The Works of Michelangelo as Great Renaissance Sculptor, Painter, Poet, and Architect - Essay Example

?The Works of Michelangelo Great Renaissance Sculptor, Painter, Poet and Architect Michelangelo Buonarroti is one of the most celebrated artists of all times. Considered the driving force behind the great Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo is one of the most distinguished geniuses of the 17th century. He was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese, a beautiful town in Tuscany, central Italy. Along with other renowned renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael, Michelangelo’s works made a phenomenal impact on Western art. He grew up as an apprentice under Francesco Granacci and later under Domencio Ghirlandaio at the age of thirteen. He then studied sculpture at a sculpting school and became a pupil of Donatello, a great sculptor of his time. Michelangelo showed great interest in art from a very young age. He seemed to have a great eye for the human anatomy, as is evident from his sculptures and paintings. In fact, he had studied human anatomy by dissecting human corpses. His artwork mostly comprises of nude male human figures, created with a great degree of detail down to every muscle and vein. Such a perfection of the human form on canvas or stone was never ever witnessed before. He gained deep insights on painting and sculpture during his stay at the House of Medici, to which he was invited by Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent. Lorenzo, was greatly impressed by Michelangelo’s carving and sculpting skills. While he was still a young boy at Medici, he was fortunate enough to meet the two Popes- Leo X and Clement VII, who were boys then. Though he took up art since he was a child, his works began to be taken note of while he was in the Medici household. It is here that Michelangelo’s artistic journey started in the true sense, who was going on to become one of the strongest driving forces behind the budding Italian Renaissance. Michelangelo- The Sculptor While still in the House of Medici, Michelangelo created two sculptures, the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna of the Stairs, which took over a period of three years to complete. The “Bacchus” was the first sculpture he made on a larger scale, unlike his previous works. He then sculpted the greatly famous marble statue, Pieta, which shows Virgin Mary holding her dying son, Jesus, in her lap. This was the only sculpture to be inscribed with his sign and is now placed in the Vatican. This sculpture earned him worldwide repute while he was still in his early twenties. His next marble sculpture, David, went on to become the masterpiece of the Renaissance period, and is considered his best work. It took him four years (1500-1504) to complete this sculpture, which is 5.17 meters in height. Michelangelo’s David portrays King David as described in the Bible. The bible describes how David cleverly killed Goliath, a giant, with a slingshot. Michelangelo’s David depicts David at the time he decides to battle Goliath and is prepared for the battle, nude, with the sling still at his side. The expression on David’s face, termed as “terribilita”, is that of anger, courage and power. This expression is a recurrent characteristic of most of Michelangelo’s sculptures. As Payne writes in his book, The World of Art: The David expressed a pagan reliance on strength, cunning, and intelligence. A muscular youth, with thick curling hair falling over the nape of his neck, with an expression of great power and refinement, he stands there like a god who has descended to earth in order to chastise the mighty and to tear kings from their thrones. His brows are knit, his eyes are watchful, the youthful body stands in absolute composure, conscious of its own strength, its own power to accomplish whatever the intelligence demands. Michelangelo’s David is perhaps the most recognized sculpture till date, with the details of the human anatomy so vividly sculpted that every muscle and every vein is at the right place. However, Michelangelo’s David has just one flaw, a missing muscle at the right side of his back, which he deliberately left out because of a flaw in the marble block. Michelangelo- The Painter After his stint at Medici, Michelangelo was asked to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Pope Julius II entrusted him with this task, which he completed in a period of three years lying on his back. The frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel portrayed the biblical history from the Old Testament. Following this great feat, he painted nine scenes from the Book of Genesis on the vault of the Chapel. These paintings portrayed the Creation of Adam, Separation of Light from Darkness, the Biblical flood, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and other significant scenes from the bible. The largest fresco of the renaissance period, “the Last Judgment”, painted on the Sistine Chapel’s wall behind the altar took four years to complete. It portrays the Day of Judgment, when all humans will be judged for their doings on earth. Since this painting portrayed nude males, it offended the sentimentalities of many contemporaries of that time, especially because it was placed the most sacred church. His other famous paintings include Doni Tondo, The Torment of Saint Anthony and the Entombment. Michelangelo’s paintings are the greatest products of the Italian renaissance and are revered for their aesthetic quality and vibrancy. The figures in his paintings stand out, giving a 3-D effect. Like his sculptures, Michelangelo’s paintings depict the human anatomy in all its intricate details, and Christianity and biblical history inspire almost all of them. Apart from being an exceptional sculptor and painter, Michelangelo was a talented architect too. He was made the chief architect of the St. Peter’s Basilica in 1546. Michelangelo- The Poet While Michelangelo’s sculptures and paintings are famous the world over, not many are aware of his talents as a poet. Michelangelo has written over 300 pieces in his lifetime. His works first appeared in print in the year 1623, edited by Michelangelo- the Younger, his grandnephew. Though his poetry is much less appreciated than his art and sculpture, it does enjoy considerable reverence among scholars, particularly because they shape our understanding on Michelangelo in person. The English versions of his poems, that were originally written in Italian, have been published a number of times since the 19th century. Most of his poems deal with love & death and his insights on art and sculpture. Michelangelo’s sonnets also spoke eloquently on masculine beauty and the male figure. Some of his most famous poems include Celestial Love, the Doom of Beauty, Dante, and On the Brink of Death. In the latter part of his life, Michelangelo’s poems were mostly based on religion. Michelangelo’s “Every conception that a man can find” is a powerful sonnet where he compares marble with ladylove. He writes in the most eloquent style, “Every conception that a man can find, is in the stone itself, already there; concealed in excess, but will still require, a hand to free it that obeys the mind. And you, like marble, lady without peer, hold possibilities of every kind; you hold the good I want and pain I fear, though I effect the opposite of my design.” According to Michelangelo, every possible creation is hidden in a block of marble, concealed inside, which only the hand can free, just like a sculpture emerges from a plain block of marble by the hands of a sculptor. Just like the marble, the lady conceals inside her, possibilities of every kind. However, it turns out that whatever happens is contrary to his will. He further writes, “I won't claim Love's to blame for this, or Chance, or fault your beauty or demanding will, or blame unequal birth and circumstance; I'll say that mercy and annihilation both were waiting in your heart, and there my skill cannot discover anything but death”. As is clear from the sonnet, he doesn’t blame love, chance or coincidence, beauty or will or unequal birth for causing him such pain. The lady had both mercy and destruction in her heart, from which he could derive nothing but death. This powerful poem speaks of dejection and pain in love, and death, a common occurrence in most of his poems. Michelangelo’s poems are easy to understand, and run in the form of a prose. Most of his poems have metaphorical elements with dark, spiritual expressions. Though Michelangelo was considered to be proud and arrogant, his poems reflect humility and humbleness. Michelangelo’s homosexuality is evident in most of his poems that were written in his fifties and sixties, though they were written without any obvious reference to gender. He seems to have met a young man in Rome, by the name Tommaso de' Cavalieri, and most of his poems are dedicated to him. Intense passion and attraction towards other anonymous men is apparent in his poems. Such poems challenged medieval ideology and the puritan beliefs on heterosexuality. At a time when homosexuality was socially unacceptable, Michelangelo’s homosexuality may have largely affected his social life. Thus, frustration and pain take centre-stage in his poems. Some of his love poems are dedicated towards the marchioness of Pescara, Vittoria Colonna, who was a close friend and whose religious beliefs shaped his own insights. It is believed that the death of Vittoria Colonna marked the end of Michelangelo’s love poems. In one of his poems dedicated to her, Michelangelo writes, “When the prime mover of many sighs, Heaven took through death from out her earthly place, Nature, that never made so fair a face, remained ashamed, and tears were in all eyes. O fate, unheeding my impassioned cries! O hopes fallacious! O thou spirit of grace, Where art thou now? Earth holds in its embrace, Thy lovely limbs, thy holy thoughts the skies. Vainly did cruel death attempt to stay, the rumor of thy virtuous renown, That Lethe's waters could not wash away! A thousand leaves, since he hath stricken thee down, Speak of thee, not to thee could Heaven convey, except through death, a refuge and a crown.” This sonnet, translated by H.W. Longfellow from his original Italian poem in keramos, speaks volumes about his love and reverence for Vittoria, who is also believed to be his spiritual mentor. Michelangelo’s later poems, written in his old age, were mostly reminiscent about aging, death, pain and rejection. His life was greatly affected by the demise of Vittoria Colonna, followed by the death of his dear friend Luigi del Riccio. These painful episodes coupled with his illnesses and old age lead to the sojourn of the poet in him. He based his last poems on repentance, redemption and the final judgment, seeking spiritual salvation from Christ. On the Brink of Death is one of his most significant poems where he compares his life with a stormy sea, “How hath my life across a stormy sea, like a frail bark reached that wide port where all, are bidden, ere the final reckoning fall, of good and evil for eternity.” He describes the inevitability of death, when everyone will have to face the “final reckoning”. He says how vain he was, to have fallen for a fantasy and fondness of earthly art, “Now know I well how that fond phantasy, which made my soul the worshiper and thrall, of earthly art, is vain”. Now, none of his arts, the paintings or the sculptures will come to his rescue, when the hour of death has come. At such a time, he says that his soul turns to Christ, “My soul that turns to His great love on high, whose arms to clasp us on the cross were spread.” In his last poem, No Longer by Any Other Means, Michelangelo redeems his “innumerable sins and human urges”, seeking redemption through Christ’s blood and sacrifice. Michelangelo’s poems give us a sneak peek into the life of the man himself, the life of the “Renaissance man”, who is torn between a worldly life and a life of spirituality. While the renaissance period is referred to as the period of spiritual awakening, the emotional turmoil faced by Michelangelo reflects the common ordeals of the time. As Pater puts it, The interest of Michelangelo's poems is that they make us spectators of this struggle; the struggle of a strong nature to adorn and attune itself; the struggle of a desolating passion, which yearns to be resigned and sweet and pensive... It is a consequence of the occasional and informal character of his poetry, that it brings us nearer to himself, his own mind and temper, than any work done only to support a literary reputation could possibly do. Michelangelo’s poems are not as renowned and appreciated as his sculptures and paintings. However, his genius does manifest itself in his poems in various ways. Most of Michelangelo’s sonnets were written at “odd moments” at his whim, at the margins of his sketches. They could have been just a passing thought or a sudden surge of emotions immortalized in words. These are a prized treasury for scholars of Michelangelo’s works, as understanding his works would be impossible without understanding him as a man, and the study of the Renaissance would be incomplete without a study of his poems. Works Cited Pater, Walter. The Poetry of Michelangelo. Surfinthespirit.com, 2011. Web. 30 June 2011. < http://www.surfinthespirit.com/art-literature/michelangelo.html> Payne, Pierre Stephen Robert. The World of Art. n.a: Doubleday, 1972. Print. Read More