Michelangelo - Art History Handout

1. When was he born – when did he die?
- Born: 6th March 1475 in a small village called Caprese, Italy
- Died: 18th February 1564 ( Age of 88 )in Rome

2. Biography
- He considered himself a “ Son of Florence” although he never lived there
- Michelangelo travelled between Rome and Florence because he had a lot of work in both cities
- He worked as a sculptor, architect, painter, engineer and as a poet
- Michelangelo always looked for the “perfect” stone because he wanted it to have the basic form of his sculpture

3. The Sistine Chapel Ceiling
- April 1508 Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Julius II
- He had a new task, to draw 15 figures of Apostles and some decoration on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
- Some of the themes were: Adam and Eve, The creation of the world, The Final Judgment
- => It is basically the story of the Bible
- He was a sculptor and at the beginning he tried to cancel his oncoming work because he had to master the art of fresco
- May 1508 he started to make the preparatory designs
- Assistants: Giuliano Bugiardini, Aristotele da Sangallo and his old friend Francesco Granacci along with a number of laborers
- His work did not proceed as his master wished and between the end of 1508 and January 1509
He fired his assistants and continued on his own
- He worked till 31st October 1512
- Michelangelo has a very unique style because he is a sculptor, he concentrates on the right proportions of the bodies
=> The Figures on his frescos look very realistic
=> They look plastic

4. The Tomb of Medici
- Between 1519 and 1534 – Michelangelo undertook the commission of the Medici Tombs for the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo
- He designed two large walls facing each other across the high domed room
- The 1st wall was dedicated for Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino
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