Michelengelo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Michelengelo - Essay Example He later shifted to sculptures after mastering painting. Michelangelo made many paintings while in Florence. His skill impressed the Pope and he got an invite to make a painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Church. Michelangelo was also an architect. He contributed his ideas to many architectural masterpieces that are in Italy today. His most celebrated contribution in the field of architecture is the St. Peters cathedral. He developed many principal features that can be seen at the cathedral including the design for the dome. Early works The earliest sculpture made by Michelangelo was the Battle of the Centaurs. He created the sculpture when he was about seventeen years old. This artwork is regarded highly due to its simplicity. He used solid forms that created squarish figures making the sculpture depict violence in an intense manner (Harden, 2008). The Medici family was overthrown following the death of Lorenzo in 1492. Michelangelo was forced to flee to Bologna where he continue d with his work. He made sculptures of three saints for the San Domenico church. Rome Michelangelo returned briefly to Florence before moving to Rome. In Rome he made a sculpture of a Bacchus for a banker. The Bacchus is the only large sculpture from the earlier days of Michelangelo’s art work that still survives to date. It is also the only sculpture designed to be viewed from all sides. The banker also paid Michelangelo to carve the Peita ( a carving in which Mary holds the dead body of Christ while on her knees) in 1498 (Pettit, 1998). The sculpture is presently located in St. Peters. The sculpture was larger than the usual life size sculptures. The theme of contrast was manifested a lot in the work. Mary’s position was vertical while the body of Christ lay horizontally. One person was alive while the other was dead. One was male and the other female. Florence In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence. By then, he was the most talented sculptor in Central Italy. The Florence cathedral commissioned him to carve the David. In 1504, he was commissioned to paint the Battle of Cascina. The painting depicted soldiers climbing from a river they had been swimming in to respond to a military distress call. Michelangelo continued to work on other large projects but he failed to finish most of them. In 1505, Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II (1443–1513). He was requested to design the pope’s tomb. The tomb was to incorporate approximately 40 life size statues. Michelangelo worked on and off on the project for a period of forty years (Harden,2008). Statue of David This is the most acknowledged sculpture done by Michelangelo. When Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1501 after the fall of Girolamo Savonarola, he was asked to complete a statue of David that an earlier artist had left unfinished. The statue was to be a symbol of freedom. He responded by finishing the statue of David. This statue was a master work of art made of marble (Bonner, 2001). It established the prominence of Michelangelo as an artist with extraordinary skill and a creative imagination. Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel was the chief chapel in the Vatican. Michelangelo was commissioned by the Pope in 1508 to paint the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. The artwork done on this ceiling was unique compared to artwork done on other ceilings. The project halted for some months. When Michelangelo returned to continue with the project, his style shifted a bit to intensify emotional tension.