Michelangelo Buonarroti country of birth. Paintings and works by Michelangelo Buonarroti with titles

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, a small town 40 miles southeast of Florence. Now this town in honor of the artist is called Caprese Michelangelo. His father, Lodovico, at the time of the birth of his son, acted as iodesta (mayor) of Caprese, but soon his term of service came to an end, and he returned to his homeland, to Florence. The ancient Buonarroti family had become very impoverished by this time, which did not prevent Lodovico from being proud of his aristocracy and considering himself above earning a living himself. The family had to live on the money that the farm brought in the village of Settignano, located three miles from Florence.
Here, in Settignano, the infant Michelangelo was given to be fed by the wife of a local stonemason. Stone has been mined in the vicinity of Florence for a long time, and Michelangelo liked to say later that he "absorbed the sculptor's chisel and hammer with the nurse's milk." The boy's artistic inclinations manifested themselves at an early age, but the father, in accordance with his notions of aristocracy, for a long time resisted his son's desire to become an artist. Michelangelo showed character and, in the end, obtained permission to become an apprentice to the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. This happened in April 1488.
The very next year, he moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of the actual owner of the city, Lorenzo de Medici (nicknamed the Magnificent). Lorenzo the Magnificent was a very educated person, well versed in art, he wrote poetry himself and immediately recognized the talent of the young Michelangelo. For some time Michelangelo lived in the Medici Palace. Lorenzo treated him like a beloved son.
In 1492, Michelangelo's patron died, and the artist returned to his home. In Florence, political unrest began at this time, and at the end of 1494 Michelangelo left the city. Having visited Venice and Bologna, at the end of 1495 he returned back. But not for long. The new republican rule did not contribute to the pacification of city life, in addition to everything else, a plague epidemic broke out. Michelangelo continued his wanderings. On June 25, 1496, he appeared in Rome.
He spent the next five years in the Eternal City. Here his first big success awaited him. Soon after his arrival, Michelangelo received an order for a marble statue of Bacchus for Cardinal Rafael Riario, and in 1498-99 another one for a marble composition "Pieta" (in fine arts, the scene of the mourning of Christ by the Mother of God was traditionally called this). Michelangelo's composition was recognized as a masterpiece, which further strengthened his position in the artistic hierarchy. The next order was the painting "Burial", but the artist did not finish it, in 1501 he returned to Florence.
Life in his hometown had stabilized by that time. Michelangelo received a commission for a huge statue of David.
Completed in 1504, the David, like the Lamentation in Rome, cemented Michelangelo's reputation in Florence. The statue, instead of the previously planned place (at the city cathedral), was installed in the very heart of the city, opposite the Palazzo Vecchio, where the city government was located. She became a symbol of the new republic, which, like the biblical David, fought for the freedom of its citizens.
The story of another order received from the city is curious - for the painting “The Battle of Cascine” for the Palazzo Vecchio. Its plot was supposed to be the victory of the Florentines over the Pisans at the Battle of Kashin, which took place in 1364. The drama of the situation was aggravated by the fact that Leonardo da Vinci undertook to write the second picture for the Palazzo Vecchio ("Battle of Anghiari"). Leonardo was 20 years older than Michelangelo, but the young man accepted this challenge with an open visor. Leonardo and Michelangelo did not like each other, and many were waiting with interest to see how their rivalry would end. Unfortunately, both paintings were not completed. Leonardo left his work after a crushing failure, which he suffered while experimenting with a new technique of wall painting, and Michelangelo, having created magnificent studies for the Battle of Kashin, left in March 1505 for Rome at the call of Pope Julius II.
However, he reached his destination only in January 1506, after spending several months in the quarries of Carrara, where he selected marble for the tomb of Pope Julius II ordered by him. Initially, it was planned to decorate it with forty sculptures, but soon the pope lost interest in this project, and in 1513 he died. A long-term litigation began between the artist and the relatives of the deceased. In 1545, Michelangelo nevertheless completed work on the tomb, which turned out to be only a pale shadow of the original plan. The artist himself called this story "the tragedy with the tomb."
But another order of Pope Julius II was crowned with the complete triumph of Michelangelo. They became the painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Its artist completed between 1508 and 1512. When the fresco was presented to the audience, it was recognized as a work of inhuman power.
In 1516, Leo X (Medici), who succeeded Julius II on the papal throne, commissioned Michelangelo to design the facade of the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. His version was rejected in 1520, but this did not prevent the artist from receiving further orders for the same church. He started the first of them in 1519, it was the tomb of the Medici. The second project is the famous Laurentian Library for storing a unique collection of books and manuscripts that belonged to the Medici family.
Busy with these projects, Michelangelo remained in Florence most of the time.
In 1529-30, he was in charge of the city's defenses against the Medici troops (they were expelled from Florence in 1527). In 1530, the Medici regained power, and Michelangelo fled the city for his life. However, Pope Clement VII (also from the Medici family) guaranteed Michelangelo's safety, and the artist returned to his interrupted work.
In 1534, Michelangelo again, and for good, returned to Rome. Pope Clement VII, who was going to entrust him with the Resurrection painting for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, died on the second day after the artist's arrival. The new pope, Paul III, instead of "Resurrection" ordered the painting "The Last Judgment" for the same wall. This huge fresco, completed in 1541, once again confirmed the genius of Michelangelo.
The last twenty years of his life he devoted almost entirely to architecture.
At the same time, he still managed to create two wonderful frescoes for the Paolina Chapel in the Vatican (“The Conversion of Saul” and “The Crucifixion of St. Peter”, 1542-50). Starting in 1546, Michelangelo was engaged in the reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Rejecting a number of ideas of his predecessors, he proposed his own vision of this building. The final appearance of the cathedral, consecrated only in 1626, is, first of all, the fruit of his genius.
Michelangelo has always been a deeply religious person, towards the end of his life his religious feeling became aggravated, as evidenced by his latest works. This is a series of drawings depicting the Crucifixion, and two sculptural groups "Pieta". In the first, the artist depicted himself in the image of Joseph of Arimathea. The second sculpture was prevented from being completed by death, which overtook Michelangelo at the age of 89, on February 18, 1564.

Greetings history and art lovers! The article "Michelangelo Buonarroti: biography, facts, video" is about the life of an Italian sculptor, artist, architect, the greatest master of the Renaissance.

Michelangelo: biography

The future genius in the field of painting and sculpture was born at the very beginning of the spring of 1475 in the town of Caprese, not far from His full name is: Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni.

His father, Lodovico, was the mayor of this town, and then returned to Florence. The Buonarroti family was ancient, but impoverished. The aristocrat Lodovico considered it unworthy to work for himself. The family lived on modest income from a farm in the village of Settignano, also near Florence. There the baby was given to the nurse, the wife of the stonemason.

The stone has been mined here since time immemorial, and the sculptor often repeated that he “imbibed with milk the ability to work with a chisel and hammer.” The boy's creative abilities manifested themselves in early childhood. But the father was categorically against his son becoming a painter.

However, the 13-year-old teenager was already able to show his freedom-loving character and, after long objections, he received consent to study with the artist Domenic Ghirlandaio. Then he moved to the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni.

This school was patronized by Lorenzo Medici, well versed in art. He immediately saw the undoubted talent of an unusual student. The young man even lived in the Medici palace for several months. But Lorenzo died and at the age of seventeen Michelangelo Buonarroti returned home.

In Florence, there was confusion with political leaders, and in 1494 the young artist left her. He also visits Bologna, and then again goes to his parents. And again not for long.

The new rulers were unable to pacify the inhabitants, and then suddenly a terrible epidemic of a merciless plague fell upon the city, mowing down its victims to the right and left. In the middle of the summer of 1496, Michelangelo ended up in Rome and lived there for more than five years. Here, his success and subsequent huge popularity were expected.

First masterpieces

Almost immediately, as soon as he set foot on this land blessed for many painters, he received an offer to build a statue of Bacchus from marble, and two years later another large order also from marble followed - the composition "Pieta".

Michelangelo "Pieta", 1499 (Marble. Height 174 cm) St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican

The composition was unanimously recognized as a masterpiece and this strengthened the position of the young man in the creative world. The next order was the painting "Burial", but it was not finished. At the age of 26, he again comes to his homeland, where life becomes more stable.

Buonarroti propose to create a statue of David. This work was completed in 1504. The statue brought fame to the sculptor in his homeland. Florentines were simply stunned by the splendor of this work.

Michelangelo "David", 1501-1504 (Marble. Height 5.17 m) Academy of Fine Arts, Florence

It was planned to erect a statue near the cathedral, but this elegance and at the same time majesty was worthy of the very heart of Florence. And she rightfully took her place in the central square. Very soon, the statue turned into a symbol of the republic, which fought for freedom.

Of interest is the order from the city authorities - to paint a canvas on the plot of the battle of Kashin. It was necessary to portray the convincing victory of the Florentine army over the army of the Pisans, which took place in 1364.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that another work for the same Palazzo, which would depict the Battle of Anghiari, undertook to write, which was much older than Michelangelo. But the painter accepted this peculiar challenge.

The world has long been aware of the rather difficult relationship between Leonardo and Michelangelo, and everyone expected the results of this creative duel of two geniuses. But both works were never completed.

Rome and the Vatican

Vinci did not begin to finish the picture after a deafening failure with an experiment on the wall painting technique he invented, and Michelangelo wrote a series of amazing sketches and left for Rome in the spring of 1505, where he was invited by Pope Julius II.

He arrived only nine months later, because he spent a long time in the quarries of Carrara, selecting marble for work. According to the plan, the tomb of Julius II was to be decorated with 40 sculptures, but very quickly the pope changed his mind, and in 1513 he died. For many years, court hearings on the payment of the sculptor continued.

In 1545, Michelangelo completed work on the tomb, although it was only a pale shadow of the plan. Another order of the pope was the painting of the vault of the chapel in the Vatican. The painter worked on it for about four years. When the fresco was presented to the public, it was unanimously recognized as a work of genius.

The new Pope Leo X made several commissions from Michelangelo for the Florentine church of San Lorenzo. The artist started them only three years later. These were two huge projects: the Medici tomb and the Laurentian library, where a unique collection of books and manuscripts was kept.

In 1529-30. the master was entrusted with defensive structures that could withstand the well-armed Medici troops, who were expelled in 1527.

Three years later, they returned the throne, and the sculptor had to urgently leave Florence. True, Pope Clement VII gave a guarantee not to persecute the artist and he continued his work.

Fragment of the fresco "The Creation of Adam" in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican

In 1534, the master moved to Clement VII, who prepared an order for him, had already died. Pope, Paul III, changed the subject of the mural and asked to depict the Last Judgment. This gigantic fresco, completed in 1541, is yet another masterpiece. (Watch the video at the end of the article)

last years of life

Michelangelo Buonarroti has devoted the last 20 years to architecture. And at the same time he creates two amazingly beautiful frescoes for the Paolina Chapel. Since 1546, the master worked on the reconstruction of the Cathedral of St. Peter. He offered his vision of the architecture of the temple. The cathedral, which was consecrated in 1626, is the fruit of his genius.

Michelangelo at the end of his life created drawings depicting the Crucifixion and sculptures "Pieta". In one, he depicts himself as Joseph of Arimathea.

The other one he had been working on in the very last days was not finished. The greatest sculptor and painter died in February 1564, two weeks before the age of 89.

Friends, in this video you can watch the works of the master and find out more information "Michelangelo Buonarroti: biography and creativity" ↓

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 the early Baroque period. 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 education, his father assigned Michelangelo to the educational institution Francesco Galatea da Urbino (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, the young painter achieves his goal and goes to study at the studio of Domenico Ghirlandaio, where he learns the basics of drawing techniques for a whole year. 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 the art school of Bertoldo di Giovanni (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 for 3 years he creates the greatest masterpieces: marble sculptures of the 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 speak of mutual and touching love for 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 return 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 for some time to the Basilica of Santi Apostoli (Santi Apostoli), 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 is 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 of 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

The painting “Cleopatra” (“Cleopatra”), created in 1534, is the ideal of 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 tried to draw one of the ancient statues, but the work was unsuccessful, 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 represents human fears at the last moment of 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 The Last Judgment, 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 sought medical help after visiting rooms with exhibited works by 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 at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital call this emotional state "David's Syndrome."

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Who is Michelangelo, one way or another, everyone knows. The Sistine Chapel, David, Pieta - this is what this Renaissance genius is strongly associated with. Meanwhile, dig a little deeper, and the majority is unlikely to be able to clearly answer what else the wayward Italian was remembered for by the world. Expanding the boundaries of knowledge.

Michelangelo made money by fakes

It is known that Michelangelo began with sculptural falsifications, which brought him a lot of money. The artist bought marble in huge quantities, but no one saw the results of his work (it is logical that the authorship had to be hidden). The most notorious of his forgeries may be the Laocoön and his Sons sculpture, which is now attributed to three Rhodian sculptors. The suggestion that this work may be a fake of Michelangelo was made in 2005 by researcher Lynn Catterson, who refers to the fact that Michelangelo was among the first to be at the discovery site and was one of those who identified the sculpture.

Michelangelo studied the dead

Michelangelo is known as an excellent sculptor who was able to recreate the human body in marble in great detail. Such painstaking work required an impeccable knowledge of anatomy, meanwhile, at the beginning of his career, Michelangelo had no idea about how the human body is worth. To fill in the missing knowledge, Michelangelo spent a lot of time in the monastery mortuary, where he examined dead people, trying to understand all the subtleties of the human body.

Michelangelo hated painting

They say that Michelangelo sincerely disliked painting, which, in his opinion, was significantly inferior to sculpture. He called painting landscapes and still lifes a waste of time, considering them "useless pictures for ladies."

Michelangelo's teacher broke his nose out of jealousy

As a teenager, Michelangelo was sent to study at the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici. The young talent showed great zeal and diligence in his studies and quickly achieved not only success in the school field, but also won the patronage of the Medici. Incredible successes, attention from influential people and, apparently, a sharp tongue led to the fact that Michelangelo made many enemies at school, including among teachers. So, according to the work of Giorgio Vasari, the Italian Renaissance sculptor and one of Michelangelo's teachers, Pietro Torrigiano, out of envy of his student's talent, broke his nose.

Michelangelo was seriously ill

For the last 15 years of his life, Michelangelo suffered from osteoarthritis, a disease that causes joint deformity and pain in the limbs. Work helped him not to completely lose his ability to work. It is believed that the first symptoms appeared during the work on the Florentine Pieta.

Also, many researchers of the work and life of the great sculptor claim that Michelangelo suffered from depression and dizziness, which could appear as a result of working with dyes and solvents, which caused poisoning of the body and all further accompanying symptoms.

Michelangelo's secret self-portraits

Michelangelo rarely signed his work and never left behind a formal self-portrait. However, he still managed to capture his face in some pictures and sculptures. The most famous of these secret self-portraits is part of the Last Judgment fresco, which you can find in the Sistine Chapel. It depicts Saint Bartholomew holding a flayed piece of skin representing the face of none other than Michelangelo.

Michelangelo was a poet

We know Michelangelo as a sculptor and artist, and he was also an accomplished poet. In his portfolio you can find hundreds of madrigals and sonnets that were not published during his lifetime. However, despite the fact that contemporaries could not appreciate the poetic talent of Michelangelo, many years later his work found its listener, so in Rome in the 16th century the poetry of the sculptor was extremely popular, especially among singers who re-arranged poems about mental wounds and physical disabilities. to music.

Major works of Michelangelo

There are few works of art in the world that could cause as much admiration as these works of the great Italian master. We offer you to look at some of the most famous works of Michelangelo and feel their greatness.

Perhaps one of the most influential masters of the Renaissance and Baroque. A man who lived the entire period from the High Renaissance to the Counter-Reformation. The first representative of Western creativity whose life story was written while he was alive.

Childhood

The future genius was born on the territory of Tuscany in the small village of Caprese in the family of a ruined aristocrat. Several generations of the family were engaged in banking. But the boy's father, having no talent in managing financial affairs, very soon accumulated a lot of debts and was forced to close the business. Very little is known about the artist's mother, since she died when the boy was only six years old from exhaustion. Not being able to raise numerous offspring, Ludovico Buonarroti was forced to give his son to a wet nurse. Fortunately, the family to which he was given was loving and treated the pupil well. Showing the ability to sculpture, Michelangelo mastered the skill of modeling faster than writing or reading. Soon his father remarried, and it was decided to send the boy to the school of Francesco Galatea da Urbino. The training went very slowly and the young artist spent most of his time sketching icons and frescoes.

Realizing that the boy’s training would not bring results, his father gave Michelangelo to the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Here he got acquainted with the basic materials and techniques of performance. His sculptural vision of the environment can be clearly seen in his pencil work. A year later, talent was noticed by Lorenzo de Medici, and he took the young genius under his wing.

Success in creativity

While staying at the Medici court, the sculptor met with famous thinkers and artists of that time. Creating statues according to numerous petitions, he remains a court sculptor until the death of the Medici. In 1494 he moved to Bologna and worked on the designs for the Arch of Saint Dominic. A year later, his statue "Sleeping Cupid" was bought by Cardinal Rafael Riario and invites the architect to move to Rome. During his stay in the cultural capital, Michelangelo creates "Bacchus" and "Roman Pieta".

In 1501 Michelangelo visits Florence again. A huge number of proposals came to the sculptor during this period. He produced the famous figures for the "Piccolomini Altarpiece", "Crushes" and "The Twelve Apostles". The only easel work "Madonna Doni" that has come down to us was also created. The canvas is unique in its kind in that Michelangelo depicted painting as a sculpture. The purity of the colors, the smoothness of the skin, the clear curves of the folds, all this seems to squeeze the picture onto the surface, making it voluminous.

Returning to Rome following the order of Pope Julius II in 1505, the architect begins work on the tomb. The process of creation was varied and delicate and required the right material, it took Buonarroti eight months to find the perfect marble. Making short breaks in the creation of the tomb, Michelangelo came on a visit to Florence. Being in a quarrel with Pope Julius II, he decides to reconcile in him and immediately accepts an order from him. The bronze sculpture, the creation of which took almost a year, was destroyed in the future.

At the insistence of Julius II, he goes to Rome to create frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. For a little over four years, the master worked on creating a fresco that included most of the story from the bible. More than 300 figures were depicted on the ceiling of the chapel. Plasticity and grace frightened the viewer, and the plots that the master used were truly awesome. Twenty-five years later, he will return to paint the wall of the same chapel, a fresco that is full of drama, grandeur and grandiosity. "The Last Judgment", the theme for which was the second coming of Christ, it was this work that became the last work of the Renaissance.

architectural values

The beginning of 1513 foreshadowed the death of Julius II and the ascension to the papal throne, Giovanni Medici, who becomes Pope Leo X. This event was the impetus for the resumption of work on the tomb of the deceased pope. During the creation of the decor for the tomb, the architect received a proposal for the design of the chapel of Leo X and the sculpture "Christ with the Cross". In 1516, the Medici called the architect back to Florence, where he was to design the facade for the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. The option proposed by the sculptor was rejected, but he was involved in the design of other parts of the church. The next in line was the project of the tomb of the Medici family. The selection of marble for this order took the sculptor about a year, and in the future, trips to Carrara for material occurred quite often. Distracting from the creation of the tomb for Pope Julius II, Michelangelo had to sign a contract for its creation for the third time.

Toward the beginning of 1530, he created the famous Laurencin Library, which was built exclusively to store the one-of-a-kind and ancient books and manuscripts of the Medici family. The most significant project for Buonarroti was commissioned in 1546 for Pope Paul III. Plazzo Farnese was improved by the architect, he completed the internal facade and ledge of the building. He also created the facade of the Capitoline Hill, which was made in a beautiful, but not typical manner for Rome.

Last years

The order that became the final chord in his life was St. Peter's Cathedral. The sculptor changed the general idea of ​​​​creating figures and presented monumental forms in a flexible and weightless form. His abstract vision of mundane things made his work unique in its kind. The person represented in the statues for the facade of the building is presented in a bohemian likeness. The clarity and character of the reliefs created a bizarre play of chiaroscuro. The great trust that the pope and his entourage showed prompted the sculptor to write in the decree on the execution of the order, a clause on absolutely free work on the project.

On February 18, 1564, the sculptor passed away, his last words were his will. Briefly, but quite clearly, he explained his last will: "I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives." From the beginning, the ashes of Michelangelo were intended to be buried in Rome, but later they were secretly transported to Florence and buried within the walls of the church of Santa Croce.