What made michelangelo great
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- EXHIBITION THEMES
The Medici, Michelangelo, and the Art of Late Renaissance Florence provides a detailed survey of the art and culture of 16th-century Florence, the crucible of the Italian Renaissance. Between 1537 and 1631, the first four Medici grand dukes—Cosimo I; his sons, Francesco I and Ferdinando I; and his grandson, Cosimo II—presided over a spectacular flowering of the arts and sciences, exemplified by the pioneering achievements and dominant legacy of Michelangelo.
Celebrated during his lifetime for his extraordinary talent as a sculptor, architect, painter, draftsman, and poet, Michelangelo inspired subsequent Florentine artists and attracted the city’s most powerful patrons—notably the Medici grand dukes. Their extensive and enlightened patronage allowed art in all media to flourish. In addition to commissioning portraits and decorative objects for private and public display, the Medici family ordered the reconstruction or renovation of numerous civic buildings and private residences and
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Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Engraved portrait of Michelangelo ©Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, architect and poet and one of the great artists of the Italian Renaissance.
Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese near Florence (Italy) where his father was the local magistrate. A few weeks after his birth, the family moved to Florence. In 1488, Michelangelo was apprenticed to the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. He then lived in the household of Lorenzo de' Medici, the leading patron of the arts in Florence.
After the Medici were expelled from Florence, Michelangelo travelled to Bologna and then, in 1496, to Rome. His primary works were sculpture in these early years. His 'Pietà' (1497) made his name and he returned to Florence a famous sculptor. Here he produced his 'David' (1501-1504).
In 1505, Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo back to Rome and commissioned him to design Julius' own tomb. Due to quarrels between Julius and Michelangelo, and the many other demands on the artist's time, the project was never completed, although Michelangelo did prod
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Michelangelo Biography
Early Life
Born on March 6, 1475, in a town near Arezzo, in Tuscany, Michelangelo lived a comfortable life during his childhood. His family were bankers in Florence, but his father decided to enter a government post when the bank industry failed. When he was born, his father served as the judicial administrator at Caprese, as well as Chiusi's local administrator.
Eventually, Michelangelo's family went back to Florence, and this was where the artist lived much of his childhood. In 1481, his mother died of a chronic illness, and he was only 6 years of age at that time.
The artist came to Florence, so he could study grammar under his master Francesco da Urbino. However, he was vaguely interested in formal schooling, as he was more fascinated with copying paintings from various churches in Italy. He was also able to meet several painters who inspired him to pursue his art education.
Life in Florence
At that time, Florence was considered as the center of learning and arts throughout Italy. The town council sponsored art, along with wealthy patrons, b
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