What did Michelangelo Buonarroti invent. The only masterpiece of a genius with his autograph

Michelangelo rightly called one of the greatest geniuses Italian Renaissance along with Raphael. He was a true all-rounder in the art world. Being not only a talented architect, sculptor and painter, Michelangelo wrote poems and sonnets.

The master himself was more inclined towards sculpture, but under pressure he had to do a lot of unloved work: painting and creating frescoes. Unfortunately, a large number of his works have not survived to this day. In addition, Michelangelo did not have time to complete many of his undertakings. But first things first.

The great genius Michelangelo Buonarotti, whose full name is Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarotti Simoni, was born on March 6, 1475 in Tuscany, in the small town of Caprese. His father, Lodovico Buonarotti, was an impoverished nobleman. Michelangelo's mother died of exhaustion when the boy was six years old. The young woman could not bear numerous pregnancies.

The father, not having the financial ability to raise all his children, gave Michelangelo to be raised by a nurse, in whose family the boy learned to work with clay and a chisel. As an adult, the master admitted that he began to knead the clay before writing and reading.

When Michelangelo was 13 years old, his father, seeing his abilities, sent his son to Florence to study in the studio of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. A year later, the teenager moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, who was patronized by Lorenzo di Medici, the ruler of the Florentine Republic.

The politician immediately recognized the talent in young student and invited Michelangelo to his service. It is believed that it was at this time that Michelangelo created the bas-reliefs of the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna near the Stairs. Michelangelo was at the court of the Medici until the death of the latter in 1492, and then went home.

Since 1495, the artist has been living and working first in, then in. In 1495, the sculptures "Saint Johannes" and "Sleeping Cupid" appeared in Florence (lost). A year later, Michelangelo comes to Rome at the invitation of Cardinal Rafael Riario and makes "Bacchus" and "Roman Pieta" or "Lamentation of Christ".

Then Florence again, for four whole years. There, from 1501 to 1505, the master created the famous "David", which was installed on the main square of the city. In addition, he painted Madonna Doni, created a bas-relief of Madonna Taddei, etc.

In 1505, the master went to Rome at the invitation of Pope Julius II, who set about building a new St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, repairing the papal residence, and building a tomb for himself. It was on this tomb that Michelangelo began to work.

Its creation lasted several decades with interruptions. For her, Michelangelo made sculptures "Moses", "Dying Slave", "Bound Slave" and "Leah".

According to legend, the sculptor's ill-wishers, seeing his superiority, convinced Julius II that such close attention to his tomb was a bad omen and could hasten death. The Pope was advised to take Michelangelo to painting, or rather, to entrust him with painting the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

The master with a heavy heart set to work. But unexpectedly, the process captured him, and in four years he single-handedly painted the entire chapel. How he did it is still a mystery.

After the death of Julius II, Michelangelo worked on the Medici Chapel in Florence, designed a new design for the Capitoline Hill in Rome. In addition, he was the chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica.

Michelangelo died at the age of 88 on February 18, 1564 in Rome, but was buried in his beloved Florence, in the church of Santa Croce.

To this day, the master is known as a talented sculptor and painter, and few people know that Michelangelo was a poet. After his death, about 300 poems, madrigals and sonnets remained. They are dedicated to love, happiness and loneliness.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), famous Italian sculptor, painter and architect, one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance. He came from an ancient family of the counts of Canossa, was born in 1475 in Chiusi, near Florence. Michelangelo's first acquaintance with painting came from Ghirlandaio. Versatility artistic development and the breadth of education contributed to his stay with Lorenzo Medici, in the famous gardens of St. Mark, among the outstanding scientists and artists of that time. Carved by Michelangelo during his stay here, the mask of a faun and the relief depicting the struggle of Hercules with the centaurs drew attention to him. Shortly thereafter, he performed "Crucifixion" for the convent of Santo Spirito. During the execution of this work, the prior of the monastery placed at the disposal of Michelangelo a corpse, on which the artist first became acquainted with anatomy. Subsequently, he dealt with it with passion.

Portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Artist M. Venusti, ca. 1535

In 1496, Michelangelo sculpted a sleeping cupid from marble. Having given it, on the advice of friends, the appearance of antiquity, he passed it off as an antique work. The trick succeeded, and the deceit opened afterward resulted in Michelangelo's invitation to Rome, where he executed a commissioned marble Bacchus and the Madonna with the Dead Christ (Pietà), which made Michelangelo the first sculptor of Italy from a respected sculptor.

In 1499, Michelangelo reappears in his native Florence and creates for her a colossal statue of David, as well as paintings in the Council Hall.

Statue of David. Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1504

Then Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II and, by his order, created a grandiose project for a monument to the pope with many statues and reliefs. For various reasons, Michelangelo executed only one famous statue of Moses from this multitude.

Michelangelo Buonarroti. Statue of Moses

Forced to start painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the intrigues of rivals who thought to destroy the artist, knowing his unaccustomed to painting technique, Michelangelo at 22 months, working alone, created a huge work that caused general surprise. Here he depicted the creation of the world and man, the fall with its consequences: the expulsion from paradise and the global flood, miraculous salvation the chosen people and the approach of the time of salvation in the person of the sibyls, prophets and ancestors of the Savior. The Flood is the most successful composition in terms of the power of expression, drama, courage of thought, mastery of drawing, and the variety of figures in the most difficult and unexpected poses.

Michelangelo Buonarroti. Flood (detail). Fresco of the Sistine Chapel

The enormous painting of the Last Judgment, which, however, is somewhat inferior to the first in the nobility of style, executed by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1532 and 1545 on the wall of the Sistine Chapel, also amazes with the power of fantasy, grandeur and mastery of the drawing.

Michelangelo Buonarroti. Terrible Judgment. Fresco of the Sistine Chapel

Image source - site http://www.wga.hu

Around the same time, Michelangelo created for the Medici monument a statue of Giuliano - the famous "Pensiero" - "thoughtfulness".

At the end of his life, Michelangelo leaves sculpture and painting and devotes himself mainly to architecture, taking upon himself “for the glory of God” the gratuitous management of the construction of the church of St. Peter in Rome. He didn't finish it. The grandiose dome was completed according to the design of Michelangelo after his death (1564), which interrupted the stormy life of the artist, who also took an ardent part in the struggle of his native city for his freedom.

Dome of St. Peter's Church in Rome. Architect - Michelangelo Buonarroti

The ashes of Michelangelo Buonarroti rest under a magnificent monument in the church of Santa Croce in Florence. Numerous his sculptural works and the paintings are scattered throughout the churches and galleries of Europe.

The style of Michelangelo Buonarroti is distinguished by grandeur and nobility. His desire for the extraordinary, his deep knowledge of anatomy, thanks to which he achieved amazing correctness of the drawing, attracted him to colossal creatures. Michelangelo Buonarroti has no rivals in sublimity, vigor, boldness of movement and majesty of forms. He shows special skill in depicting a naked body. Although Michelangelo, with his addiction to plastic, gave color a secondary importance, nevertheless his color is strong and harmonious, fresco painting Michelangelo put oil above and called the latter a woman's work. Architecture was his weak side, but in it, being self-taught, he showed his genius.

Secretive and uncommunicative, Michelangelo could do without loyal friends and did not know female love until the age of 80. He called art his beloved, paintings his children. Only at the end of his life did Michelangelo meet the famous beautiful poetess Vittoria Colonna and fell in love with her passionately. This pure feeling caused the appearance of Michelangelo's poems, which were then published in 1623 in Florence. Michelangelo lived with patriarchal simplicity, did a lot of good, was, in general, affectionate and gentle. Only impudence and ignorance he punished inexorably. Was with Rafael good relations, although he was not indifferent to his glory.

The life of Michelangelo Buonarroti is described by his students Vasari and Candovi.

Michelangelo- an outstanding Italian sculptor, architect, artist, thinker, poet, one of the brightest figures of the Renaissance, whose multifaceted work influenced the art of not only this historical period, but also the development of the entire world culture.

On March 6, 1475, a boy was born in the family of a city councilor, a poor Florentine nobleman, who lived in the small town of Caprese (Tuscany), whose creations will be elevated to the rank of masterpieces, the best achievements of Renaissance art during the life of their author. Lodovico Buonarroti said that higher powers inspired him to name his son Michelangelo. Despite the nobility, which gave reason to be among the urban elite, the family was not prosperous. Therefore, when the mother died, the father of many children had to give 6-year-old Michelangelo to be raised by his nurse in the village. Before reading and writing, the boy learned to work with clay and a chisel.

Seeing his son's pronounced inclinations, in 1488 Lodovico gave him as an apprenticeship to the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, in whose studio Michelangelo spent a year. Then he becomes a student famous sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, whose school was patronized by Lorenzo de Medici, who at that time was the de facto ruler of Florence. After some time, he himself notices a talented teenager and invites him to the palace, introduces him to the palace collections. At the court of the patron, Michelangelo is from 1490 until his death in 1492, after which he leaves for home.

In June 1496, Michelangelo arrives in Rome: there, having bought a sculpture he likes, he is summoned by Cardinal Rafael Riario. Since that time, the biography of the great artist has been associated with frequent moves from Florence to Rome and back. Early creations already reveal the features that will distinguish the creative manner of Michelangelo: admiration for the beauty of the human body, plastic power, monumentality, dramatic artistic images.

During the years 1501-1504, returning in 1501 to Florence, he worked on the famous statue of David, which a respectable commission decided to install in the main city square. Since 1505, Michelangelo is back in Rome, where he is called by Pope Julius II to work on a grandiose project - the creation of his magnificent tombstone, which, according to their joint plan, should have surrounded many statues. Work on it was carried out intermittently and was completed only in 1545. In 1508, Julius II fulfills another request - he starts painting the frescoes of the vault in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican and finishes this grandiose painting, working intermittently, in 1512

Period from 1515 to 1520 became one of the most difficult in the biography of Michelangelo, passed under the sign of the collapse of plans, throwing "between two fires" - the service of Pope Leo X and the heirs of Julius II. In 1534 he finally moved to Rome. From the 20s. the artist's attitude becomes more pessimistic, painted in tragic tones. An illustration of the mood was the huge composition "The Last Judgment" - again in the Sistine Chapel, on the altar wall; Michelangelo worked on it in 1536-1541. After the death of the architect Antonio da Sangallo in 1546, he held the position of chief architect of the Cathedral of St.. Peter. The largest work this period, work on which lasted from the end of the 40s. to 1555, there was a sculptural group "Pieta". Over the last 30 years of the artist's life, the emphasis in his work gradually shifted to architecture and poetry. Deep, filled with tragedy, dedicated to the eternal themes of love, loneliness, happiness, madrigals, sonnets and other poetic compositions were highly appreciated by contemporaries. The first publication of Michelangelo's poetry was posthumous (1623).

On February 18, 1564, the great representative of the Renaissance died. His body was transported from Rome to Florence and buried in the church of Santa Croce with great honors.

Biography from Wikipedia

Michelangelo Buonarroti, full name Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni(Italian Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni; March 6, 1475, Caprese - February 18, 1564, Rome) - Italian sculptor, artist, architect, poet, thinker. One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance and early Baroque. His works were considered the highest achievements of Renaissance art during the lifetime of the master himself. Michelangelo lived for almost 89 years, an entire era, from the period High Renaissance to the origins of the Counter-Reformation. During this period, thirteen Popes were replaced - he carried out orders for nine of them. Many documents about his life and work have been preserved - testimonies of contemporaries, letters from Michelangelo himself, contracts, his personal and professional records. Michelangelo was also the first representative of Western European art, whose biography was printed during his lifetime.

Among his most famous sculptural works are "David", "Bacchus", "Pieta", the statues of Moses, Leah and Rachel for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo's first official biographer, wrote that "David" "has taken away the glory of all statues, modern and ancient, Greek and Roman." One of the most monumental works of the artist is the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, about which Goethe wrote that: "Without seeing the Sistine Chapel, it is difficult to get a visual idea of ​​what one person can do." Among his architectural accomplishments are the design of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, the stairs of the Laurenzian Library, Piazza Campidoglio and others. Researchers believe that the art of Michelangelo begins and ends with the image of the human body.

Life and art

Childhood

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the Tuscan town of Caprese, north of Arezzo, in the family of an impoverished Florentine nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti (Italian: Lodovico (Ludovico) di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni) (1444-1534), who at that time was the 169th Podesta. For generations, members of the Buonarroti-Simoni family were the petty bankers of Florence, but Lodovico failed to keep financial condition bank, so he held public office from time to time. It is known that Lodovico was proud of his aristocratic origin, because the Buonarroti-Simoni family claimed blood relationship with the Margraves Matilda of Canos, although there was not enough documentary evidence to confirm this. Ascanio Condivi claimed that Michelangelo himself believed in this, recalling aristocratic background kind in his letters to his nephew Leonardo. William Wallace wrote:

“Before Michelangelo, very few artists claimed such an origin. The artists did not have not only coats of arms, but also real names. They were named after their father, profession or city, and among them such famous contemporaries of Michelangelo as Leonardo da Vinci and Giorgione"

According to Lodovico's record, which is kept in the Casa Buonarroti Museum (Florence), Michelangelo was born "(...) on a Monday morning, at 4 or 5:00 before dawn." This register also states that the christening took place on 8 March at the Church of San Giovanni di Caprese and lists the godparents:

About his mother, Francesca di Neri di Miniato del Siena (Italian Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena), who married early and died of exhaustion from frequent pregnancies in the year of Michelangelo's sixth birthday, the latter never mentions in his voluminous correspondence with his father and brothers . Lodovico Buonarroti was not rich, and the income from his small estate in the countryside was barely enough to support many children. In this regard, he was forced to give Michelangelo to the nurse, the wife of "scarpelino" from the same village, called Settignano. There, educated married couple Topolino, the boy learned to knead clay and use a chisel before he could read and write. In any case, Michelangelo himself later said to his friend and biographer Giorgio Vasari:

“If there is anything good in my talent, it is from the fact that I was born in the rarefied air of your Aretine land, and the chisels and the hammer with which I make my statues, I extracted from the milk of my nurse.”

"Count Kanossky"
(Drawing by Michelangelo)

Michelangelo was the second son of Lodovico. Fritz Erpeli gives the year of birth of his brothers Lionardo (Italian Lionardo) - 1473, Buonarroto (Italian Buonarroto) - 1477, Giovansimone (Italian Giovansimone) - 1479 and Gismondo (Italian Gismondo) - 1481. In the same year, his mother died, and in 1485, four years after her death, Lodovico married a second time. Michelangelo's stepmother was Lucrezia Ubaldini. Soon Michelangelo was sent to the school of Francesco Galatea da Urbino (Italian Francesco Galatea da Urbino) in Florence, where the young man did not show much inclination to study and preferred to communicate with artists and redraw church icons and frescoes.

Youth. First works

In 1488, the father resigned himself to his son's inclinations and placed him as an apprentice in the workshop of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. Here Michelangelo got the opportunity to get acquainted with the basic materials and techniques, his pencil copies of the works of such Florentine artists as Giotto and Masaccio belong to the same period, already in these copies the sculptural vision of forms characteristic of Michelangelo appeared. His painting “The Torment of St. Anthony” (copy of an engraving by Martin Schongauer) belongs to the same period.

He worked there for one year. A year later, Michelangelo moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, the actual owner of Florence. The Medici recognize Michelangelo's talent and patronize him. From about 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo was at the Medici court. Here he met the philosophers of the Platonic Academy (Marsilio Ficino, Angelo Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola and others). He was also friends with Giovanni (second son of Lorenzo, future Pope Leo X) and Giulio Medici (illegitimate son of Giuliano Medici, future Pope Clement VII). Perhaps at this time were created " Madonna at the stairs" And " Battle of the Centaurs". It is known that at this time Pietro Torrigiano, who was also a student of Bertoldo, quarreled with Michelangelo and broke the boy's nose with a blow to the face. After the death of the Medici in 1492, Michelangelo returned home.

In the years 1494-1495 Michelangelo lives in Bologna, creates sculptures for the Arch of St. Dominic. In 1495 he returned to Florence, where the Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola rules, and creates sculptures " Saint Johannes" And " Sleeping Cupid". In 1496, Cardinal Raphael Riario buys Michelangelo's marble Cupid and invites the artist to work in Rome, where Michelangelo arrives on June 25. In 1496-1501 he creates " bacchus" And " Roman Pieta».

In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence. Commissioned works: sculptures for " piccolomini altarpiece" And " David". In 1503, work was completed on order: “ Twelve Apostles", the beginning of work on" Saint Matthew» for the Florentine Cathedral. Approximately in 1503-1505, the creation of " Madonna Doni», « Madonna Taddei», « Madonna Pitti" And " Brugger Madonna". In 1504, work on " David»; Michelangelo receives an order to create " Battles of Kashin».

In 1505 the sculptor was summoned by Pope Julius II to Rome; he ordered a tomb for him. Followed by an eight-month stay in Carrara, the choice of marble necessary for work. In the years 1505-1545, work was carried out (with interruptions) on the tomb, for which sculptures were created " Moses», « Bound Slave», « Dying slave», « Leah».

In April 1506 - again returning to Florence, in November, reconciliation with Julius II in Bologna follows. Michelangelo receives an order for a bronze statue of Julius II, on which he works in 1507 (later destroyed).

In February 1508, Michelangelo returned to Florence again. In May, at the request of Julius II, he travels to Rome to paint the ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel; he works on them until October 1512.

Julius II dies in 1513. Giovanni Medici becomes Pope Leo X. Michelangelo concludes a new contract to work on the tomb of Julius II. In 1514, the sculptor receives an order for " Christ with a cross"and the chapel of Pope Leo X in Engelsburg.

In July 1514, Michelangelo returned to Florence again. He receives an order to create the facade of the Medici Church of San Lorenzo in Florence, and he signs a third contract for the creation of the tomb of Julius II.

In the years 1516-1519, numerous trips took place for marble for the facade of San Lorenzo in Carrara and Pietrasanta.

In 1520-1534, the sculptor worked on the architectural and sculptural complex of the Medici Chapel in Florence, and also designed and built the Laurencin Library.

In 1546, the artist was entrusted with the most significant architectural orders in his life. For Pope Paul III, he completed the Palazzo Farnese (the third floor of the courtyard facade and cornice) and designed for him a new decoration of the Capitol, the material embodiment of which continued, however, for quite a long time. But, of course, the most important order that prevented him from returning to his native Florence until his death was for Michelangelo his appointment as the chief architect of St. Peter's Cathedral. Convinced of such trust in him and faith in him on the part of the pope, Michelangelo, in order to show his good will, wished that the decree announced that he was serving on the construction site out of love for God and without any remuneration.

Death and burial

A few days before Michelangelo's death, his nephew, Leonardo, arrived in Rome, to whom on February 15, at the request of Michelangelo, Federico Donati wrote a letter.

Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564 in Rome, not long before his 89th birthday. Witnesses of his death were Tommaso Cavalieri, Daniele da Volterra, Diomede Leone, the doctors Federico Donati and Gherardo Fidelissimi, and the servant Antonio Franzese. Before his death, he dictated a testament with all his characteristic laconicism: "I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives."

Pope Pius IV was going to bury Michelangelo in Rome by building a tomb for him in St. Peter's Basilica. On February 20, 1564, the body of Michelangelo was temporarily laid to rest in the Basilica of Santi Apostoli.

In early March, the body of the sculptor was secretly transported to Florence and solemnly buried on July 14, 1564 in the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, not far from the tomb of Machiavelli.

Artworks

The genius of Michelangelo left an imprint not only on the art of the Renaissance, but also on all further world culture. His activities are mainly associated with two Italian cities - Florence and Rome. By the nature of his talent, he was primarily a sculptor. This is also felt in the master's paintings, which are unusually rich in plasticity of movements, complex poses, distinct and powerful modeling of volumes. In Florence, Michelangelo created an immortal example of the High Renaissance - the statue "David" (1501-1504), which became for many centuries the standard image of the human body, in Rome - the sculptural composition "Pieta" (1498-1499), one of the first incarnations of the figure of a dead man in plastic. However, the artist was able to realize his most grandiose plans precisely in painting, where he acted as a true innovator of color and form.

By order of Pope Julius II, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512), representing the biblical story from the creation of the world to the flood and including more than 300 figures. In 1534-1541, in the same Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III, he performed the grandiose, dramatic fresco The Last Judgment. The architectural works of Michelangelo amaze with their beauty and grandeur - the ensemble of Capitol Square and the dome of the Vatican Cathedral in Rome.

The arts have reached such perfection in him that you will not find either among the ancients or the new people for many, many years. His imagination was so and so perfect, and the things presented to him in the idea were such that it was impossible to carry out plans so great and amazing with his hands, and often he abandoned his creations, moreover, many destroyed; so, it is known that shortly before his death he burned a large number of drawings, sketches and cardboards created by his own hand, so that no one could see the labors he overcame, and in what ways he tested his genius in order to show it only perfect.

Giorgio Vasari. "Lives of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects." T. V. M., 1971.

Notable works

• Madonna at the stairs. Marble. OK. 1491. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.
• Battle of the centaurs. Marble. OK. 1492. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.
• Pieta. Marble. 1498-1499. Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica.
• Madonna and Child. Marble. OK. 1501. Bruges, Notre Dame church.
• David. Marble. 1501-1504. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
• Madonna Taddei. Marble. OK. 1502-1504. London, Royal Academy of Arts.
• Madonna Doni. 1503-1504. Florence, Uffizi Gallery.
• Madonna Pitti. OK. 1504-1505. Florence, Bargello National Museum.
• Apostle Matthew. Marble. 1506. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
• Painting on the vault of the Sistine Chapel. 1508-1512. Vatican.
  • Creation of Adam
• Dying slave. Marble. OK. 1513. Paris, Louvre.
• Moses. OK. 1515. Rome, church of San Pietro in Vincoli.
• Atlant. Marble. Between 1519, ca. 1530-1534. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
• Medici Chapel 1520-1534.
• Madonna. Florence, Medici Chapel. Marble. 1521-1534.
• Laurentian Library. 1524-1534, 1549-1559. Florence.
• Tomb of Duke Lorenzo. Medici Chapel. 1524-1531. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
• Tomb of Duke Giuliano. Medici Chapel. 1526-1533. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
• Crouching boy. Marble. 1530-1534. Russia, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage.
• Brutus. Marble. After 1539. Florence, Bargello National Museum.
• Terrible Judgment. The Sistine Chapel. 1535-1541. Vatican.
• Tomb of Julius II. 1542-1545. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.
• Pieta (Laying in the Coffin) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Marble. OK. 1547-1555. Florence, Opera del Duomo Museum.

In 2007, in the archives of the Vatican was found latest work Michelangelo - a sketch of one of the details of the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral. The red chalk drawing is "a detail of one of the radial columns that make up the drum of the dome of St. Peter's in Rome." It is believed that this is the last work of the famous artist, completed shortly before his death in 1564.

This is not the first time Michelangelo's work has been found in archives and museums. So, in 2002 in the storerooms National Museum design in New York among works unknown authors Renaissance, another drawing was found: on a sheet of paper measuring 45 × 25 cm, the artist depicted a menorah - a candlestick for seven candles. In early 2015, it became known about the discovery of the first and probably the only bronze sculpture of Michelangelo that has survived to this day - a composition of two panther riders.

Poetic creativity

The poetry of Michelangelo is considered one of the brightest examples of the Renaissance. About 300 poems by Michelangelo have survived to this day. The main themes are the chanting of a person, the bitterness of disappointment and the artist's loneliness. Favorite poetic forms are madrigal and sonnet. According to R. Rolland, Michelangelo began to write poetry as a child, however, there are not so many of them left, because in 1518, he burned most of his early poems, and destroyed another part later, before his death.

Some of his poems were published in the works of Benedetto Varchi (Italian: Benedetto Varchi), Donato Giannotto (Italian: Donato Giannotti), Giorgio Vasari and others. Luigi Ricci and Giannotto suggested that he select the best poems for publication. In 1545, Giannotto undertook the preparation of the first collection of Michelangelo, however, things did not go any further - Luigi died in 1546, and Vittoria died in 1547. Michelangelo decided to abandon this idea, considering it vanity.

Vittoria and Michelangelo at Moses, 19th century painting

Thus, during his lifetime, the collection of his poems was not published, and the first collection was published only in 1623 by his nephew Michelangelo Buonarroti (the younger) under the title "Poems of Michelangelo collected by his nephew" in the Florentine publishing house Giuntine (Italian Giuntine). This edition was incomplete and contained certain inaccuracies. In 1863, Cesare Guasti (Italian: Chesare Guasti) published the first accurate edition of the artist's poems, which, however, was not chronological. In 1897, an edition German art critic Karl Frey (German: Karl Frey) "Michelangelo's Poems, Collected and Commented on by Dr. Karl Frey" (Berlin). Edition Enzo Noe Girard (Bari, 1960) Italian. Enzo Noe Girardi) consisted of three parts, and was much more perfect than Frey's edition in the accuracy of reproduction of the text and was distinguished by a better chronology of the arrangement of poems, although not entirely indisputable.

Michelangelo was engaged in the study of poetic creativity, in particular, German writer Wilhelm Lang, who defended this topic dissertation published in 1861.

Use in music

Some of his poems were set to music during his lifetime. Among the most famous contemporary composers of Michelangelo are Jacob Arcadelt ("Deh dimm" Amor se l "alma" and "Io dico che fra voi"), Bartolomeo Tromboncino, Constanta Festa (the lost madrigal to Michelangelo's poem), Jean where Cons (also - council).

Also, composers such as Richard Strauss wrote music to his words (a cycle of five songs - the first to the words of Michelangelo, the rest - to Adolf von Schack, 1886), Hugo Wolf ( vocal cycle"Songs of Michelangelo" 1897) and Benjamin Britten (song cycle "Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo", 1940).

On July 31, 1974, Dmitri Shostakovich wrote a suite for bass and piano (opus 145). The suite is based on eight sonnets and three poems by the artist (translated by Abram Efros).

In 2006 Sir Peter Maxwell Davies completed Tondo di Michelangelo (for baritone and piano). The work includes eight sonnets by Michelangelo. The premiere took place on October 18, 2007.

In 2010 the Austrian composer Matthew Dewey wrote "Il tempo passa: music to Michelangelo" (for baritone, viola and piano). It uses a modern translation of Michelangelo's poems into English language. The world premiere of the work took place on January 16, 2011.

Appearance

There are several portraits of Michelangelo. Among them are Sebastiano del Piombo (c. 1520), Giuliano Bugiardini, Jacopino del Conte (1544-1545, Uffizi Gallery), Marcello Venusti (Museum in the Capitol), Francisco d "Olanda (1538-1539), Giulio Bonasone (1546) etc. Also, his image was in the biography of Condivi, which was published in 1553, and in 1561 Leone Leoni minted a coin with his image.

Describing the appearance of Michelangelo, Romain Rolland chose the portraits of Conte and d "Holland as a basis:

Bust of Michelangelo
(Daniele da Volterra, 1564)

“Michelangelo was of medium height, broad in the shoulders and muscular (...). His head was round, his forehead was square, wrinkled, with strongly pronounced brow ridges. Black, rather sparse hair, slightly curly. Small light brown eyes, the color of which was constantly changing, dotted with yellow and blue specks (...). Wide, straight nose with a slight hump (...). Thinly defined lips, the lower lip protrudes slightly. Thin sideburns, and a forked sparse beard of a faun (...) high cheekbones with sunken cheeks."

However, in the cinema they preferred to portray him as more attractive than he really was.

Michelangelo did not leave behind a single documented self-portrait, however, a number of his works are considered by researchers to be possible images of the artist. Among them - "Saint Proclus of Bologna", the head of Holofernes in the fresco "Judith and Holofernes" on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, who lost in sculptural group"The Spirit of Victory", the face on the removed skin of St. Bartholomew (the Last Judgment fresco), St. Nicodemus in "Pieta II".

It is also believed that he is depicted in a fresco by Raphael " Athenian school”, although this statement is not unambiguous. After Michelangelo's death, Daniele da Volterra made the sculptor's death mask and bust.

Spiritual quest and personal life

In 1536, Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara, came to Rome, where this 47-year-old widowed poetess earned the deep friendship of the 61-year-old Michelangelo. Vittoria became the only woman whose name is firmly associated with Michelangelo. Researcher Norton argued that “his poems to her ... are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the sonnets to the young man Tommaso Cavalieri, moreover, it is known that Michelangelo himself sometimes replaced the address “signor” with “signora” before letting his poems go to the people. In the future, his poems were censored by a great-nephew before publication.

Her departure for Orvieto and Viterbo in 1541, due to the rebellion of her brother Ascanio Colonna against Paul III, did not cause a change in her relationship with the artist, and they continued to visit each other and correspond as before. She returned to Rome in 1544.

Sonnet No. 60

AND supreme genius won't add
One thought to those that marble itself
Conceals in abundance - and only this to us
The hand, obedient to reason, will reveal.

Am I waiting for joy, is anxiety pressing my heart,
The wisest, kindest donna, - to you
I owe everything to me, and heavy is my shame,
That my gift does not glorify you as it should.

Not the power of Love, not your beauty,
Or coldness, or anger, or oppression of contempt
In my misfortune they bear guilt, -
Then, that death is merged with mercy
In your heart - but my pathetic genius
Extract, loving, capable of death alone.

Michelangelo

Biographers of the famous artist noted that “the correspondence of these two wonderful people is not only of high biographical interest, but is also an excellent monument historical era and a rare example of a lively exchange of thoughts, crazy, subtle observation and irony.

The researchers wrote about the sonnets dedicated to Michelangelo Vittoria: “The deliberate, forced Platonism of their relationship aggravated and brought to crystallization the love-philosophical warehouse of Michelangelo’s poetry, which largely reflected the views and poetry of the Marquise herself, who played the role of Michelangelo’s spiritual leader during the 1530s . Their poetic "correspondence" aroused the attention of contemporaries; perhaps the most famous was sonnet 60, which became the subject of a special interpretation.

Recordings of conversations between Vittoria and Michelangelo, heavily processed, have been preserved in the posthumously published notes of the Portuguese artist Francesco d'Hollande.

Grade

Michelangelo during his lifetime was considered the greatest master. Now he is considered one of the greatest masters in the history of mankind. A significant number of his sculptures, paintings and works of architecture are the most famous in the world. His most famous work is the statue of David.

To the cinema

• "Agony and Ecstasy" / The Agony and the Ecstasy - dir. Carol Reid, (US-UK, 1965)
• Performance by G. Mackevicius "Overcoming"
• Documentary "Michelangelo Superstar"

Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni (Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni) is the most famous painter from Italy, a genius of architectural and sculptural works, a thinker of the High Renaissance and early period baroque. 9 of the 13 popes who were on the throne during the time of Michelangelo invited the master to perform work in and.

Little Michelangelo saw the light in the early morning of March 6, 1475 on Monday in the family of a bankrupt banker and nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni in the Tuscan town of Caprese, near the province of Arezzo, where his father held the position of podestà ), head of the Italian medieval administration.

Family and childhood

Two days after his birth, on March 8, 1475, the boy was baptized in the church of San Giovanni di Caprese (Chiesa di San Giovanni di Caprese). Michelangelo was the 2nd child in a large family. Mother, Francesca Neri del Miniato Siena, in 1473 gave birth to the first child Lionardo, in 1477 Buonarroto was born, in 1479 the fourth son Giovansimone was born, in 1481 the younger Gismondo was born. Exhausted by frequent pregnancies, the woman dies in 1481, as soon as Michelangelo was 6 years old.

In 1485, the father of a large family married for the second time to Lucrezia Ubaldini di Galliano, who was unable to give birth to her own children and raised adopted boys as her own. Unable to cope with a large family, his father gave Michelangelo to the Topolino foster family in the city of Settignano. The father of the new family worked as a stonemason, and his wife knew the child from childhood, as she was Michelangelo's nurse. It was there that the boy began to work with clay and picked up a chisel for the first time.

To give the heir an education, the father identified Michelangelo in educational institution Francesco Galatea da Urbino, located in (Firenze). But the student from him turned out to be unimportant, the boy liked to draw more, copying icons and frescoes.

First works

In 1488 young painter achieves his goal and goes to study in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio (Domenico Ghirlandaio), where whole year learn the basics of drawing techniques. During the year of study, Michelangelo creates several pencil copies of famous paintings and a copy from the engraving of the German painter Martin Schongauer (Martin Schongauer) called "The Torment of St. Anthony" ("Tormento di Sant'Antonio").

In 1489 the young man was enrolled in art school Bertoldo di Giovanni, organized under the auspices of (Lorenzo Medici), the ruler of Florence. Noticing the genius of Michelangelo, the Medici takes him under his protection, helping him develop his abilities and fulfill expensive orders.

In 1490, Michelangelo continued his studies at the Academy of Humanism at the Medici court, where he met the philosophers Marsilio Ficino and Angelo Ambroghini, the future Popes: Leo X (Leo PP. X) and Clement VII (Clemens PP. VII). For 2 years of study at the Academy of Michelangelo creates:

• Marble relief "Madonna at the stairs" ("Madonna della scala"), 1492, exhibited in the Florentine Museum of Casa Buonarroti (Casa Buonarroti);
• Marble relief "Battle of the Centaurs" ("Battaglia dei centauri"), 1492, exhibited at Casa Buonarroti;
• Sculpture by Bertoldo di Giovanni.

On April 8, 1492, the influential patron of talents, Lorenzo de' Medici, dies, and Michelangelo decides to return to his father's house.

In 1493, with the permission of the rector of the church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito (Santa Maria del Santo Spirito), he studied anatomy on corpses at the church hospital. In gratitude for this, the master makes for the priest a wooden "Crucifixion" ("Crocifisso di Santo Spirito") 142 cm in height, which is now exhibited in the church in the side chapel.

In Bologna

In 1494, Michelangelo left Florence, not wanting to participate in the uprising of Savonarola (Savonarola) and went to (Bologna), where he immediately took up the order of 3 small figures for the tomb of St. Dominic (San Domenico) in the church of the same name "Saint Dominic" ("Chiesa di San Domenico"):

• "Angel with a candelabra" ("Angelo reggicandelabro"), 1495;
• "Saint Petronius" ("San Petronio"), patron of the city of Bologna, 1495;
• "Saint Proclus" ("San Procolo"), Italian warrior-saint, 1495

In Bologna, the sculptor learns to create difficult reliefs, watching the actions of Jacopo della Quercia in the Basilica of San Petronio (La Basilica di San Petronio). Elements of this work would be reproduced by Michelangelo later on the ceiling ("Cappella Sistina").

Florence and Rome

In 1495, the 20-year-old master again comes to Florence, where the power is in the hands of Girolamo Savonarola, but does not receive any orders from the new rulers. He returns to the Medici Palace and begins working for Lorenzo's heir, Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de' Medici, creating for him now lost statues:

• "John the Baptist" ("San Giovannino"), 1496;
• "Sleeping Cupid" ("Cupido dormiente"), 1496

Lorenzo asked the last statue to be made old, he wanted to sell the work of art more expensive, passing it off as an old find. But Cardinal Raffaele Riario, who purchased the forgery, discovered the deception, however, impressed by the work of the author, did not make claims to him, inviting him to work in Rome.

June 25, 1496 Michelangelo arrives in Rome, where in 3 years he creates the greatest masterpieces: marble sculptures god of wine Bacchus (Bacco) and (Pietà).

Heritage

Throughout his subsequent life, Michelangelo repeatedly worked either in Rome or in Florence, fulfilling the most labor-intensive orders of the popes.

The creativity of the ingenious master was manifested not only in sculptures, but also in painting and architecture, leaving many unsurpassed masterpieces. Unfortunately, some works have not survived to our time: some were lost, others were deliberately destroyed. In 1518, the sculptor for the first time destroyed all the sketches for painting the Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina), and 2 days before his death, he again ordered to burn his unfinished drawings so that posterity would not see his creative torment.

Personal life

It is not known for certain whether Michelangelo had a close relationship with his passions or not, but the homosexual nature of his attraction comes through in many of the maestro's poetic works.

At the age of 57, he dedicated many of their sonnets and madrigals to the 23-year-old Tommaso dei Cavalieri.(Tommaso Dei Cavalieri). Many of their joint poetic works talking about mutual touching love to each other.

In 1542, Michelangelo met Cecchino de Bracci, who died in 1543. The maestro was so saddened by the loss of a friend that he wrote a cycle of 48 sonnets, praising grief and sadness for an irreparable loss.

One of the young men posing for Michelangelo, Febo di Poggio, constantly asked for money, gifts and jewelry from the master in exchange for reciprocal love, receiving the nickname “little blackmailer” for this.

The second young man, Gerardo Perini (Gherardo Perini), also posing for the sculptor, did not hesitate to take advantage of the favor of Michelangelo and simply robbed his admirer.

At the end of his life, the sculptor felt a wonderful sense of affection for a female representative, the widow and poetess Vittoria Colonna, whom he had known for over 40 years. Their correspondence is a significant monument of the era of Michelangelo.

Death

Michelangelo's life was interrupted on February 18, 1564 in Rome. He died in the presence of a servant, doctors and friends, having managed to dictate a will, promising the Lord - his soul, the earth - his body, and his relatives - property. A tomb was built for the sculptor, but two days after his death, the body was moved to the Basilica of Santi Apostoli for some time, and in July he was buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce (Basilica di Santa Croce) in the center of Florence.

Painting

Despite the fact that the main manifestation of the genius of Michelangelo was the creation of sculptures, he has many masterpieces of pictorial performance. According to the author, high-quality paintings should look like sculptures and reflect the volume and relief of the images presented.

The “Battle of Cascina” (“Battaglia di Cascina”) was created by Michelangelo in 1506 for painting one of the walls of the Great Council Hall in the Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico) by order of the gonfaloniere (gonfaloniere) Pier Soderini. But the work remained unfinished, as the author was summoned to Rome.

On a huge cardboard in the premises of the Sant'Onofrio hospital, the artist masterfully depicted soldiers in a hurry to stop bathing in the Arno River. A horn from the camp called them to fight and the men in a hurry grab their weapons, armor, pull clothes over wet bodies, while helping their comrades. The cardboard placed in the Papal Hall became a school for such artists as: Antonio da Sangallo (Antonio da Sangallo), (Raffaello Santi), Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio), Francesco Granaccio (Francesco Granacci), and later Andrea del Sarto (Andrea del Sarto), Jacopo Sansovino, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Perino del Vaga and others. They came to work and copied from a unique canvas, trying to get closer to the talent of the great master. Cardboard has not survived to our time.

"Madonna Doni" or " holy family» (Tondo Doni) - a round painting with a diameter of 120 cm exhibited in (Galleria degli Uffizi) in Florence. It was made in 1507 in the "cangiante" style, when the skin of the depicted characters resembles marble. Most the picture is occupied by the figure of the Mother of God, behind her is John the Baptist. They hold the baby Christ in their arms. The work is filled with complex symbolism, subject to various interpretations.

Manchester Madonna

The unfinished Manchester Madonna (Madonna di Manchester) was made in 1497 on a wooden board and is stored in the London national gallery(National Gallery). The first name of the painting sounded like: “Madonna and Child, John the Baptist and Angels”, but in 1857 it was first presented to the public at an exhibition in Manchester (Manchester), having received its second name, by which it is known today.

The Entombment (Deposizione di Cristo nel sepolcro) was executed in 1501 in oil on wood. Another unfinished work by Michelangelo, owned by the London National Gallery. The main figure of the work was the body of Jesus taken down from the cross. His followers carry their teacher to the coffin. Presumably, John the Evangelist is depicted to the left of Christ in red clothes. Other characters may be: Nicodemus (Nikodim) and Joseph of Arimathea (Joseph of Arimathea). On the left kneeling in front of the teacher is Mary Magdalene (Mary Magdalene), and on the right below, the image of the Mother of God is outlined, but not drawn.

Madonna and Child

The Madonna and Child sketch (Madonna col Bambino) was made between 1520 and 1525 and may well turn into a full-fledged painting in the hands of any artist. Stored in the Museum "Casa (House) Buonarroti" (Casa Buonarroti) in Florence. First, on the first sheet of paper, he drew the skeletons of future images, then on the second he “built up” muscles on the skeleton. In our time, the work has been exhibited with great success in museums in America for the past three decades.

Leda and the swan

The lost painting “Leda and the Swan” (“Leda e il cigno”), created in 1530 for the Duke of Ferrara Alfonso I d’Este (Italian: Alfonso I d’Este), is known today only thanks to copies. But the duke did not get the picture, the nobleman sent for the work to Michelangelo commented on the work of the master: “Oh, this is nothing!” The artist expelled the envoy and presented the masterpiece to his student Antonio Mini (Antonio Mini), with whom both sisters soon married. Antonio took the work to France, where it was bought by the monarch Francis I (François Ier). The painting belonged to the Fontainebleau Palace (Château de Fontainebleau) until it was destroyed in 1643 by François Sublet de Noyers, who considered the image too voluptuous.

Cleopatra

Painting "Cleopatra" ("Cleopatra") 1534 creation - ideal female beauty. The work is interesting in that on the other side of the sheet there is another sketch in black chalk, but so ugly that art historians made an assumption that the authorship of the sketch belonged to one of the master’s students. Michelangelo's portrait of the Egyptian queen was presented by Tommaso dei Cavalieri. Perhaps Tommaso was trying to draw one of the antique statues, but the work was not successful, then Michelangelo turned the sheet over and turned the squalor into a masterpiece.

Venus and Cupid

Cardboard "Venus and Cupid" ("Venere e Amore"), created in 1534, was used by the painter Jacopo Carucci to create the painting "Venus and Cupid" ("Venus and Cupid"). Oil painting on wood panel measuring 1 m 28 cm by 1 m 97 cm is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. ABOUT The original by Michelangelo has not survived to this day.

Pieta

The drawing "Pieta" ("Pietà per Vittoria Colonna") was written in 1546 for Michelangelo's girlfriend, the poetess Vittoria Colonna. The chaste woman not only dedicated her work to God and the church, but also forced the artist to become more deeply imbued with the spirit of religion. It was to her that the master dedicated a series of religious drawings, among which was the Pieta.

Michelangelo repeatedly wondered if he was competing with God himself, trying to achieve perfection in art. The work is stored in the Museum of Isabella Stewart Gardner (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum) in Boston (Boston).

Epiphany

The sketch “Theophany” (“Epifania”) is a grandiose work of the artist, completed in 1553. It was made on 26 paper sheets 2 m 32 cm 7 mm high after much thought (multiple traces of sketch changes are visible on paper). In the center of the composition is the Virgin Mary, who with her left hand removes St. Joseph from herself. At the feet of the Mother of God is the baby Jesus, in front of Joseph is the baby St. John. On the right hand of Mary is a figure of a man not identified by art critics. The work is exhibited at the British Museum in London.

sculptures

Today, 57 works belonging to Michelangelo are known, about 10 sculptures were lost. The master did not sign his work and the ministers of culture continue to "find" all the new works of the sculptor.

Bacchus

The sculpture of the drunken god of wine made of marble "Bacchus" ("Bacco"), 2 m 3 cm high, is depicted in 1497 with a glass of wine in his hand and with grape clusters symbolizing the hair on his head. He is accompanied by a goat-footed satyr. The customer of one of the first masterpieces of Michelangelo was Cardinal Rafael della Rovere (Raffaele della Rovere), who subsequently refused to take the work. In 1572 the Medici family bought the statue. Today it is exhibited in the Italian Museum "Bargello" ("Bargello") in Florence.

Roman Pieta

An order for painting a ceiling with an area of ​​​​about 600 square meters. m. "Sistine Chapel" ("Sacellum Sixtinum"), the Apostolic Palace, Pope Julius II (Iulius PP. II) gave the master after their reconciliation. Before that, Michelangelo lived in Florence, he was angry with the pope, who refused to pay for the construction of his own tomb.

Previously, the talented sculptor had never done frescoes, but he completed the order of the royal person in the shortest possible time, painting the ceiling with three hundred figures and nine scenes from the Bible.

Creation of Adam

"The Creation of Adam" ("La creazione di Adamo") is the most famous and beautiful fresco of the chapel, completed in 1511. One of the central compositions is full of symbolism and hidden meaning. God the Father, surrounded by angels, is depicted as flying to infinity. He reaches out to meet Adam's outstretched hand, breathing soul into a perfect human body.

Last Judgment

The Last Judgment fresco (Giudizio universale) is the largest fresco of the Michelangelo era. The master has been working on the image measuring 13 m 70 cm by 12 m for 6 years, finishing it in 1541. In the center is a figure of Christ with his right hand raised up. He is no longer the messenger of the world, but a formidable judge. Next to Jesus were the apostles: St. Peter, St. Lawrence, St. Bartholomew, St. Sebastian and others.

The dead look with horror at the judge, waiting for the verdict. Those saved by Christ are resurrected, and sinners are carried away by the devil himself.

“The Universal Flood” is the first fresco painted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the chapel in 1512. Masters from Florence helped the sculptor to do this work, but soon their work ceased to satisfy the maestro and he refused outside help. The image shows human fears in last moment life. Everything is already flooded with water, except for a few high hills, on which people in desperation try to avoid death.

"Libyan Sibyl" ("Libyan sibyl") - one of the 5 depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the chapel. A graceful woman with a folio is presented half-turned. According to the assumption of art critics, the artist copied the image of the Sibyl from a posing young man. According to legend, she was a dark-skinned African woman of average height. The maestro decided to portray a soothsayer with white skin and blond hair.

Separation of Light from Darkness

The fresco "The Separation of Light From Dark", like other frescoes in the chapel, is filled with a riot of colors and emotions. The higher mind, full of love for all things, has such incredible power that Chaos is unable to prevent it from separating light from darkness. Giving the Almighty a human appearance suggests that each person is able to create a small universe within himself, distinguishing between good and evil, light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

At the beginning of the 16th century, Michelangelo, as an architect, participated in the creation of the plan of St. Peter's Basilica, together with the architect Donato Bramante. But the latter disliked Buonarroti and constantly plotted against his opponent.

Forty years later, the construction completely passed into the hands of Michelangelo, who returned to Bramante's plan, rejecting the plan of Giuliano Sangallo (Giuliano da Sangallo). The maestro brought more monumentality to the old plan when he abandoned the complex division of space. He also increased the under-dome pylons and simplified the shape of the semi-dome. Thanks to innovations, the building acquired integrity, as if it had been carved from a single piece of matter.

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Paolina Chapel

Michelangelo was only able to start painting the “Paolina Chapel” (“Cappella Paolina”) in the Apostolic Palace only in 1542 at the age of 67. Long work on the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel greatly undermined his health, inhaled fumes of paint and plaster led to general weakness and heart disease. The paint spoiled his eyesight, the master hardly ate, did not sleep, and did not take off his boots for weeks. As a result, twice Buonarroti stopped work and returned to them again, creating two amazing frescoes.

"Conversion of the Apostle Paul" ("Conversione di Saulo") - the first fresco by Michelangelo in the "Paolina Chapel" measuring 6 m 25 cm by 6 m 62 cm, completed in 1545. The Apostle Paul was considered the patron saint of Pope Paul III (Paulus PP III) . The author depicted a moment from the Bible, which describes how the Lord himself appeared to Saul, turning the sinner into a preacher.

Crucifixion of Saint Peter

The fresco "The Crucifixion of St. Peter" ("Crocifissione di San Pietro") measuring 6 m 25 cm by 6 m 62 cm was completed by Michelangelo in 1550 and became the final painting of the artist. Saint Peter was sentenced to death by the emperor Nero (Nero), but the condemned wished to be crucified upside down, since he did not consider himself worthy to accept death like Christ.

Many artists, depicting this scene, faced misunderstanding. Michelangelo solved the problem by presenting the scene of the crucifixion before the erection of the cross.

Architecture

The second half of his life, Michelangelo increasingly began to turn to architecture. During the construction of architectural monuments, the maestro successfully destroyed the old canons, putting into his work all the knowledge and skills accumulated over the years.

In the "Basilica of St. Lawrence" ("Basilica di San Lorenzo"), Michelangelo worked not only on the tombstones of the Medici. The church, built in 393 during the reconstruction in the XV century, was supplemented with the Old Sacristy according to the project (Filippo Brunelleschi).

Later, Michelangelo became the author of the project of the New Sacristy, attached to the other side of the church. In 1524, by order of Clement VII (Clemens PP. VII), the architect designed and built the building of the Laurenzian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) on the south side of the church. Complex stairs, floors and ceilings, windows and benches - every little thing was carefully thought out by the author.

"Porta Pia" - the gate in the northeast (Mura aureliane) in Rome on the ancient Nomentana road (Via Nomentana). Michelangelo made three projects, of which the customer Pope Pius IV (Pius PP. IV) approved the least expensive option, where the facade resembled a theater curtain.

The author did not live to see the end of the construction of the gate. After the gates were partially destroyed by lightning in 1851, Pope Pius IX (Pius PP. IX) ordered them to be reconstructed, changing the original appearance of the building.

The titular Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri) is located on the Roman (Piazza della Repubblica) and was built in honor of the Mother of God, the holy great martyrs and the angels of God. Pope Pius IV commissioned the development of the construction plan to Michelangelo in 1561. The author of the project did not live to see the completion of the work, which fell on 1566.

Poetry

For the last three decades of his life, Michelangelo was engaged not only in architecture, he wrote many madrigals and sonnets, which were not published during the author's lifetime. In poetry, he sang love, glorified harmony and described the tragedy of loneliness. For the first time, Buonarroti's poems were published in 1623. In total, about three hundred of his poems, a little less than 1,500 letters from personal correspondence and about three hundred pages of personal records have been preserved.

1. Michelangelo's talent was manifested in the fact that he saw his work even before they were created. The master personally selected pieces of marble for future sculptures and himself was engaged in their transportation to the workshop. He always kept and kept the raw blocks as ready-made masterpieces.
2. The future "David", which appeared before Michelangelo as a huge piece of marble, turned out to be the sculpture that the previous two masters had already abandoned. For 3 years, the maestro worked on a masterpiece, presenting the naked “David” to the public in 1504.
3. At the age of 17, Michelangelo quarreled with 20-year-old Pietro Torrigiano, also an artist, who managed to break his opponent's nose in a fight. Since then, in all the images of the sculptor, he is presented with a disfigured face.
4. "Pieta" in St. Peter's Basilica impresses the audience so much that it has been repeatedly attacked by individuals with an unstable psyche. In 1972, Australian geologist Laszlo Toth committed an act of vandalism by hitting the sculpture 15 times with a hammer. After that, "Pieta" was placed behind the glass.
5. The favorite sculptural composition of the author Pieta "Lamentation of Christ" was the only signed work. When the masterpiece was presented in St. Peter's Basilica, people began to speculate that its creator is Cristoforo Solari (Cristoforo Solari). Then Michelangelo, having made his way to the cathedral at night, knocked out on the folds of the clothes of the Mother of God "Michelangelo Buonarotti the Florentine sculpted", but later he regretted the pride shown, never again signing his works.
6. While working on " Doomsday» the master accidentally fell from high scaffolding, severely injuring his leg. He saw this as a bad omen and did not want to work anymore. The artist locked himself in the room, not letting anyone in and deciding to die. But the famous doctor and friend of Michelangelo - Baccio Rontini (Baccio Rontini) wished to cure the wayward stubborn, and since the doors did not open in front of him, he made his way into the house through the cellar with great difficulty. The doctor forced Buonarroti to take medication and helped him recover.
7. The power of the master's art is only gaining strength over time. Over the past 4 years, more than a hundred people have applied for medical care after visiting the halls with the exhibited works of Michelangelo. Particularly impressive to the audience is the statue of the naked "David", in front of which people have repeatedly lost consciousness. They complained of disorientation, dizziness, apathy and nausea. Doctors of the hospital "Santa Maria Nuova" ("Santa Maria Nuova") call this emotional condition"David Syndrome"

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