Michelangelo (1475-1564)
A STUDY OF THE SUBLIME
By all accounts, artist, sculptor, architect, and poet Michelangelo Buonarroti was a cantankerous man prone to angry outbursts. He maintained an openly public rivalry with notable contemporary Leonardo da Vinci, and had few friends during his lifetime. Yet Michelangelo’s unpleasant disposition did not corrupt his artistic sensibilities; perhaps it even enhanced them. Many historians and philosophers have described Michelangelo’s art as virtually flawless, taking note in particular of its terribilita, a somewhat fluid term that refers to the artistic expression of discernable intensity that both inspires and induces fear.
Even today, Michelangelo’s statue of David is considered one of the finest representations of the human form in art.
Although Michelangelo preferred sculpting to painting and openly ridiculed the latter as an artistic medium, he rendered two frescos for the Sistine Chapel: one on the ceiling depicting pivotal Biblical scenes and figures; the other on the vast wall behind the altar, appropriately named The Last Judgment. Both are considered among the finest paintings of Italy’s High Renaissance period.
Michelangelo’s myriad sculptures—many of which he completed before the age of 30—are beyond reproach, as well. His most celebrated, David, was a tribute to the strength and resolve of his native Florence, whose security was under constant threat by neighboring states. It has been revered for its sublime aesthetic representation of the human form and reproduced at length. —RJR
Notable works: The Pietà (in St. Peter’s Basilica), 1499 (page 60); David, 1501-04; The Holy Family, 1504.
FUN FACT
An Italian variant of Michelangelo’s name is “Michelangolo,” which is how it appeared on the first edition of the artist’s poetry, published in 1623—60 years after his death.