The Marble Legend
Michelangelo's Marvel by Joseph Walbridge
The Story of the Sculptor
Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. The majority of his life was spent in Florence, where he apprenticed to Ghirlandaio, also studying anatomy. He was a very busy man, constantly traveling for the pope, but his success brought him wealth. He was mainly a sculptor, but he began sketches later on in his career. He worked on the tomb of Pope Julius II, and his most legendary piece, The David. Patronized by Jacopo Galli and Cardinal Jean de Villiers de la Grolaie, and breifly even the Medici family.
(Michelangelo International Dictionary of Art and Artists, 1990 1)
Michelangelo
The artist himself
The Creation of Adam
Michelangelo's oil painting of Adam and God uniting
David
Michelangelo's most famous creation, The David is the marble sculpture that revolutionized sculpting
The Story of the Statue
The David
Michelangelo's David is the defining piece from him, was created in 1504, and established him as an artist. Despite the breathtaking beauty of the piece, the most amazing thing about the statue is how it was carved. Michelangelo had a revolutionary way of creating the sculpture by imagining that the "figure [was] already hypothetically imprisoned in the block" ("Michelangelo" 2). This piece is fascinating because Michelangelo was capable of carving the beautiful statue out of the "colossal marble" without adding anymore to it. ("Michelangelo" 2) The David represents humanism, because Michelangelo believed he could do anything he put his mind to.
Michelangelo International Dictionary of Art and Artists, 1990 2)