Michelangelo: The Story of a Sculptor (Michelangelo Biography), Biography of Michelangelo

                                                         

                            Biography of Michelangelo

 He is revered as one of the greatest artistsof all time. For centuries he has typified the perfectartistic genius. His greatest legacy is the surviving worksthat we can see today - The Sistene Chapel, the Statue of david, the Pieta. Yet, behind the artworks lies a complex andstubborn man.. Early Days Italy in the 15th century was very differentto the country we know today. Back then it was a collection of small republics. These city states were all under the governorshipof the Pope in Rome. The key republics were Florence, Genoa andVenice. Every state had its own governors, nobles,peasants, priests and government officials. Nestled in the remote Apennine Mountains ofcentral Italy was the small village of Caprese. It was here, on March 6th, 1475, that Francescadi Neri Buonarroti gace birth to her second son, Michelangelo.

Her husband, Lodovico di Leonardo BuonarrotiSimoni was a lowly official who had the job of convicting and sentencing criminals. When baby Michelangelo was sixth months old,the family of four moved to Florence. Here Lodovico bought a small farm near thevillage of Settignano. It was in this village that the child spenthis early years, under the care of a wet nurse. Farming off newborns to a wet nurse for thefirst two years of life was a common practice at that time. The woman who took in Michelangelo was marriedto a stonecutter. In later years, when he had transformed himselfinto a sculptor, Michelangelo commented that he had drunk marble dust with his nurse’smilk. When he was three, Michelangelo returned tolive with his family in Florence. The family was poor and, with new babies arrivingfrequently, the household was overcrowded. Lodovico received a meagre government salaryand his farm was not very successful.

In fact, he believed that the work of a lowlyfarmer was beneath him. When he was six years of age, young Michelangelo'stough life got even tougher. His mother died, leaving behind five youngsons, including a newborn. Lodovico did his best, working two jobs andstill managing to trundle the boys off to Mass at the church of Santa Croce in Florenceevery Sunday.This church was filled with magnificent works of art, including a crucifix carvedby the famous sculptor Donatello and wall paintings by Giotto, one of the greatest artistsof all time. The young Michelangelo must have marvelledat these magnificent pieces. In 1485, Lodovico took on a new wife. Lucrezia degli Ubaldini Gagliano came froma rich family, bringing 600 florin to the union as a dowry. This was an enormous amount at that time andit flipped the fortunes of the family overnight. An immediate result of the family's newfoundwealth was that Lodovico was able to afford to send Michelangelo to a Latin school tolearn reading, writing, and mathematics. But the boy soon proved that he was no academic. Bored with his lessons, he would stare outthe window while doodling on paper. However, he did fall in love with poetry.                                 
                                                       
 A Passion for Art Returning home for vacation, Michelangelotold his father that he was more interested in art than in academic studies. But Lodovico was not impressed. At that time artists were the lowly paid servantof noblemen, being considered little more than a servant. Lodovico wanted his son to aspire to morethan that. The only person who seemed to understand Michelangelo’spassion for art was an older boy he had befriended by the name of Francesco Granacci. Francesco was himself a budding artist, apprenticedto the famous artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. He took Michelangelo to his master’s workshopand showed hm works in progress. The younger boy was mesmerized by what hesaw. He knew that this was his destiny. Despite his father’s negativity, Michelangelokept begging to be allowed to pursue his passion. Meanwhile, his friend Francesco encouragedhim to produce some drawings, which he showed to his master, Ghirlandaio. The great artist was impressed and expressedthe desire to also take Michelangelo on as an apprentice. Finally Lodovico relented, and at the ageof 12, his son became apprenticed to Ghirlandaio. The master ran the most successful artistsworkshop in Florence, along with his two brothers. They were kept busy decorating churches inFlorence. The brothers had a number of apprentices,aged between 8 and 15, who lived with them and assisted with paintings and murals.

The parents, including Lodovico, had to payfor living expenses and training. From the Ghirlandaio brothers, young Michelangelolearned how to prepare a wooden panel for painting and how to plaster a wall in preparationfor the painting of a fresco. He was also taught how to make working drawings,called cartoons, which would form the basis of finished paintings. The Prideful Apprentice Among the apprentices, Michelangelo was animmediate standout. Still he proved to be stubborn, and quitefull of himself. He was given the task of copying works previouslydrawn by his master and, having done so, declared that his works were better than the originals.Ghirlandaioacknowledged that the boy had great talent, but he was angered by his prideful attitude. He also saw that Michelangelo lacked the patienceneeded to learn some of the skills required, such as painting frescoes. He showed little interest in grinding andmixing paints and couldn't be bothered mixing the ingredients needed for the smooth plasterneeded for fresco painting.
                                                                 
When he was 14, Michelangelo went one steptoo far. He had copied some drawings that his masterhad done of women. But then he dared to ‘correct’ some fineraspects of the originals by going over them with a broad-nibbed pen. This was too much. Ghirlandaio kicked Michelangelo out of theworkshop, claiming that there was no teaching this ‘know-it-all.’ Rather than being discouraged, the talentedteen made the decision that paint and plaster were not for him. He considered them to be a lesser form ofart. To him the real skill lay in stone, producingfine sculptors of the human form. This desire would take him to the very pinnacleof Florentine nobility the house of Medici. The House of Medici Before Michelangelo had been dismissed byGhirlandaio, some members of the ruling Medici family visited the workshop. Among them was an elderly sculptor named Bertoldodi Giovanni. This man noticed the talent that Michelangelopossessed, and he struck up a relationship with the boy. After his dismissal, the budding young sculptorsought out the older man. Bertoldo was employed by Lorenzo de’ Medici,the most powerful man in the city, to make statues and medals and to look after his artcollection. Many of Lorenzo’s statues were displayedin a garden where artist went to draw and carve.

This area was a gathering place for studentsculptors, who would get feedback and instruction from Bertoldo about their work. Soon, Michelangelo was a regular in the garden. The now fifteen year old began creating sculpturesfrom clay and bringing them to the garden. Though he was younger than the other buddingsculptors, his skin was clearly beyond theirs. This led to jealousy. Some times this led to physical violence. In one encounter, Michelangelo had his nosebroken. But the boy was not deterred. Begging a piece of marble from another sculptorhe created his first relief carving - the head of a faun. Just as he had been hoping, this sculpturewas seen by Lorenzo Medici, who was immediately taken with the boy’s skill. He brought Michelangelo into his fold, givinghim his own room and paying him an allowance. The young artist’s life was now more peaceful. He was able to settle down to the task ofperfecting his chosen artform. One of his first major projects was to carvea scene from mythology on marble as a relief panel - the battle of the centaurs. These creatures with the heads and arms ofmen and bodies of horses gave him plenty of scope to show action and form. The realism and gentle precision of this workis remarkable for a sculptor of such a young age. The other major piece that Michelangelo producedwhile working in the House of medici was a relief panel called Madonna of the Steps.

It shows the virgin Mary nursing the infantJesus. The piece is carved on fine white marble andshows the Madonna’s face in profile, as she holds her infant son against her. Things were going remarkably well for the17 year old. He was living in the inner sanctum of therichest family in the city and he had a powerful patron who admired his talent. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to last. In April, 1492, Lorenzo suddenly died. His son, Pierro took over, but he cared littlefor sculpture. He gave, Michelangelo no work until the winter,when he decided that he would like a snowman made. He ordered Michangelo to make one. It would prove to be the artist’s strangestcommission. Around this same time, the prior of SantoSpirito asked the young sculptor to make a crucifix for his church. Delighted with the result, the prior giveMichelangelo the use of a room in which he could work. Here he was able to dissect corpses in orderto study anatomy. In order to make the most life-like sculpturesof the human body, he believed that he had to know how it was put together. Thus, he became one of the first people todissect and study the human body in this way. A New Patron By 1494, Florence was facing a crisis. An army led by King Charles VIII of Franceas at the walls threatening to overrun the city. Many people, including Michelangelo, fledthe city. He traveled to Bologna in northern Italy,and then on to Venice, an important trading city.

 Here Michelangelo hoped to find work. However, he could not find any employment,so he went back to Bologna. Having lost his old patron, Michelangelo setout in search of a replacement. He found it in the form of Gianfrancesco Aldrovandi,a local noble and politician. Aldrovandi set his talented new sculptor tothe task of carving the missing figures at the unfinished shrine of San Domenico in thechurch of the same name. Again Michelangelo, now twenty, had fallenon his feet. He enjoyed a comfortable home, had stone andsupplies provided and received commissions for his artwork. Just as had happened in Florence, this bredresentment among other sculptors. They paid rent, bought tools and stone, andsurvived out of their own pockets. Return to Florence Meanwhile, back in Florence, a change of powerhad occurred. A priest by the name of Girolamo Savonarolahad instigated a fierce campaign against the House of Medici. When the threat of French invasion had emerged,the House of Medici had fled the city, leaving Savonarola free to take power. This strict churchman disapproved of paintingsand sculptors that showed the naked human body. As a result, prospects were not good for localsculptors. However, in 1495, Michelangelo felt a greaturge to return to Florence to see his family. While there, he made contact with some membersof the House of Medici, now living under false names.

One of them. Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici wantedMichelangelo to help him sell a statue that he had made earlier. It was a figure of the Roman god of love,Cupid. If the statue was aged to look like an ancientstatue, Lorenzo reasoned, it would make a lot of money in Rome. Michelangelo smeared the statue with dirtto make it look as if it had been buried. He then took the forged antique to Rome whereit was purchased by a senior churchman, Cardinal Riario. While in Rome, Michelangelo was introducedto some powerful people, including members of the Borgia family, who numbered among themthe Pope. Cardinal Riario, who was well aware that Michelangelowas really the creator of Cupid, quickly commissioned him to create another statue for his collection. The statue that resulted has come to be regardedas Michelangelo's first masterpiece - the statue of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine andcelebrations. Yet, although everyone else was impressed,the cardinal was not. He thought the god looked too drunk and refusedto pay for the work. Michelangelo now had to fight to get paidfor a job he had already completed. On top of this, he received news that hisfather had fallen into bad financial straits. What he needed, and fast, was a new patronto support not just himself, but also his family.

The Pieta For several months, nothing seemed to panout for the 21 year-old master sculptor. He was without a patron,he was without paymentfor his Bacchus statue and his father was in desperate need of financial assistance. Then, In November of 1497 things took a turnfor the better. He was commissioned to produce an excitingnew work by a French Ambassador by the name of Cardinal Jean Bilheres de Lagraulas. The Cardinal envisioned a statue of the VirginMary cradling the dead Jesus, a subject known as the pieta. It took Michelangelo two years to completethe Pieta - but it was worth it. The finished work was displayed in the Vaticanand everyone who saw it was amazed at the realism of the flesh and fabric that the sculptorhad fashioned from cold marble. The Pieta made Michelangelo famous. Now, the most powerful men in Europe wereclamoring to have him do work for them. It seemed as if his money woes were well andtruly behind him. Artist to the Pope Back in Florence, the scene had changed onceagain, Savonarola, the priest, had fallen into disfavor and been executed. It was now safe for artists to return andpursue projects there. The authorities of the Florentine cathedralbegan to formulate the idea to commission a giant statue of the Biblical killer of Goliath,young David.

 Two sculptors had already been commissionedto do the job. Both had failed, merely managing to make thehuge block of marble almost unusable. In 1501, the job was given to Michelangelo. In order to do the job, the sculptor had tostop working on another job in Rome and relocate to Florence. This flitting from one project to anotherbecame a common practice, and one that frequently created legal ramifications. The creation of David was an immensely challengingand lengthy job. The first decision was to choose a pose thatfitted in with the way the marble had already been worked. This prevented him from emulating the traditionalpose, which showed David standing with Goliath’s head at his feet. So, he decided to depict David in the momentsbefore the fight as he were looking upon his foe. His next move was to surround the huge marblewith barricades. The he went to work. He tirelessly chipped away at the giant. Three years later, the statue of David wascompleted. It was a triumph, with crowds lavishing richpraise on the creator of the 14-foot nude figure. The man who had commissioned the work, PieroSoderini, ruler of Florence, was also impressed - but he told Michelangelo that David’snose was too broad. The sculptor’s stubborn pride now come tothe fore. But it was tempered with common sense. Taking a handful of marble dust, he climbedup the scaffolding and pretended to chisel the nose. He then let the dust fall to the ground. Soderini declared that the nose was now muchbetter.

Sistine Chapel In 1503, a new pope, Julius II was electedin Rome. Julius had great artistic ambitions, and heknew who he wanted to spearhead the many projects he had in mind. Only Italy's greatest sculptor, Michelangelo,had the skills needed to do justice to the great theocratic works that the pope envisioned. Julius knocked down the unstable fifth-centuryBasilica of St. Peter’s in the Vatican and began rebuilding the church on a much granderscale. The centerpiece was to be his own tomb, whichwould be designed and carved by Michelangelo. This massive project was intended to showthe greatness of Julius as both a pope and a patron of the arts. It was to be three storeys high and coveredin life-sized sculptures. The sculptor spent the first eight monthsjust quarrying the marble need for the project. It would prove to be his most frustratingproject, one on which he would work, on and off, for the next 40 years. In the end the finished tomb was smaller thanplanned, but still vast. Only three of the statues were by Michelangelo- the large, bearded Moses, and the Biblical characters Rachel and Leah. And, instead of being placed in St. Peter’s,it was put in the much less grand church of San Pietro. Four years into the tomb project, Pope Juliusset his sights on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The ceiling was painted with a pattern ofgold stars but the Pope envisioned something far grander. Even though Michelangelo was known as a sculptorand not a painter, the Pope chose him to do the work.

 The great sculptor had not worked on a frescosince his days as an apprentice back in Florence. But when the pope chose you to a job, youdid it. But that didn’t mean that you had to itwillingly. Michelangelo considered himself to be a slaveto the whims of the Pope. He wrote about the painting project . . . This is not my profession. I am wasting my time, and all for nothing,may God help me! It was a massive job. The chapel's ceiling covered a curved surfaceof about 5,600 square feet (507 square meters). In Addition, the ceiling had an uneven surface- and it was 60 feet above the chapel’s floor. The Pope commissioned the artist to fill thiscanvas with scenes from the Old Testament. Michelangelo planned out nine scenes takenfrom the book of Genesis. The centerpiece would be the creation of Adam. For four pains-staking years, Michelangeloworked on the ceiling. It was back-breaking work. The figures were designed to be seen fromthe floor, but the artist had to paint high up on scaffolding, lying on his back. According to his official biographer, Condivi,he worked on his own, applying the plaster, mixing the colors and doing all the painting. The results were breathtaking. The use of perspective and the dramatic renditionof the figures were admired by everyone who saw it. Having triumphantly completed the SistineChapel project, Michelangelo returned to his work on the tomb of Julius.

Wen Pope Julius died in 1513, the urgencywent out of the project. In 1517, the new Pope, Leo X, asked Michelangeloto design a new facade for the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. Though he had no experience as an architect,the sculptor was confident that he could do a good job. He threw himself into the project, buyinga piece of land near the church in order to work on his facade. But, then, in 1520, the project was put onhold and then cancelled all together. Michelangelo was furious. He had invested himself fully, both physicallyand financially into the project. Partly to placate him, the Pope gave him areplacement project - the Medici Tombs, to be created in remembrance of two members ofthe family who had died prematurely. Michelangelo began work on the Medical Chapelin 1519, to which was added a library a few years later. Both buildings took years to complete andare stunning designs. Crisis The artist was now at the height of his creativepowers. But crisis was just around the corner. In 1527, armies from France and the Holy RomanEmpire invaded Italy. Rome was looted and burned. By now there was yet another pope, ClementVII and he sided with the holy roman Empire when it besieged Florence.

 A loyal Florentine, Michelangelo returnedhome to help defend his city. He set to work designing new fortificationsto help protect the city. But his efforts were in vain. After a long struggle, the city fell, withmany people being killed. Michelangelo went into hiding, concealinghimself in a tiny crypt under the altar in the Medici Chapel in San Lorenzo. There he stayed until news came through thatthe Pope had no animosity against him. The Waning Years Michelangelo spent his latter years writingpoetry and continuing to work for the popes in Rome. One of his most famous poems describes howuncomfortable he was when painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, bent almost double, with paintsplashing on his face. As he aged, he wrote more poems of a religiousnature. Throughout the reigns of several Popes, heheld the position of chief architect at St. Peters. Meanwhile he worked on carvings that werevariations of the work that had first propelled him to fame, the Pieta. It was while working on one of his Pietason February 12th, 1564 that he began to feel feverish. He took to his bed, and despite the effortsof his doctors, died six days later. His dying wish was to have his body be returnedto Florence - the city  that he loved.