Michelangelo

The frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508–12) in the Vatican, which include the iconic depiction of the creation of Adam interpreted from Genesis, are probably the best known of Michelangelo’s works today, but the artist thought of himself primarily as a sculptor. His famed sculptures include the David (1501), now in the Accademia in Florence, and the Pietà (1499), now in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Michelangelo first gained notice in his 20s for his sculptures of the Pietà (1499) and David (1501) and cemented his fame with the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel (1508–12). He was celebrated for his art’s complexity, physical realism, psychological tension, and thoughtful consideration of space, light, and shadow. Many writers have commented on his ability to turn stone into flesh and to imbue his painted figures with energy. Michelangelo’s talent continued to be recognized in subsequent centuries, and thus his fame has endured into the 21st century.

Michelangelo painted the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel not lying down as sometimes described but standing on an extensive scaffold, reaching up and craning his neck. Because he had never worked in fresco before, Michelangelo and his assistants worked from hundreds of his sketches to transfer outlines onto a freshly plastered surface. Once he became comfortable with the medium, however, he abandoned the sketches. To add colour, Michelangelo used the buon fresco technique, in which the artist paints quickly on wet plaster before it dries. Some scholars believe that for detailed work, such as a figure’s face, Michelangelo probably used the fresco secco technique, in which the artist paints on a dry plaster surface.

Many writers have described Michelangelo as the archetype of a brooding and difficult artist, and, although he was indeed hot-tempered, his character was much more complex than the sullen artist stereotype. He was also deeply religious and could be very generous toward his assistants. There has been some speculation that Michelangelo might have been gay, but scholars cannot confirm his sexual preference. He led a mostly solitary life with few known intimate relationships.

The Renaissance man is an ideal that developed in Renaissance Italy from one of its most-accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti, who stated that “a man can do all things if he will.” This led to the notion that men should try to embrace all knowledge and develop their own capacities as fully as possible, and thus gifted men of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the arts. Michelangelo exemplified the ideal through his accomplishments in sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry.