The Early Half of his Most Memorable Works
The Later Half of His Most Memorable Works
Main Page
The Early Half of his Most Memorable Works
The Later Half of His Most Memorable Works
Main Page
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Portrait of Michelangelo |
Before Michelangelo started creating the great works of art that we know (or don’t know) today, he had an interesting childhood growing up in Florence, Italy. He was born in Caprese on March 6, 1475. He had always considered himself a child of Florence, even though he wasn’t born there.
When he was born, his mother, Francesca Neri, was too sick to nurse him. He was placed with a family of stone cutters, it was in this way that Michelangelo says he, "sucked in the craft of hammer and chisel with my foster mother's milk.” Michelangelo was always a withdrawn child and when his mother died at age six, he kept to himself even more. Some say that he was just a shy child, others say that he didn’t trust anyone.
Growing up in Florence, the artistic center of the early Renaissance, he attended school at an early age. At school he met his good friend, Francesco Granacci, who encouraged Michelangelo to take a painting class with him. Painting was Grancci’s artistic vocation, but it is also considered one of the first early influences in his life that started him down the trail to artistic fame.
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| Portrait of Michelangelo Giorgio Vasari |
His father, Ludovico, was a minor Florentine official and he had connections to the ruling family of Medici. He was a businessperson and his sole obsession was with money. He hoped that Michelangelo would go into business to preserve their high place in society. However, at age 13 he angered and disappointed his father by taking a year long apprenticeship to Domenico Ghirlandaio.
During his apprenticeship, the main focus of study was fresco painting. Throughout the year, Michelangelo had many conflicts with his mentor. When it was all over Michelangelo claimed that he didn’t learn a thing from Ghirlandaio. However, it is obvious that the apprenticeship with Domenico did teach him something because influences of his style is evident in many of Michelangelo’s completed works.
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Self-Portrait |
After his apprenticeship, Michelangelo studied sculpture in the Medici gardens, his father’s connections with the Medici family eventually lead Michelangelo to an invitation to stay with the Lorenzo Medici. He was surrounded by many completed works of art, things by the ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as work by Renaissance masters such as Donatello and Masaccio. Michelangelo's desire for art was evident always evident during this time, he preferred it over his schoolwork, much like the some of the youth of today.
Living in the Lorenzo's house, Michelangelo was also exposed to the numerous artists, philosophers and poets that gathered there from time to time. He was also in contact with many influential people and he often made strong relationships with them. Not to mention that two of the younger Medici eventually went on to becoming popes Leo X and Clement VII. It is also considered that during his stay there, he studied with Bertoldo di Giovanni, an elderly sculpture who trained with Donatello.
Lorenzo loved the arts, especially classical sculpture, throughout his life he had attempted to restore and breathe new life into many ancient Greek and Roman works. His love of the arts was could have affected Michelangelo and helped to give him that same love.
The Early Half of his Most Memorable Works
The Later Half of His Most Memorable Works
Main Page