I wrote this report for my history class. It was quite boring writing it but I got a 100 on it. It made me quite happy. Sarah knows. I was prancing down the halls and twirling around celebrating. Yes.. i know. Strange. Anyways, it's c with a circle Angela...... copyright Angela for all the dumb people...... yea. No touchy.

As a sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and true artistic genius, Michelangelo was one of the greatest leaders of the Italian Renaissance. Even as a child, he showed great talents in different fields of art. The magnificent sculptures, paintings, and other works of art reflected his extreme dedication to his work. Though he did not have the support of his family, the support given to him by his admirers helped him and his art flourish into great masterpieces. He worked hard his entire life doing what he loved to do and only rested when death forced him to.

Michelangelo, whose full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy, a small village not far from Florence, Italy (www.kfki.hu). He came from a respectable Florence family1 who he was very much devoted to, though was never appreciated by. Michelangelo did not have any close relationships with anyone. He only had a few close friends who either worshipped him or thought him to be “cold and unfriendly.” Also, as an adult, he would never marry (Compton). Michelangelo still had an enjoyable childhood because of his love for art. He did have a brief classical education which mostly taught Greek and Roman literature but Michelangelo wasn’t the least bit interested. The only thing he was interested in was art, specifically sculpture (Summers).

The future artistic genius got his feet wet as an artist at a very early age. At the age of 12, Michelangelo became the apprentice of the famous Florentine painter, Domenico Ghirlandajo, though it was done against his will by his father. He didn’t enjoy painting as much as he did sculpting so without his father’s consent, Michelangelo began sculpting under the guidance of Donatello. After working with Donatello, Lorenzo di Medici, the ruler of Florence at the time, caught wind of the teenage artist’s talents. For a few years, Michelangelo moved on to study sculpture in the Medici gardens and eventually move into the Medici palace by the request of Lorenzo himself. While living in the palace, Michelangelo had made his first sculptural pieces before the age of 16, two reliefs depicting battle scenes. After Lorenzo’s death in 1492 and the Medici family had lost power, Michelangelo began to travel and develop his artistic skills even further (www.kfki.hu).

Michelangelo’s reputation as a great artist grew larger as he traveled. For two years, he stayed in Bologna making several statuettes for Arca di San Domenico in Church of San Domenico. Then he moved to Rome where he made his first large scale statue, which is named Bacchus (1496-98). Soon after the completion of Bacchus, Michelangelo created the Pieta2 (1498-1500). This is the only piece of art that Michelangelo ever signed. This statue also established the young sculptor’s reputation. It was much plainer and less decorative than his later sculptures but its simplicity is what made it stand out from other artists’ work (www.kfki.hu). At the age of 25, Michelangelo returned to Florence where he created his most famous sculpture ever. After three years of working, Michelangelo finished David3. The figure stood over 14 feet tall. It also showed many of the recurring themes found in Michelangelo’s works such as size, strength, emotion, intensity, spiritual energy, power, grandeur, heroism, and tragedy (Summers).

His willingness to branch off into different fields of art led Michelangelo to create his most famous masterpiece of his life. In 1505, Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint a large fresco4 on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. During the planning stages of the project, Michelangelo made many sketches of people of different figure types and poses, which showed his great understanding of human anatomy that he studied extensively at a young age. He actually did not start painting until 1508. For the four years that it took him to paint this fresco from 1508 to 1512, he worked alone with the exception of the man who laid the plaster and the man who grinded and mixed the paint. Since the frescos were so large in scale and high up on the ceiling, Michelangelo would lay on his back atop a sixty-foot scaffold painting all day. He used bright paint so people on the ground could see the many religious figures and events in his nine scenes from the Old Testament5 (www.kfki.hu). He actually painted these scenes in reverse chronological order, starting with a scene with the story of Noah and ending with the creation of the universe (Summers).

As he grew older, Michelangelo became more interested in architecture. He was actually commissioned to do many different architectural projects. After the completion of the Sistine Chapel frescos, Michelangelo’s first architectural endeavor was the tomb for Pope Julius II. He was originally commissioned to begin the project in 1505. He already had a design for the tomb but because of money shortages, Michelangelo did the Sistine Chapel first. Michelangelo actually changed his original plans completely and came up with an entirely new design. This new design called for three new statues6 which would adorn the front of the tomb. It took Michelangelo a total of five years to complete all three statues (www.kfki.hu). His next endeavors were for the Medici family, who had gained control of Florence again. In 1519, Michelangelo designed tombs for Lorenzo de Medici, duke of Urbino, and Giuliano de Medici, duke of Nemours. He designed each tomb so it reflected the personalities of Lorenzo and Giuliano by personifying Dawn and Dusk and Day and Night, respectively, and finished them in 1534 (Summers). He also was commissioned to design the Medici Chapel which would be the permanent locations for the two tombs he designed. Michelangelo never completed the Medici Chapel because he wanted to move out of Florence. During this same period (1524-59), Michelangelo began designing the Laurentian Library where he used columns, pediments, and brackets that did not follow the traditional Greek and Roman design. He wanted to put his own personal design into it (www.kfki.hu).

Although he was well into his old age, Michelangelo did not stop creating great works of art that would be remembered for centuries after his death. From 1536 to 1541, Michelangelo painted the largest fresco of the Italian Renaissance, the Last Judgment7. He painted it on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. In order to do so, he had to destroy part of his previous fresco so he could fit it all on. This was the last painting and last major project Michelangelo ever did (Summers). He was commissioned to finish building the Pauline Chapel, which was started by Donato Bramante, and then paint it. He never even finished that. As Michelangelo grew older, he didn’t do as many large projects but he never stopped creating art. During the last decade of his life, he became deeply religious and also started writing poet more. Most of his poems were sonnets that suggested prayer and other religious topics. On February 18 1564, Michelangelo died in Rome at the age of 89 and was buried at Santa Croce Church in Florence (www.kfki.hu).

From childhood, Michelangelo was bound to be a great artist. His early interest opened doors to many opportunities that helped him develop his amazing skills even further to the point where he became one of the most talented and famous artists of his time and of all time. All of his work which still exists today reflects his dedication, talent, and artistic genius. He never let anything get in the way of what he loved to do. He truly was “the greatest artist in a time of great men” (Compton).