Biography of Michelangelo Buonnarroti.

Michelangelo Buonnarroti

Michelangelo Buonnarroti, or Michelangelo, is one of the giants of the Italian Renaissance, the creator of the famous statue of David, to whom he gave the title of the four-souled man of history for his outstanding talent in painting, poetry, architecture and sculpture...

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the Italian town of Caprese. His father, Ludovici Bounnarroti, who came from a noble family, was the mayor of the town. But in the same year that Michelangelo was born, his father's presidential post was terminated, and the impoverished family moved to Florence. Michelangelo, who was given the care of a stonemason's wife here, said many years later, "I sucked the chisel and mallet along with the milk from my nanny's breast." he will say so.

In his childhood, Michelangelo was given a strict education, but the boy's curiosity about art gradually grew, despite the obstacles of his father. Finally, Michelangelo, who was apprenticed to Dominico and David Currado, known as Ghirlandaio, in 1488, was soon noticed for his painting talent. Even at the age of thirteen, Michelangelo would not color anything without observing nature, trying to see if his dreams corresponded to the reality of nature. He often went to the fish sunday, studied the shape of the fish, its eyes and gills, and then painted them with great care.

Michelangelo, who left the side of his master Ghirlandaio some time later, began sculpting at the school established under the tutelage of a nobleman known as Lorenzo de' Medici, or "Lorenzo the Magnificent". He soon attracted Lorenzo's attention. One day at school, Lorenzo sees Michelangelo polishing a statue of a grinning face he made from a discarded marble. Lorenzo would like this very much, and he half-jokingly said, half-seriously, " You've made a pretty old face, and this late idiot has all his teeth in place. Don't you know that people lose their teeth when they get older?" he asks. As Michelangelo grabs his chisel, he breaks a tooth from the upper jaw. Upon this clever behavior, Lorenzo calls the boy's father and makes him take him to his own house. Michelangelo stayed here until 1492, until the death of Lorenzo de' Medici.

These years are the period of upbringing of Michelangelo's art, and the Greek influences instilled by Lorenzo de Medici are seen in the works of that period.

His interest in poetry also began in these years. He was highly influenced by Dante Alighieri. It was precisely during these years that he fell in love with the beautiful Luigia de Medici, which increased his interest in literature, and he expressed his unrequited love in a powerful series of sonnets. At the age of eighteen, his lonely heart was once again roused and he called out to the young Tommaso Cavalieri in another series of love poems. But the poems that the marquis of Pescara wrote for his widow, Vittoria Colonna, are more powerful than these. Michelangelo told about his love for Vittoria in these poems, which are quite fluffy in number, and he always called out to Vittoria not only in these mystical poems, but also in his works about Christianity and in his writings that express the happiness of platonic love and tell the secrets of art. The narration in Michelangelo's poems is intense and powerful, as is his personality. He reflected all the enthusiasm and fire in his life in his sculptures as well as in his writings.

In the eyes of his contemporaries, Michelangelo was a quick-tempered, irritable, self-righteous, cynical and otherwise. He even carried the imprint of a school friend's fist on his nose all his life, which he mocked in his teenage years and sharply criticized for his work.

when Lorenzo de' Medici died in 1492, Michelangelo returned to Settignano and began studying anatomy there. After that, he continued his studies in Venice and Bologna for three years. Although he was young when he returned to his homeland of Florence, he had already entered a period of maturity in his art. in 1595, he finished his work " The Sleeping Cupid", and this work was published by St. It was sold to the Cardinal of Giorgio as an antique. A year later, the artist went to Rome and made a marble sculpture called "Bacchus". Henceforth he was not only an accomplished painter, but also an efficient sculptor. in 1499, he completed the "Pietà", the first real work of Christian statuary. This work of extraordinary beauty is now in the Vatican.

returning to Florence again in 1501, the artist made his work " Madonna of Bruges" a year later, and the famous sculpture "David" three years later. Completed in eighteen months, this sculpture is four and a half meters tall. During the same period, " St. He made the sculpture "Mattew" and the sketch of the "Battle of Pisa".

Michelangelo's statue of David is on display today at the Galleria Dell'accademia in Florence, attracting about 8 million visitors each year.

The artist Giorgio Vasari, who is described as the first art historian, describes Michalangelo's David; “Certainly, no one who has seen Michelangelo's David, no sculptor alive or dead, needs to see any of his works." he says and continues, “undoubtedly, this figure has eclipsed all other statues, old or new, Greek or Roman in construction.”

in 1505, Pope Pius II. Julius invited Michelangelo to Rome and commissioned him to build his own mausoleum. The work, completed at the end of many years of work, amazes those who see it with its extraordinary beauty.

Three years later, Michelangelo is given the task of decorating the ceiling of the Sistine Church. Michelangelo, who initially refused this task, eventually accepted it, giving an impeccable work of art history. The ceiling decorations of the church lasted for three years. He painted "The Creation of Adam" on a piece of the ceiling of the Sistine Church.

in 1527, Michelangelo, who was recognized as a thoroughly respected person in society, was elected Quartermaster General. leaving his post in 1534, the artist left Florence and settled in Rome. In Rome, Pope Pius III. Paul appointed Michelangelo, who was sixty years old, as the chief architect, painter and sculptor of the Vatican. In the same year, Michelangelo, who began the fresco "Judgment Day" for the Sistine Church, finished this work in seven years. He also made frescoes, paintings and sculptures in the Church of St. Paul in 1574. He also undertook the architecture of Peter's church.

Michelangelo, who closed his eyes to life one afternoon in February 1564, never married. The artist, who was married only to his art, gave all his life and energy to his works. When a friend of the pastor said that he was very sorry that he had not married and had no children to leave the product of his work and his reputation, Michelangelo said, "Art has become more than a wife to me. He always made me work, he made me try. And the works I left behind are my children's. Even if they have no value, I live in them,"he said. Indeed, as he said, he has been living with his works for centuries.