still very young, Michelangelo went on to sculpt David and paint the entire Sistine Chapel. He achieved inconceivably accurate details of the human form (as shown in David). Although he was an incredibly talented painter, he thought of himself as a Sculptor and Architect. His hundreds of sketches, sculptures, paintings, monuments, and other artworks
continue to teach and influence art of the present.
Michelangelo revolutionized the way art is created and viewed in many ways.
Born in 1475 in Caprese, Italy, Michelangelo was a descendent of a very powerful
family in the region. But due to his mother’s sickness, he was placed into family of stonecutters. With some stone from the nearby quarry, he began to sculpt. At the age of 13, Michelangelo left home and, living at the De Medici Estate, apprenticed Lorenzo De Medici. From artists at the estate, he gained new inspiration and techniques. He met powerful figures who became very useful contacts as he progressed in the art world. With the permission of the prior of the Florentine church of Santo
Spirito, he examined and dissected corpses from the church’s hospital in order to obtain
a better understanding of the human anatomy. Using his distinct techniques, he createdBacchus, his first major sculpture at the age of 21. For two years after that, Michelangelo sculpted the Pietà, one of the most well known pieces of art of all time. Still very young, Michelangelo went on to sculpt David and paint the entire Sistine Chapel. He achieved inconceivably accurate details of the human form (as shown in David). Although he was an incredibly talented painter, he thought of himself as a Sculptor and Architect. His hundreds of sketches, sculptures, paintings, monuments, and other artworks
continue to teach and influence art of the present.