Michelangelo, Buon

Michelangelo (1475 – 1564)

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, more commonly referred to simply as Michelangelo, is among the most famous and celebrated of the Italian renaissance painters and thinkers, rivaled only by Leonardo da Vinci. The body of Michelangelo’s work is immense and includes such invaluable master pieces as the ceiling of the Sistine chapel and the altar piece “The Last Judgment”. The ceiling includes “The creation of Adam” on the central part of the ceiling, one of the most recognizable images of all time.

To underline the respect he enjoyed already in his time, Michelangelo was the first western artist whose biography was published while he was still alive. He was also referred to as “The Divine One” within his lifetime, thus accentuating his immense standing. Among the most celebrated characteristics of his art was his ability to make the ability to instill a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur into his work. It was the efforts of subsequent artists to copy this effect that led to the development of the school of Mannerism, the next major movement in western art following the high renaissance.

As a true renaissance man, Michelangelo’s talents extended beyond paintings. He was also a sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. Among the best known of his non-painting efforts are the “Statue of David” and “Statue of Pieta” which were both completed before he turned 30 year old. In his old days, he also served as chief architect of Saint Peters Basilica, transforming the plans and having the west end completed in his design while the dome itself was completed following his death with some modifications.