Biography of Michelangelo (1475-1564). Michelangelo Buonarroti: Works When Michelangelo Was Born

MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(Michelangelo Buonarroti)
(1475-1564), Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet. Even during the life of Michelangelo, his works were considered the highest achievements of the art of the Renaissance.
Youth. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 into a Florentine family in Caprese. His father was a high-ranking member of the city administration. The family soon moved to Florence; her financial situation was modest. Having learned to read, write and count, Michelangelo in 1488 became a student of the Ghirlandaio brothers' painters. Here he became acquainted with the basic materials and techniques and created pencil copies of the works of the great Florentine painters Giotto and Masaccio; already in these copies appeared the sculptural interpretation of forms characteristic of Michelangelo. Michelangelo soon began working on sculptures for the Medici collection and caught the attention of Lorenzo the Magnificent. In 1490 he settled in Palazzo Medici and remained there until the death of Lorenzo in 1492. Lorenzo Medici surrounded himself with the most prominent men of his time. There were poets, philologists, philosophers, commentators, such as Marsilio Ficino, Angelo Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola; Lorenzo himself was a wonderful poet. Michelangelo's perception of reality as a spirit embodied in matter undoubtedly goes back to the Neoplatonists. For him, sculpture was the art of "isolating" or freeing a figure enclosed in a stone block. It is not excluded that some of his most striking works of influence, which seem to be "unfinished", could be deliberately left as such, because it was at this stage of "liberation" that the form most adequately embodied the artist's intention. Some of the main ideas of Lorenzo Medici's circle served as a source of inspiration and torment for Michelangelo in his later life, in particular the contradiction between Christian piety and pagan sensibility. It was believed that pagan philosophy and Christian dogmas can be reconciled (this is reflected in the title of one of Ficino's books - "Plato's Theology of the Immortality of the Soul"); that all knowledge, if properly understood, is the key to divine truth. Physical beauty embodied in the human body is an earthly manifestation of spiritual beauty. Bodily beauty can be glorified, but this is not enough, for the body is the prison of the soul, which seeks to return to its Creator, but can only accomplish this in death. According to Pico della Mirandola, throughout life a person has free will: he can ascend to the angels or plunge into an unconscious animal state. Young Michelangelo was influenced by the optimistic philosophy of humanism and believed in the limitless possibilities of man. The marble relief of the Battle of the Centaurs (Florence, Casa Buonarroti) looks like a Roman sarcophagus and depicts a scene from the Greek myth about the battle of the Lapith people with the half-animal centaurs who attacked them during a wedding feast. The plot was suggested by Angelo Poliziano; its meaning is the victory of civilization over barbarism. According to the myth, the Lapiths won, however, in Michelangelo's interpretation, the outcome of the battle is unclear. The sculptor created compact and tense masses of naked bodies, demonstrating masterly skill in conveying movement through the play of light and shadow. Chisel marks and jagged edges remind us of the stone from which the figures emerge. The second work is a wooden Crucifixion (Florence, Casa Buonarroti). The head of Christ with closed eyes is lowered to the chest, the rhythm of the body is determined by crossed legs. The subtlety of this piece distinguishes it from the power of the figures in the marble relief. Due to the danger of a French invasion in the fall of 1494, Michelangelo left Florence and on his way to Venice stopped for a while in Bologna, where he created three small statues for the tomb of St. Dominic, work on which was interrupted by the death of the sculptor who started it. The following year, he briefly returned to Florence, and then went to Rome, where he spent five years and in the late 1490s created two major works. The first of them is a human-sized statue of Bacchus, designed for a circular view. The drunken god of wine is accompanied by a little satyr who feasts on a bunch of grapes. Bacchus seems to be ready to fall forward, but maintains balance, leaning back; his gaze is directed to the wine bowl. The back muscles appear taut, but the relaxed abdominal and thigh muscles show physical and therefore spiritual weakness. The sculptor achieved a solution to a difficult problem: to create the impression of instability without compositional imbalance, which could disturb the aesthetic effect. A more monumental work is the marble Pieta (Vatican, St. Peter's Cathedral). This topic was popular during the Renaissance, but here it is treated in a rather restrained manner. Death and the accompanying sorrow seem to be contained in the marble from which the sculpture is sculpted. The ratio of the figures is such that they form a low triangle, more precisely, a conical structure. The naked body of Christ contrasts with the magnificent, chiaroscuro robes of the Mother of God. Michelangelo portrayed the Mother of God young, as if it were not Mother and Son, but a sister mourning the untimely death of her brother. This kind of idealization was used by Leonardo da Vinci and other artists. In addition, Michelangelo was an ardent admirer of Dante. At the beginning of the prayer of St. Bernard's last canzone of the Divine Comedy says: "Vergine Madre, figlia del tuo figlio" - "Our Lady, daughter of her Son." The sculptor found the perfect way to express this deep theological thought in stone. On the vestments of Our Lady, Michelangelo carved the signature for the first and last time: "Michelangelo, Florentine." By the age of 25, the period of the formation of his personality was over, and he returned to Florence in the prime of all the possibilities that a sculptor could have.
Florence of the period of the republic.
As a result of the invasion of the French in 1494, the Medici were expelled, and for four years the de facto theocracy of the preacher Savonarola was established in Florence. In 1498, as a result of the intrigues of the Florentine leaders and the papal throne, Savonarola and two of his followers were sentenced to be burned at the stake. These events in Florence did not directly affect Michelangelo, but they hardly left him indifferent. The return of the Middle Ages to Savonarola was replaced by a secular republic, for which Michelangelo created his first major work in Florence, the marble statue of David (1501-1504, Florence, Academy). A colossal figure 4.9 m high, together with the base, was supposed to stand at the cathedral. The image of David was traditional in Florence. Donatello and Verrocchio created bronze sculptures of a young man who miraculously struck a giant, whose head lies at his feet. In contrast, Michelangelo portrayed the moment preceding the fight. David stands with a sling thrown over his shoulder, clutching a stone in his left hand. The right side of the figure is tense, while the left side is slightly relaxed, like an athlete ready for action. The image of David had a special meaning for the Florentines, and Michelangelo's sculpture attracted everyone's attention. David became the symbol of a free and vigilant republic, ready to defeat any enemy. The location at the cathedral turned out to be unsuitable, and a committee of citizens decided that the sculpture should guard the main entrance to the government building, the Palazzo Vecchio, in front of which there is now a copy. Perhaps, with the participation of Machiavelli, another major state project was conceived in the same years: Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were commissioned to create two huge frescoes for the hall of the Grand Council in Palazzo Vecchio on the theme of the historical victories of the Florentines at Anghiari and at Cascina. Only copies of Michelangelo's cardboard from the Battle of Kashin have survived. It depicted a group of soldiers rushing to arms when they were suddenly attacked by enemies while swimming in a river. The scene resembles the Battle of the Centaurs; it depicts nude figures in all sorts of poses that were of greater interest to the master than the plot itself. Michelangelo's cardboard was probably missing approx. 1516; according to the autobiography of the sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, he was a source of inspiration for many artists. The only painting that undoubtedly belongs to Michelangelo dates back to the same time (c. 1504-1506) - Tondo Madonna Doni (Florence, Uffizi), which reflects the desire to convey complex poses and a plastic interpretation of the forms of the human body. The Madonna leaned to the right to take the Child sitting on Joseph's knee. The unity of the figures is emphasized by the rigid modeling of the draperies with smooth surfaces. The landscape with the naked figures of the pagans behind the wall is poor in detail. In 1506, Michelangelo began work on a statue of Matthew the Evangelist (Florence, Accademia), which was to be the first in a series of 12 apostles for a cathedral in Florence. This statue remained unfinished as Michelangelo traveled to Rome two years later. The figure was cut out of a marble block, keeping its rectangular shape. It is performed in a strong counterpost (tense dynamic imbalance of the posture): the left leg is lifted and rests on a stone, which causes a displacement of the axis between the pelvis and shoulders. Physical energy turns into spiritual energy, the strength of which is transmitted by the extreme tension of the body. The Florentine period of Michelangelo's work was marked by the almost feverish activity of the master: in addition to the works listed above, he created two relief tondos with images of the Madonna (London and Florence), in which various degrees of completeness are used to create an expressive image; a marble statue of the Madonna and Child (Cathedral of Notre Dame in Bruges); and a bronze statue of David that has not survived. In Rome during the time of Pope Julius II and Leo X. In 1503 Julius II took the papal throne. None of the patrons used art for propaganda purposes as widely as Julius II. He began the construction of a new cathedral of St. Peter's, renovation and expansion of the papal residence on the model of Roman palaces and villas, the painting of the papal chapel and the preparation of a magnificent tomb for himself. The details of this project are unclear, but it seems that Julius II envisioned a new temple with his own tomb like the tomb of the French kings at Saint-Denis. The project of the new cathedral of St. Petra was entrusted to Bramante, and in 1505 Michelangelo received an order to develop the design of the tomb. It was supposed to stand free and measure 6 by 9 m. Inside there should be an oval room, and outside - about 40 statues. Its creation was impossible even at that time, but both dad and the artist were unstoppable dreamers. The tomb was never built in the form that Michelangelo had planned, and this "tragedy" haunted him for almost 40 years. The plan of the tomb and its semantic content can be reconstructed from preliminary drawings and descriptions. Most likely, the tomb was supposed to symbolize a three-stage rise from earthly life to eternal life. At the base were statues of the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, symbols of the two ways to achieve salvation. Above, two angels were to be placed carrying Julius II to paradise. As a result, only three statues were completed; the contract for the tomb was concluded six times over 37 years, and the monument was eventually erected in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli. During 1505-1506 Michelangelo constantly visited marble quarries, choosing the material for the tomb, while Julius II more and more persistently drew his attention to the construction of the Cathedral of St. Peter. The tomb remained unfinished. In extreme irritation, Michelangelo fled from Rome on April 17, 1506, the day before the foundation of the cathedral was laid. However, the Pope remained adamant. Michelangelo was forgiven and received an order to make a statue of the pontiff, which was later destroyed by the rebellious Bolognese. In 1506, another project arose - the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was built in the 1470s by Julius' uncle, Pope Sixtus IV. In the early 1480s, the altar and side walls were decorated with frescoes with gospel stories and scenes from the life of Moses, in the creation of which Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Rosselli participated. Above them were the portraits of the popes, and the vault remained empty. In 1508 Michelangelo reluctantly began painting the vault. The work lasted a little over two years between 1508 and 1512, with minimal assistance from assistants. It was originally intended to depict the figures of the apostles on thrones. Later, in a letter from 1523, Michelangelo proudly wrote that he had convinced the pope of the failure of this plan and received complete freedom. Instead of the original project, the painting that we see now was created. If the side walls of the chapel represent the Age of Law (Moses) and the Age of Grace (Christ), then the ceiling painting represents the very beginning of human history, the Book of Genesis. The painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is a complex structure consisting of painted elements of architectural decoration, individual figures and scenes. On the sides of the central part of the ceiling, under a painted cornice, are gigantic figures of Old Testament prophets and pagan sibyls seated on thrones. Transverse stripes imitating a vault are shown between the two cornices; they distinguish between alternating major and minor narrative scenes from Genesis. The lunettes and spherical triangles at the base of the painting also contain scenes. Numerous figures, including the famous ignudi (nude), frame scenes from Genesis. It is unclear if they have any special meaning or are purely decorative. Existing interpretations of the meaning of this painting could constitute a small library. Since it is in the papal chapel, its meaning should have been orthodox, but there is no doubt that the Renaissance thought was embodied in this complex. This article can only present a generally accepted interpretation of the main Christian ideas embedded in this painting. The images fall into three main groups: scenes from the Book of Genesis, prophets and sibyls, and scenes in the sinuses of the vault. The scenes from the Book of Genesis, like the compositions on the side walls, are arranged in chronological order, from the altar to the entrance. They fall into three triads. The first is related to the creation of the world. The second - Creation of Adam, Creation of Eve, Temptation and Expulsion from Paradise - is dedicated to the creation of mankind and its fall. The latter tells the story of Noah, ending with his drunkenness. It is no coincidence that Adam in the Creation of Adam and Noah in Noah's Drunkenness are in the same position: in the first case, a person does not yet have a soul, in the second he refuses it. Thus, these scenes show that humanity has not once, but twice been deprived of divine favor. In the four sails of the vault are the scenes of Judith and Holofernes, David and Goliath, the Brazen Serpent and the Death of Haman. Each of them is an example of God's mysterious participation in the salvation of his chosen people. This divine help was told by the prophets who predicted the coming of the Messiah. The culmination of the painting is the ecstatic figure of Jonah, located above the altar and under the stage of the first day of creation, to which his gaze is turned. Jonah is the herald of the Resurrection and eternal life, for he, like Christ, who spent three days in the tomb before ascending to heaven, spent three days in the belly of a whale, and then was brought back to life. Through participation in Mass at the altar below, the faithful received communion with the mystery of Christ's promised salvation. The narrative is built in the spirit of heroic and sublime humanism; both female and male figures are full of masculine strength. The nude figures framing the scenes testify to the peculiarities of Michelangelo's taste and his reaction to classical art: taken together, they constitute an encyclopedia of the positions of the naked human body, as was the case in the Battle of the Centaurs and in the Battle of Cachin. Michelangelo was not inclined to the calm idealism of Parthenon sculpture, but preferred the powerful heroism of Hellenistic and Roman art, expressed in a large, pathos sculptural group Laocoon, found in Rome in 1506. When discussing Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, one should take into account their preservation. Clearing and restoration of the mural began in 1980. As a result, soot deposits were removed and dull colors were replaced by bright pinks, lemon yellows and greens; the contours and correlation of figures and architecture were more clearly manifested. Michelangelo appeared as a subtle colorist: he was able to enhance the sculptural perception of nature with the help of color and took into account the high ceiling height (18 m), which in the 16th century. could not be lit as brightly as possible now. (Reproductions of the restored frescoes are published in the monumental two-volume The Sistine Chapel by Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Among the 600 photographs, there are two panoramic views of the painting before and after restoration.) Pope Julius II died in 1513; he was replaced by Leo X from the Medici family. From 1513 to 1516 Michelangelo worked on statues intended for the tomb of Julius II: the figures of two slaves (Louvre) and the statue of Moses (San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome). The slave tearing the bonds is depicted in a sharp turn, like the Evangelist Matthew. The dying slave is weak, as if he is trying to rise, but in powerlessness he freezes, bowing his head under a hand bent back. Moses looks to the left like David; indignation boils in him at the sight of the worship of the golden calf. The right side of his body is tense, the tablets are pressed to his side, and the sharp movement of his right leg is emphasized by the drapery thrown over it. This giant, one of the prophets embodied in marble, personifies terribilita, "fearsome power."
Return to Florence. The years between 1515 and 1520 were the time of the collapse of Michelangelo's plans. He was pressured by the heirs of Julius, and at the same time he served the new pope from the Medici family. In 1516 he was commissioned to decorate the façade of the Medici family church in Florence, San Lorenzo. Michelangelo spent a lot of time in marble quarries, but after a few years the contract was terminated. Perhaps at the same time, the sculptor began work on the statues of four slaves (Florence, Academy), which remained unfinished. In the early 1500s, Michelangelo traveled constantly from Florence to Rome and back, but in the 1520s, orders for the New Sacristy (Medici chapel) of the Church of San Lorenzo and the Laurentian library kept him in Florence until he left for Rome in 1534. Reading room of the library Laurenziana is a long gray stone room with light-colored walls. The lobby is a tall room with numerous double columns recessed into the wall, as if with difficulty holding back the stairs pouring out onto the floor. The staircase was completed only towards the end of Michelangelo's life, and the vestibule was completed only in the 20th century.

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

Michelangelo Buonarroti (full name - Michelangelo de Francesco de Neri de Miniato delle Sera and Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni, (Italian.Michelangelo di Francesci di Neri di Miniato del Sera i Lodo Buonar di Italian) 14 sculptor, painter, architect, poet, thinker. One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance.

Biography

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the Tuscan town of Caprese near Arezzo, in the family of Lodovico Buonarroti, a city councilor. As a child, he was brought up in Florence, then for some time he lived in the town of Settignano.

In 1488, Michelangelo's father resigned himself to his son's inclinations and placed him as an apprentice in the studio of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio, where he studied for one year. A year later, Michelangelo transferred to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, the actual master of Florence.

The Medici recognizes Michelangelo's talent and patronizes him. For some time, Michelangelo lives in the Medici palace. After the death of the Medici in 1492, Michelangelo returned home.

In 1496, Cardinal Raphael Riario buys Michelangelo's marble Cupid and invites the artist to work in Rome.

Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564 in Rome. Buried in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. Before his death, he dictated a will with all his characteristic laconicism: "I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives."

Artworks

The genius of Michelangelo left an imprint not only on the art of the Renaissance, but also on all further world culture. Its activities are mainly associated with two Italian cities - Florence and Rome. By the nature of his talent, he was primarily a sculptor. This is also felt in the paintings of the master, unusually rich in plasticity of movements, complex poses, distinct and powerful sculpting of volumes. In Florence, Michelangelo created an immortal example of the High Renaissance - the statue "David" (1501-1504), which for many centuries became the standard for depicting the human body, in Rome - the sculptural composition "Pietà" (1498-1499), one of the first incarnations of the figure of a dead person in plastic. However, the artist was able to realize his most ambitious ideas precisely in painting, where he acted as a true innovator of color and form.

By order of Pope Julius II, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512), representing the biblical story from the creation of the world to the flood and including more than 300 figures. In 1534-1541 in the same Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III he performed the grandiose, full of dramatic fresco "The Last Judgment". The architectural works of Michelangelo are striking in their beauty and grandeur - the ensemble of the Capitol Square and the dome of the Vatican Cathedral in Rome.

The arts have reached such perfection in it, which cannot be found either among the ancients or among new people for many, many years. He possessed such and such perfect imagination and the things that seemed to him in the idea were such that it was impossible to carry out plans so great and amazing with his hands, and he often threw away his creations, moreover, he destroyed many; so, it is known that shortly before his death, he burned a large number of drawings, sketches and cardboards, created with his own hand, so that no one could see the works that he overcame, and the ways in which he tested his genius in order to show him only as perfect.

Giorgio Vasari. "Biographies of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects." T. V. M., 1971.

Notable works


* David. Marble. 1501-1504. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

*David. 1501-1504

* Madonna at the stairs. Marble. OK. 1491. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.


* Battle of the centaurs. Marble. OK. 1492. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.

* Pieta. Marble. 1498-1499. Vatican, St. Peter.

* Madonna and Child. Marble. OK. 1501. Bruges, Notre Dame Church.

* Madonna Taddei. Marble. OK. 1502-1504. London, Royal Academy of Arts.

* St. Apostle Matthew. Marble. 1506. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

* "Holy Family" Madonna Doni. 1503-1504. Florence, Uffizi Gallery.

*

Madonna mourning Christ

* Madonna Pitti. OK. 1504-1505. Florence, Bargello National Museum.

* Moses. OK. 1515. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.

* Tomb of Julius II. 1542-1545. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.

* A dying slave. Marble. OK. 1513. Paris, Louvre.

* Winner 1530-1534

* Winner 1530-1534

* Rebel slave 1513-1515. Louvre

* Awakening slave. OK. 1530. Marble. Academy of Fine Arts, Florence

* Painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel. Prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. Vatican.

* Creation of Adam

* SISTINE CHAPEL Doomsday

* Apollo taking an arrow from a quiver, also known as "David-Apollo" 1530 (Bargello National Museum, Florence)

* Madonna. Florence, Medici Chapel. Marble. 1521-1534.

* Medici Library, Laurenzian stairs 1524-1534, 1549-1559. Florence.
* Medici Chapel. 1520-1534.

* Tomb of Duke Giuliano. Medici Chapel. 1526-1533. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.

"Night"

When access to the chapel was opened, the poets composed about a hundred sonnets dedicated to these four statues. The most famous lines by Giovanni Strozzi, dedicated to "Night"

This night that sleeps so calmly
Before you is an Angel of creation,
She's made of stone, but she's got a breath
Just wake up - she will speak.

Michelangelo responded to this madrigal with a quatrain that became no less famous than the statue itself:

It is gratifying to sleep, it is more gratifying to be a stone,
Oh, in this age, criminal and shameful,
Not to live, not to feel is an enviable lot.
Please be quiet, don't you dare wake me up. (Translated by F.I. Tyutchev)

* Tomb of Duke Giuliano Medici. fragment

* Tomb of Duke Lorenzo. Medici Chapel. 1524-1531. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.

* Statue of Giuliano Medici, Duke of Nemours, Tomb of Duke Giuliano. Medici Chapel. 1526-1533

* Brutus. After 1539. Florence, Bargello National Museum

* Christ carrying the cross

* Crumpled boy. Marble. 1530-1534. Russia, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage.

* Crouching boy 1530-34 Hermitage, St. Petersburg

* Atlant. Marble. Between 1519, approx. 1530-1534. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

Lamentation for Vittoria Colonna

"Pieta with Nicodemus" of the Florence Cathedral 1547-1555

"Conversion of the Apostle Paul" Villa Paolina, 1542-1550

"Crucifixion of the Apostle Peter" Villa Paolina, 1542-1550

* Pieta (Entombment) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Marble. OK. 1547-1555. Florence, Opera del Duomo Museum

In 2007, the last work of Michelangelo was found in the Vatican archives - a sketch of one of the details of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. The red chalk drawing is "a detail of one of the radial columns that make up the drum of the dome of St. Peter's in Rome." It is believed that this is the last work of the famous artist, completed shortly before his death in 1564.

This is not the first time that Michelangelo's works have been found in archives and museums. So, in 2002, another drawing by the master was accidentally found in the storerooms of the National Museum of Design in New York. He was among the paintings of unknown authors of the Renaissance. On a sheet of paper measuring 45 × 25 cm, the artist depicted a menorah - a candlestick for seven candles.
Poetic creativity
Michelangelo is better known today as the author of beautiful statues and expressive frescoes; however, few people know that the famous artist wrote equally wonderful poems. Michelangelo's poetic talent manifested itself in full only at the end of his life. Some of the poems of the great master were set to music and gained considerable popularity during his lifetime, but for the first time his sonnets and madrigals were published only in 1623. About 300 poems by Michelangelo have survived to this day.

Spiritual quest and personal life

In 1536, Vittoria Colonna, the Marquis of Pescara, came to Rome, where this 47-year-old widow poetess earned a deep friendship, or rather even the passionate love of 61-year-old Michelangelo. Soon enough, "the first, natural, fiery attraction of the artist was introduced by the Marquise of Pescara with soft authority into the framework of restrained worship, which only befits her role as a secular nun, her grief over her husband who died of wounds and her philosophy of reunion with him after death." To his great platonic love, he dedicated several of his most ardent sonnets, created drawings for her and spent many hours in her company. For her, the artist wrote "The Crucifixion", which has come down to us in later copies. The ideas of religious renewal (see Reformation in Italy), which worried the members of Vittoria's circle, left a deep imprint on Michelangelo's worldview of these years. Their reflection is seen, for example, in the Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel.

Interestingly, Vittoria is the only woman whose name is firmly associated with Michelangelo, whom most researchers tend to consider homo-, or at least bisexual. According to researchers of Michelangelo's intimate life, his passionate passion for the Marquise was the fruit of a subconscious choice, since her holy lifestyle could not pose a threat to his homosexual instincts. “He put her on a pedestal, but his love for her can hardly be called heterosexual: he called her 'man in woman' (un uoma in una donna). His poems to her ... sometimes it is difficult to distinguish from sonnets to the young man Tommaso Cavalieri, moreover, it is known that Michelangelo himself sometimes replaced the address "signor" with "signora" before letting his poems out to the people. " (In the future, his poems were once again censored by his grand-nephew before publication.)

Her departure for Orvieto and Viterbo in 1541 due to the revolt of her brother Ascanio Colonna against Paul III did not bring about a change in her relationship with the artist, and they continued to visit each other and correspond as before. She returned to Rome in 1544.
The artist's friend and biographer Kondivi writes:
“Especially great was the love he had for the Marquis of Pescara, falling in love with her divine spirit and receiving from her an insane reciprocal love. To this day, he keeps many of her letters, full of the purest and sweetest feeling ... He himself wrote for her many sonnets, talented and full of sweet melancholy. Many times she left Viterbo and other places where she went for entertainment or to spend the summer, and came to Rome only to see Michelangelo.
And he, for his part, loved her so much that, as he told me, one thing grieves him: when he came to look at her, already lifeless, he kissed only her hand, and not on the forehead or in the face. Because of this death, for a long time he remained confused and, as it were, distraught "
Biographers of the famous artist note: "The correspondence of these two remarkable people is not only of high biographical interest, but is an excellent monument of the historical era and a rare example of a lively exchange of thoughts, full of intelligence, subtle observation and irony." Researchers write about the sonnets dedicated to Michelangelo Vittoria: “The deliberate, forced Platonism of their relationship aggravated and brought to crystallization the love-philosophical warehouse of Michelangelo's poetry, which largely reflected the views and poetry of the Marquise herself, who during the 1530s played the role of Michelangelo's spiritual leader. Their poetic "correspondence" attracted the attention of their contemporaries; perhaps the most famous was sonnet 60, which became the subject of a special interpretation. ”Records of the conversations between Vittoria and Michelangelo, unfortunately, heavily processed, were preserved in the diaries of Francesco d“ Hollande, who was close to the circle of spirituali.

POETRY
There is no more joyful fun activity:
By the golden braids of the flowers vying with each other
To touch with a cute head
And cling with a kiss everywhere without exception!

And how much delight for the dress
Squeeze her camp and fall in a wave,
And how gratifying is the golden grid
To embrace her cheeks!

The ligature is even more delicate than an elegant ribbon,
Shining with my patterned embroidery,
The Perseus of the young is closed around.

And a clean belt, gently curling,
As if whispering: "I will not part with her ..."
Oh, how much work is here for my hands!

***
I dare, my treasure,
To exist without you, to my own torment,
Since you are deaf to pleas to soften the separation?
I no longer melt with a sad heart
No exclamations, no sighs, no sobs,
To show you, Madonna, the oppression of suffering
And my near death;
But so that rock is then my service
I could not banish from your memory, -
I leave my heart to you as a pledge.

There are truths in the speeches of antiquity,
And here is one: who can, he does not want;
You have heeded, Signor, that the lie chirps,
And the talkers are rewarded with you;

Well I am your servant: my labors are given
You are like a ray of the sun - though it denigrates
Your anger is all that my ardor read,
And all my suffering is unnecessary.

I thought I would take your greatness
Me to myself is not an echo for the chambers,
And the blade of judgment and the weight of anger;

But there is indifference to earthly merits
In heaven, and expect rewards from them -
What to expect from a dry tree.

***
Who created everything, he created the parts -
And after I chose the best of them,
To show us the miracle of his deeds here,
Worthy of his high power ...

***
Night

It is sweet for me to sleep, and more so - to be a stone,
When shame and crime are all around;
Don't feel, don't see relief
Shut up, friend, why wake me?

The last sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti "Pieta Rondanini" 1552-1564, Milan, Castello Sforzesco

Michelangelo Buonarroti's creation of St. Peter's Basilica.

I would like you to read these words of Michelangelo at the very beginning. There is so much philosophical wisdom. He wrote this when he was already an old man.

"Alas! Alas! I am betrayed by the imperceptibly passing days. I waited too long ... time flew by, and now I am an old man. It's too late to repent, too late to think - death is at the door ... I shed tears in vain: what misfortune can compare with the lost time ...

Alas! Alas! I look back and find no day that belongs to me! Deceptive hopes and vain desires prevented me from seeing the truth, now I understood this ... How many tears, anguish, how many sighs of love, for not a single human passion remained alien to me.

Alas! Alas! I am delirious, not knowing where, and I am scared. And if I am not mistaken - oh, God forbid that I be mistaken - I see, I clearly see, Creator, that an eternal punishment awaits me, awaiting those who have done evil, knowing what is good. And now I don't know what to hope for .. "

Michelangelo was born in 1475 in the small town of Caprese. His mother died early and his father gave him to be raised in the family of a wet nurse. At the age of 12 he was sent first to learn to read and write, and then to paint in the studio of the artist Ghirlandaio. The master instructed him to copy paintings by the great masters. But he did it is so subtle that it was difficult to distinguish from the original.

Thanks to this, he became famous and he was accepted into the school, which was organized by the Medici for the most talented children of Florence. In this school, he took a special position, thanks to his talent and was invited to live in the Medici palace. Here he gets acquainted with philosophy and literature.

He was the greatest sculptor and painter, architect and poet.

He had a proud and irreconcilable character, gloomy and stern, he embodied all the torments of a man-struggle, suffering, dissatisfaction, discord between ideal and reality.

He never married.

Art is jealous and requires the whole person. I have a spouse, who owns everything, and my children are my works "

His only love was Victoria Colonna, Marquis of Pescara. She arrived in Rome in 1536. She was 47 years old, she was a widow. Marquise was a very educated woman for her time. She was a poet, deeply interested in science, philosophy. lively conversations about contemporary events, science and art. Michelangelo was welcomed here as a royal guest. At the time, he was already 60 years old.

Most likely it was platonic love. Victoria was still devoted to her husband, who died in battle, and she had only a great friendship for Michelangelo.

The artist's biographer writes: “The love that he had for the Marquis of Pescara was especially great. He still keeps many of her letters, filled with the purest sweetest feeling ... He himself wrote many sonnets for her, talented and full of sweet melancholy.

For his part, he loved her so much that, as he said, one thing grieves him: when he came to look at her already lifeless, he kissed only her hand, and not on the forehead or in the face. Because of this death, he remained confused for a long time and, as it were, distraught. "The closest person for many years to him was his servant Urbino. When the servant fell ill, he looked after him for a long time.

The last statue he worked on was Mary and Jesus, which he made for his tomb, but he never finished it.

He died at the age of 89 in 1564 in Rome, but was transported to Florence and buried in the Church of Santa Croce.

Tombstone on the grave of Michelangelo. Florence. Church of Santa Croce.

On the tomb designed by Vasari - statues of three muses - sculpture, painting and architecture

His will was very short - "I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, and my property to my relatives."

Researchers write about the sonnets dedicated to Michelangelo Vittoria: “The deliberate, forced Platonism of their relationship aggravated and brought to crystallization the love-philosophical warehouse of Michelangelo's poetry, which largely reflected the views and poetry of the Marquise herself, who during the 1530s played the role of the spiritual leader of Michelangelo ... Their poetic "correspondence" attracted the attention of their contemporaries; perhaps the most famous was sonnet 60, which became the subject of special interpretation.

And the highest genius will not add
One thought to those that marble itself
Tait in abundance - and only this for us
A hand obedient to reason will manifest.

I'm waiting for joy, anxiety or heart presses,
The wisest, good donna - to you
I owe everything, and shame is heavy for me,
That my gift does not glorify you as it should.

Not the power of Love, not your beauty,
Or coldness, or anger, or the oppression of contempt
They are guilty of my misfortune,

Then that death is merged with mercy
In your heart - but my pathetic genius
To extract, loving, death is capable of one.

Michelangelo

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WORKS OF THE GREAT GENIUS.

David. 1501-1504 Florence.

Pieta. Marble.! 488-1489 Vatican. St. Peter's Cathedral.

The Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel, Vatican. 1535-1541

Fragment.

Ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

Fragment of the ceiling.

Madonna Doni , 1507

"The arts have reached such perfection in it, which cannot be found either among the ancients or among new people for many, many years.

He possessed such and such perfect imagination and the things that seemed to him in the idea were such that it was impossible to carry out plans so great and amazing with his hands, and he often threw away his creations, moreover, he destroyed many; so, it is known that shortly before his death, he burned a large number of drawings, sketches and cartoons, created with his own hand, so that no one could see the works that he overcame, and the ways in which he tested his genius in order to show him only as perfect " ...

- Giorgio Vasari, biographer.

Be sure to watch this video.

Romain Rolland ended the biography of Michelangelo with the following words:

"Great souls are like mountain peaks. Whirlwinds fall on them, they are enveloped in clouds, but they breathe easier and more freely. Fresh and transparent air cleans the heart of all filth, and when the clouds dissipate, endless distances open from the height and you see all of humanity.

Such is the gigantic mountain that rose above the Italy of the Renaissance and with its broken peak went under the clouds ".

This material was prepared with great love for the great master, sculptor, painter, poet and architect Michelangelo Buonarotti. I don’t know if I was able to convey this to you.

full name Michelangelo de Francesco de Neri de Miniato del Sera and Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni; ital. Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni

Italian sculptor, artist, architect, poet, thinker; one of the greatest masters of the Renaissance and early Baroque

Michelangelo

short biography

Michelangelo- an outstanding Italian sculptor, architect, artist, thinker, poet, one of the brightest figures of the Renaissance, whose multifaceted work influenced the art of not only this historical period, but also the development of the entire world culture.

On March 6, 1475, a boy was born into the family of a city councilor, a poor Florentine nobleman who lived in the small town of Caprese (Tuscany), whose creations will be elevated to the rank of masterpieces, the best achievements of Renaissance art during the lifetime of their author. Lodovico Buonarroti said that higher powers inspired him to name his son Michelangelo. Despite the nobility, which gave reason to be among the city elite, the family was not prosperous. Therefore, when the mother died, the father of many children had to give 6-year-old Michelangelo to be raised by his wet nurse in the village. Earlier than literacy, the boy learned to work with clay and a chisel.

Seeing the pronounced inclinations of his son, Lodovico in 1488 sent him to study with the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, in whose workshop Michelangelo spent a year. Then he becomes a student of the famous sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, whose school was patronized by Lorenzo de Medici, who at that time was the de facto ruler of Florence. After some time, he himself notices a talented teenager and invites him to the palace, introduces him to the palace collections. At the court of the patron saint, Michelangelo was from 1490 until his death in 1492, after which he went home.

In June 1496 Michelangelo arrived in Rome: there, having bought the sculpture he liked, he was summoned by Cardinal Raphael Riario. Since that time, the biography of the great artist has been associated with frequent moves from Florence to Rome and back. Early creations already reveal features that will distinguish Michelangelo's creative style: admiration for the beauty of the human body, plastic power, monumentality, drama of artistic images.

During 1501-1504, returning to Florence in 1501, he worked on the famous statue of David, which a venerable commission decided to install in the city's main square. Since 1505, Michelangelo returned to Rome, where he was called by Pope Julius II to work on a grandiose project - the creation of his magnificent tombstone, which, according to their joint plan, should have surrounded many statues. Work on it was carried out intermittently and was completed only in 1545. In 1508, he fulfills another request of Julius II - he begins to paint the vault with frescoes in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel and finishes this grandiose painting, working intermittently, in 1512.

The period from 1515 to 1520 became one of the most difficult in the biography of Michelangelo, was marked by the collapse of plans, throwing "between two fires" - the service to Pope Leo X and the heirs of Julius II. In 1534 his final move to Rome took place. Since the 20s. the artist's worldview becomes more pessimistic, painted in tragic tones. The mood was illustrated by the huge composition "The Last Judgment" - again in the Sistine Chapel, on the altar wall; Michelangelo worked on it in 1536-1541. After the death of the architect Antonio da Sangallo in 1546, he was appointed chief architect of the Cathedral of St. Peter. The largest work of this period, work on which lasted from the end of the 40s. until 1555, there was a sculptural group "Pieta". Over the last 30 years of the artist's life, the emphasis in his work has gradually shifted to architecture and poetry. Deep, filled with tragedy, devoted to the eternal themes of love, loneliness, happiness, madrigals, sonnets and other poetic compositions were highly appreciated by contemporaries. The first publication of Michelangelo's poetry was posthumous (1623).

On February 18, 1564, the great representative of the Renaissance died. His body was transported from Rome to Florence and buried in the church of Santa Croce with great honors.

Biography from Wikipedia

Michelangelo Buonarroti, full name Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni(Italian.Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni; March 6, 1475, Caprese - February 18, 1564, Rome) - Italian sculptor, artist, architect, poet, thinker. One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance and early Baroque. His works were considered the highest achievements of Renaissance art even during the life of the master himself. Michelangelo lived for almost 89 years, an entire era, from the High Renaissance to the origins of the Counter-Reformation. During this period, thirteen popes were replaced - he carried out orders for nine of them. Many documents have been preserved about his life and work - testimonies of contemporaries, letters from Michelangelo himself, contracts, his personal and professional notes. Michelangelo was also the first representative of Western European art, whose biography was printed during his lifetime.

Among his most famous sculptural works are David, Bacchus, Pieta, statues of Moses, Leah and Rachel for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Giorgio Vasari, the first official biographer of Michelangelo, wrote that "David" "took away the glory of all statues, modern and antique, Greek and Roman." One of the most monumental works of the artist is the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, about which Goethe wrote that: "Without seeing the Sistine Chapel, it is difficult to form a visual idea of ​​what one person can do." Among his architectural accomplishments are the project of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, the stairs of the Laurenzian library, the Campidoglio square and others. Researchers believe that Michelangelo's art begins and ends with the image of the human body.

life and creation

Childhood

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the Tuscan town of Caprese north of Arezzo, the son of an impoverished Florentine nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti (Italian Lodovico (Ludovico) di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni) (1444-1534), who at that time was the 169th Podestà. For several generations, representatives of the Buonarroti-Simoni clan were small bankers in Florence, but Lodovico was unable to maintain the financial condition of the bank, so he occasionally held government posts. It is known that Lodovico was proud of his aristocratic origin, because the Buonarroti-Simoni family claimed a blood relationship with the Margrave Matilda of Canossa, although there was no sufficient documentary evidence to confirm this. Ascanio Condivi claimed that Michelangelo himself believed this, recalling the aristocratic origin of the family in his letters to his nephew Leonardo. William Wallace wrote:

“Before Michelangelo, very few artists claimed such an origin. The artists did not have not only coats of arms, but also real surnames. They were named after their father, profession or city, and among them are such famous contemporaries of Michelangelo as Leonardo da Vinci and Giorgione "

Michelangelo was born "(...) on Monday morning, at 4 or 5:00 before dawn," according to Lodovico's entry in the Casa Buonarroti Museum (Florence). This registry also states that the christening took place on March 8 at the church of San Giovanni di Caprese, and lists the godparents:

About his mother, Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena (Italian: Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena), who married early and died of exhaustion by frequent pregnancies in the sixth year of Michelangelo, the latter never mentions in his voluminous correspondence with his father and brothers ... Lodovico Buonarroti was not rich, and the income from his small estate in the village was barely enough to support many children. In this regard, he was forced to give Michelangelo to a nurse, the wife of a "scarpellino" from the same village, called Settignano. There, raised by a married couple Topolino, the boy learned to knead clay and use a chisel before reading and writing. In any case, Michelangelo himself later said to his friend and biographer Giorgio Vasari:

"If there is anything good in my talent, it is from the fact that I was born in the thin air of your Aretinian land, and the incisors and hammer with which I make my statues, I drew from the milk of my nurse."

"Count of Canossky"
(Drawing by Michelangelo)

Michelangelo was the second son of Lodovico. Fritz Erpeli gives the year of birth of his brothers Lionardo (Italian Lionardo) - 1473, Buonarroto (Italian Buonarroto) - 1477, Giovansimone (Italian Giovansimone) - 1479 and Gismondo (Italian Gismondo) - 1481. In the same year, his mother died, and in 1485, four years after her death, Lodovico married a second time. Lucrezia Ubaldini became Michelangelo's stepmother. Soon Michelangelo was sent to the school of Francesco Galatea da Urbino (Italian: Francesco Galatea da Urbino) in Florence, where the young man showed no particular inclination to study and preferred to communicate with artists and redraw church icons and frescoes.

Youth. First works

In 1488, the father resigned himself to the inclinations of his son and placed him as an apprentice in the studio of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. Here Michelangelo got the opportunity to get acquainted with the basic materials and techniques, his pencil copies of the works of such Florentine artists as Giotto and Masaccio belong to the same period, already in these copies the sculptural vision of forms characteristic of Michelangelo manifested itself. His painting "The Torment of St. Anthony" (copy of an engraving by Martin Schongauer) dates back to the same period.

He studied there for one year. A year later, Michelangelo transferred to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, the actual owner of Florence. The Medici recognizes Michelangelo's talent and patronizes him. From about 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo was at the Medici court. Here he met with the philosophers of the Platonic Academy (Marsilio Ficino, Angelo Poliziano, Pico della Mirandola and others). He was also friends with Giovanni (second son of Lorenzo, future Pope Leo X) and Giulio Medici (illegitimate son of Giuliano Medici, future Pope Clement VII). Perhaps at this time were created " Madonna at the stairs" and " Battle of the centaurs". It is known that at this time Pietro Torrigiano, who was also a student of Bertoldo, having quarreled with Michelangelo, with a blow to the face broke the guy's nose. After the death of the Medici in 1492, Michelangelo returned home.

In the years 1494-1495 Michelangelo lives in Bologna, creates sculptures for the Arch of St. Dominic. In 1495 he returned to Florence, where the Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola ruled, and created sculptures “ Saint Johannes" and " Sleeping cupid". In 1496, Cardinal Raphael Riario buys Michelangelo's marble Cupid and invites the artist to work in Rome, where Michelangelo arrives on 25 June. In the years 1496-1501, he creates “ Bacchus" and " Roman Pieta».

In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence. Works on request: sculptures for " altarpiece of Piccolomini" and " David". In 1503, work was completed on the order: “ Twelve apostles", The beginning of work on" Saint Matthew"For the Florentine Cathedral. Around 1503-1505, the creation of " Madonna Doni», « Madonna Taddei», « Madonna Pitti" and " Bruges Madonna". In 1504, work on " David"; Michelangelo receives an order to create “ Battle of Kashin».

In 1505, the sculptor was summoned by Pope Julius II to Rome; he ordered a tomb for him. An eight-month stay in Carrara follows, choosing the marble needed for the work. In 1505-1545, work was carried out (with interruptions) on the tomb, for which sculptures were created " Moses», « Tied slave», « Dying slave», « Leah».

In April 1506 - again return to Florence, in November followed by reconciliation with Julius II in Bologna. Michelangelo receives an order for a bronze statue of Julius II, on which he works in 1507 (later destroyed).

In February 1508 Michelangelo returned to Florence again. In May, at the request of Julius II, he travels to Rome to paint the ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel; he worked on them until October 1512.

Julius II dies in 1513. Giovanni Medici becomes Pope Leo J. Michelangelo enters into a new contract to work on the tomb of Julius II. In 1514 the sculptor received an order for " Christ with the cross"And the chapels of Pope Leo X in Engelsburg.

In July 1514 Michelangelo returned to Florence again. He receives an order to create the facade of the Medici Church of San Lorenzo in Florence, and he signs a third contract for the creation of the tomb of Julius II.

In the years 1516-1519, numerous trips took place for marble for the façade of San Lorenzo to Carrara and Pietrasanta.

In 1520-1534, the sculptor worked on the architectural and sculptural complex of the Medici Chapel in Florence, as well as designs and builds the Laurencin Library.

In 1546, the most significant architectural orders in his life were entrusted to the artist. For Pope Paul III, he completed the Palazzo Farnese (the third floor of the courtyard facade and cornice) and designed for him the new decoration of the Capitol, the material embodiment of which, however, continued for a long time. But, undoubtedly, the most important order that prevented him from returning to his native Florence until his death was for Michelangelo his appointment as the chief architect of St. Peter's Cathedral. Convinced of such trust in him and faith in him on the part of the pope, Michelangelo, in order to show his good will, wished that the decree announced that he was serving on the building out of love for God and without any reward.

Death and burial

A few days before the death of Michelangelo, his nephew, Leonardo, arrived in Rome, to whom, on February 15, at the request of Michelangelo, he wrote a letter to Federico Donati.

Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564 in Rome, not having lived quite a bit before his 89th birthday. His death was witnessed by Tommaso Cavalieri, Daniele da Volterra, Diomede Leone, doctors Federico Donati and Gerardo Fidelissimi, and a servant Antonio Franzese. Before his death, he dictated a will with all his characteristic laconicism: "I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives."

Pope Pius IV was going to bury Michelangelo in Rome, having built a tomb for him in St. Peter's Basilica. On February 20, 1564, Michelangelo's body was temporarily placed in the Basilica of Santi Apostoli.

In early March, the sculptor's body was secretly transported to Florence and solemnly buried on July 14, 1564 in the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, near the tomb of Machiavelli.

Artworks

The genius of Michelangelo left an imprint not only on the art of the Renaissance, but also on all further world culture. Its activities are mainly associated with two Italian cities - Florence and Rome. By the nature of his talent, he was primarily a sculptor. This is also felt in the paintings of the master, unusually rich in plasticity of movements, complex poses, distinct and powerful sculpting of volumes. In Florence, Michelangelo created an immortal example of the High Renaissance - the statue "David" (1501-1504), which for many centuries became the standard for depicting the human body, in Rome - the sculptural composition "Pietà" (1498-1499), one of the first incarnations of the figure of a dead person in plastic. However, the artist was able to realize his most ambitious ideas precisely in painting, where he acted as a true innovator of color and form.

By order of Pope Julius II, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512), representing the biblical story from the creation of the world to the flood and including more than 300 figures. In 1534-1541 in the same Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III he performed the grandiose, full of dramatic fresco "The Last Judgment". The architectural works of Michelangelo are striking in their beauty and grandeur - the ensemble of the Capitol Square and the dome of the Vatican Cathedral in Rome.

The arts have reached such perfection in it, which cannot be found either among the ancients or among new people for many, many years. He possessed such and such perfect imagination and the things that seemed to him in the idea were such that it was impossible to carry out plans so great and amazing with his hands, and he often threw away his creations, moreover, he destroyed many; so, it is known that shortly before his death, he burned a large number of drawings, sketches and cardboards, created with his own hand, so that no one could see the works that he overcame, and the ways in which he tested his genius in order to show him only as perfect.

Giorgio Vasari. "Biographies of the most famous painters, sculptors and architects." T. V. M., 1971.

Notable works

• Madonna at the stairs. Marble. OK. 1491. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.
• Battle of the centaurs. Marble. OK. 1492. Florence, Buonarroti Museum.
• Pieta. Marble. 1498-1499. Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica.
• Madonna and Child. Marble. OK. 1501. Bruges, Notre Dame Church.
• David. Marble. 1501-1504. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
• Madonna Taddei. Marble. OK. 1502-1504. London, Royal Academy of Arts.
• Madonna Doni. 1503-1504. Florence, Uffizi Gallery.
• Madonna Pitti. OK. 1504-1505. Florence, Bargello National Museum.
• Apostle Matthew. Marble. 1506. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
• Painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel. 1508-1512. Vatican.
  • Creation of Adam
• A dying slave. Marble. OK. 1513. Paris, Louvre.
• Moses. OK. 1515. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.
• Atlant. Marble. Between 1519, approx. 1530-1534. Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.
• Medici chapel 1520-1534.
• Madonna. Florence, Medici Chapel. Marble. 1521-1534.
• Laurentian Library. 1524-1534, 1549-1559. Florence.
• Tomb of Duke Lorenzo. Medici Chapel. 1524-1531. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
• Duke Giuliano's tomb. Medici Chapel. 1526-1533. Florence, Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
• The crumpled boy. Marble. 1530-1534. Russia, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage.
• Brutus. Marble. After 1539. Florence, Bargello National Museum.
• The Last Judgment. The Sistine Chapel. 1535-1541. Vatican.
• Tomb of Julius II. 1542-1545. Rome, Church of San Pietro in Vincoli.
• Pieta (Entombment) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Marble. OK. 1547-1555. Florence, Opera del Duomo Museum

In 2007, the last work of Michelangelo was found in the Vatican archives - a sketch of one of the details of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. The red chalk drawing is "a detail of one of the radial columns that make up the drum of the dome of St. Peter's in Rome." It is believed that this is the last work of the famous artist, completed shortly before his death in 1564.

This is not the first time that Michelangelo's works have been found in archives and museums. So, in 2002, in the storerooms of the National Museum of Design in New York, among the works of unknown authors of the Renaissance, another drawing was found: on a sheet of paper measuring 45 × 25 cm, the artist depicted a menorah - a candlestick for seven candles. At the beginning of 2015, it became known about the discovery of the first and probably the only surviving bronze sculpture by Michelangelo - a composition of two horsemen on panthers.

Poetic creativity

Michelangelo's poetry is considered one of the brightest examples of the Renaissance. About 300 poems by Michelangelo have survived to this day. The main themes are the glorification of man, the bitterness of disappointment and the loneliness of the artist. Favorite poetic forms are madrigal and sonnet. According to R. Rolland, Michelangelo began to write poetry as a child, however, there are not so many of them, because in 1518, he burned most of his early poems, and destroyed some more later, before his death.

Some of his poems were published in the works of Benedetto Varchi (Italian Benedetto Varchi), Donato Giannotto (Italian Donato Giannotti), Giorgio Vasari and others. Luigi Ricci and Giannotto asked him to select the best poems for publication. In 1545, Giannotto took up the preparation of Michelangelo's first collection, however, things did not go any further - Luigi died in 1546, and Vittoria died in 1547. Michelangelo decided to abandon this idea, considering it a vanity.

Vittoria and Michelangelo at the "Moses", painting of the XIX century

Thus, during his lifetime, the collection of his poems was not published, and the first collection was published only in 1623 by his nephew Michelangelo Buonarroti (junior) under the title "Poems of Michelangelo, Collected by His Nephew" in the Florentine publishing house "Giuntine" (Italian Giuntine). This edition was incomplete and contained certain inaccuracies. In 1863, Cesare Guasti (Italian: Chesare Guasti published the first accurate edition of the artist's poems, which, however, was not chronological. In 1897, the German art critic Karl Frey) published Michelangelo's Poems, Collected and Commented by Dr. Karl Frey "(Berlin). The edition of Enzo Noe Girardi (Bari, 1960) Italian. Enzo Noe Girardi) consisted of three parts, and was much more perfect than the edition of Frey in the accuracy of the reproduction of the text and was distinguished by a better chronology of the arrangement of the verses, although not entirely undeniable.

The study of the poetry of Michelangelo was, in particular, the German writer Wilhelm Lang, who defended his dissertation on this topic, published in 1861.

Use in music

Even during his lifetime, some of the poems were set to music. Among the most famous composers-contemporaries of Michelangelo are Jacob Arcadelt ("Deh dimm" Amor se l "alma" and "Io dico che fra voi"), Bartolomeo Tromboncino, Constanta Festa (the lost madrigal to a poem by Michelangelo), Jean where Cons (also - Council).

Also, such composers as Richard Strauss (a cycle of five songs - the first to the words of Michelangelo, the rest - by Adolph von Schack, 1886), Hugo Wolf (vocal cycle "Songs of Michelangelo" 1897) and Benjamin Britten (cycle of songs " Michelangelo's Seven Sonnets, 1940).

On July 31, 1974, Dmitry Shostakovich wrote a suite for bass and piano (opus 145). The suite is based on eight sonnets and three poems by the artist (translated by Abram Efros).

In 2006 Sir Peter Maxwell Davies completed his Tondo di Michelangelo (for baritone and piano). The work includes eight Michelangelo's sonnets. The premiere took place on October 18, 2007.

In 2010, the Austrian composer Matthew Dewey wrote Il tempo passa: music to Michelangelo (for baritone, viola and piano). It uses a modern translation of Michelangelo's poems into English. The world premiere of the work took place on January 16, 2011.

Appearance

There are several portraits of Michelangelo. Among them - Sebastiano del Piombo (c. 1520), Giuliano Bugiardini, Jacopino del Conte (1544-1545, Uffizi Gallery), Marcello Venusti (museum in the Capitol), Francisco d "Olanda (1538-1539), Giulio Bonason (1546) and others .. Also his image was in the biography of Condivi, which was published in 1553, and in 1561 Leone Leoni minted a coin with his image.

Describing the appearance of Michelangelo, Romain Rolland chose the portraits of Conte and d "Hollande as a basis:

Michelangelo's bust
(Daniele da Volterra, 1564)

“Michelangelo was of medium height, broad in the shoulders and muscular (...). His head was round, his forehead was square, cut with wrinkles, with strongly pronounced superciliary arches. Black, rather sparse hair, slightly curly. Small, light brown eyes, the color of which was constantly changing, dotted with yellow and blue dots (...). Wide, straight nose with a slight hump (...). Thinly defined lips, the lower lip protrudes slightly. The thin sideburns, and the forked thin beard of the faun (...) a high-cheeked face with sunken cheeks. "

Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564) is the third great genius of the Italian Renaissance. In terms of personality scale, he is close to Leonardo. He was a sculptor, painter, architect and poet. The last thirty years of his work fell on the Late Renaissance. During this period, anxiety and anxiety appear in his works, a premonition of impending troubles and upheavals.

Among his first creations, attention is drawn to the statue of "Swinging Boy", which echoes the "Discoball" by the ancient sculptor Miron. In it, the master succeeds in vividly expressing the movement and passion of the young creature.

Two works - the statue of "Bacchus" and the group "Pieta" - created at the end of the 15th century, brought Michelangelo wide fame and fame. In the first, he was able to remarkably subtly convey a state of light intoxication, an unstable balance. The Pieta group depicts the dead body of Christ lying on the lap of the Madonna, who mournfully bowed over him. Both figures are fused into a single whole. Their flawless composition makes them surprisingly true and true. Departing from tradition. Michelangelo portrays Madonna as young and beautiful. The contrast of her youth with the lifeless body of Christ further enhances the tragedy of the situation.

One of the highest achievements of Michelangelo was statue "David", which he risked to sculpt from a lump of marble that was lying around without use and already spoiled. The sculpture is very high - 5.5 m. However, this feature remains almost invisible. Perfect proportions, perfect plastic, rare harmony of forms make it surprisingly natural, light and beautiful. The statue is filled with inner life, energy and strength. She is a hymn to human masculinity, beauty, grace and grace.

Among the highest achievements of Michelangelo are also works. created for the tomb of Pope Julius II - "Moses", "Bound Slave", "Dying Slave", "Awakening Slave", "Crouching Boy". The sculptor worked on this tomb with a break for about 40 years, but he never brought it to completion. However, then. that the sculptor managed to create is considered the greatest masterpieces of world art. According to experts, in these works Michelangelo managed to achieve the highest perfection, ideal unity and correspondence between the inner meaning and the outer form.

One of the significant creations of Michelangelo is the Medici Chapel, which he added to the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence and decorated with sculptural tombstones. The two tombs of the Dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano Medici are sarcophagi with sloping lids, on which there are two figures - "Morning" and "Evening", "Day" and "Night". All the figures look bleak, they express anxiety and a gloomy mood. It was these feelings that Michelangelo himself experienced, since his Florence was captured by the Spaniards. As for the figures of the dukes themselves, when portraying them, Michelangelo did not strive for portrait resemblance. He presented them as generalized images of two types of people: the courageous and energetic Giuliano and the melancholic and brooding Lorenzo.

Of the last sculptural works of Michelangelo, the group "Entombment", which the artist intended for his tomb, deserves attention. Her fate turned out to be tragic: Michelangelo broke her. However, it was restored by one of his students.

In addition to sculptures, Michelangelo created wonderful works painting. The most significant of these are painting of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

He took them twice. First, by order of Pope Julius II, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, spending four years on this (1508-1512) and doing a fantastically difficult and enormous job. He had to cover more than 600 square meters with frescoes. On the huge surfaces of the plafond, Michelangelo depicted Old Testament stories - from the Creation of the world to the Flood, as well as scenes from everyday life - a mother playing with children, an old man immersed in deep thought, a young man reading, etc.

For the second time (1535-1541) Michelangelo creates the Last Judgment fresco, placing it on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. In the center of the composition, in a light halo, there is the figure of Christ, who raised his right hand in a formidable gesture. There are many nude human figures around it. Everything depicted on the canvas is set in a circular motion, which begins at the bottom.

the left side, which depicts the dead rising from the graves. Above them are the souls striving upward, and above them are the righteous. The uppermost part of the fresco is occupied by angels. In the lower part of the right side there is a boat with Charon, which drives sinners to hell. The biblical meaning of the Last Judgment is expressed vividly and impressively.

In the last years of his life, Michelangelo is engaged architecture. He is completing the construction of the Cathedral of St. Peter, revising Bramante's original design.