Michelangelo Buonarroti
Renaissance Artist
Michelangelo's Biography
Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy. Then he continued to spend most of his life in Florence and later in Rome. In Florence he apprenticed Domenico Ghirlando for three years. Also he studied anatomy and attended a sculpture workshop set up by Lorenzo Medici.
Michelangelo's life and work
Michelangelo's life was good espically after the workshop with Medici because he saw the potential in Michelangelo and even invited him to live in his palace with him. Medici was the first person who believe in him to help him get started on his sculptures and paintings. But later when Michelangelo's sculptures became popular he took his money and some pieces back to Florence. He was so good that he was named the chief architect after doing many architect projects. He did paintings, sculptures, and pieces of architecture. Some of his most popular pieces are David, Pieta, ceiling paintings of the sistine chapel and the Equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
The Equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius
The Equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius was created by Michelangelo between 161-180 AD and a copy of the piece was made in 1981. The original piece is located in Rome but also can be found photographed in many published books around the world today. This sculpture is significant because it was larger than life size, 424 centimeters tall to be exact and was made entirely out of bronze. No new techniques were introduced with this piece because there were a lot of other sculptures that were made the same way and around the same time as this one.
My Own Thoughts On The Piece
I find this piece very interesting because Michelangelo was able to capture the importance of the emperor in just a statue. Also it was amazing how life like he was able to make the statue look and it was only made from bronze.
How Michelangelo Relates To The Renaissance "Isms"
Michelangelo expresses skeptism because he questioned things and had new ideas to push the limits of other artists. He always tried to take things and techniques to a whole new level with his art. Also he showed humanism when he made "David" which showed people that humans are mostly good and think about things for themselves.
Citations
"Michelangelo Buonarroti." Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Biography in Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.