Saluti, Italians, or whatever your nationality is,
Since I commenced my studies here, I have been learning cool people from arts. The library is like a trove of books, a book about ‘The Correlation Between Science and Arts’ is even provided. I love seeing paintings and artworks, knowing that the process of making them was arduous, and skills required are not simply acquired by practicing or trying hard. Painters have souls, different ones, especially those living during the renaissance era. People like Da Vinci, what a flawless man. Well, he did have flaws, but for a man who lived during his era, he had opened the gate of art, and amazingly, the gate of engineering and science.
People may have known what kind of things that Leonardo Da Vinci had done (I made a brief post about him here), but not necessarily Michelangelo Buanarotti, a man 23 younger than Da Vinci. If Da Vinci were to be compared with Michelangelo, I’d say that both of the prodigies had their own specific talent and mastery. However, through this post, reasons why we should admire Michelangelo will be provided. He is as virtuosic a man as Da Vinci, with his own style!
Overview
Rumors say that he's Albus Dumbledore's father. Kachiing!
Michelangelo was born in Caprese, a small city near Florence, Italy to a man named Ludovico Buonarotti. During his school years, Michelangelo accidentally met Fransesco Granacci, a notable painter, and eventually ended up learning to sculpt and paint. Having been acquainted with marbles and paint brushes since childhood, he improved gradually. He had a vast collection of treatises that had a positive impact on his society. History showed that he contributed significant artworks which once influenced citizens of Florence and Rome. Here are few reasons why Michelangelo is to be considered as a cool man during his era.
Reason 1 - As a motivator
In 1501, Lorenzo the Magnificent, a judicious politician who had been given task to lead Florence died. His death engendered numerous political upheavals and turbulence among the citizens, and a battle between the enraged ‘Arribati’, who believed that Florence should be grounded with an oligarchic system, and the religious ‘Piagnoni’, who were convinced that religion was the only viable solution to maintain Florence’s political stability, was inevitable. Moreover, the city council encountered possible attacks and usurpation from France. Hence, the city council commissioned Michelangelo to rebuild the courage of the people of Florence, through his adroit skills in carving; he was given a huge bulk of marble, from which the chivalric statue of David was carved. The statue of David depicts a man in his adolescence grasping a rock as a sign of readiness in facing possible terrors of the French. David’s victory was once of the cleverness, not sheer force.
In case you're unfamiliar with him, the dude's name is David. A huge sculpture. He's mentioned in the Bible, my friend showed it to me, yet I forget which chapter he's mentioned on.
Reason 2 - As a painter & architect
Intrigued by Michelangelo’s perfection in designing the statue of David, an authoritative pope, Julius II, sent his men to retrieve Michelangelo to the center of catholicism, the city of Rome. In 1508 until 1512, Michelangelo was then given the privilege to adorn the Sistine Chapel by painting its ceilings with approximately four hundred oversized holy figures. He asked his fellow relatives, Giuliano Bugiardini and Francesco Granacci, to help him to decorate the fresco ceiling, yet in the end, he personally fired them due to their unsatisfying work. In 1546, Michelangelo was appointed a chief architect and spent his latter years by re-conceptualizing the architecture of St. Peter’s Basilica. Until the present day, people can see how amazing his designs are, since both the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica are still being used annually for religious purposes. Michelangelo’s endeavor in decorating the Sistine Chapel and reconstructing the architectural elements of St. Peter’s Basilica is a massive contribution towards society both now and in the period on which he lived.
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican! Definitely a place for me to see before I die. What a place; beautiful, artsy, historical. The pope and some cardinals are inside.
Reason 3 – As a policy maker
Although Michelangelo is broadly known as an artist, people should be aware that he once sat on the throne of Nova Delia Milizia, a board of nine prominent and important Rome policy makers. In 1526, the Medici of Rome was fallen, attracting German mercenary who were seeking for land and power. Michelangelo’s specialty in this board was his capability in designing and devising defensive fortifications. His ingenious ideas and novel devices significantly protected Rome from the attacks. Without doubt, Michelangelo was definitely one of the great statesmen of Rome when Rome was under the control of Pope Clement VII.
Reason 4 - As a devoter of his God
Before his death, Michelangelo was given a task commissioned by Pope Clement VII and confirmed by Paul III Farnese to paint ‘The Last Judgment’. ‘The Last Judgement’ itself is painted inside the To their astonishment, Michelangelo painted it without being paid, as he believed that it was a way to devote himself to the Lord. Notorious for his nude painting style, he portrayed all of the figures inside the ‘The Last Judgment’ shirtless, which drew negative feedback from numerous religious leaders of Rome. Nevertheless, Michelangelo responded to these critics by claiming that nude painting in a contorted position is a way to express movement, energy, and emotion precisely. In the end, some amendments were applied to the painting.
He made this massive, majestic artwork in in 8 years without being paid. Holy cow.
What a man he is. I wish he was still alive and I could speak Italian.
