The 17TH CENTURY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

Michelangelo stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries as one of the most well-known, revered, and praised Italian artists of the Renaissance period, both in his own lifetime and among the contemporary icons of art. The Pieta and David statues, along with the Sistine Chapel frescoes, are among the important works that have continued to be considered the best ever created in the field of art. By skillfully using his unrivaled abilities in sculpture and art to influence his contemporaries in the renaissance period and by establishing a well-presented humanist movement that endured in contemporary societies. Indeed, based on how much Michelangelo contributed into the world of art, the Renaissance movement both in Europe and Italy would have come to no distinctive revolution had he not been a part of. Both the discipline of art and sculpture as well as the society has lived for centuries long after his demise, and its impactful value in the twenty-first century western culture cannot be overlooked. Born in 1475 6 of much and demised 89 years later, Michelangelo was a gifted and apt Florentine individual in diverse areas of art, including being a poet, architect, painter, and sculptor Described as one of the greatest of all times in art, he influenced western art significantly. Based on the much effort he put in his profession, characterized by distinct and outstanding passion, it was considered that he vividly competed against his core rival one Leonardo da Vinci, a fellow Florentine, he summarily must have yearned for the title of the archetypal man of renaissance. Michelangelo's architectural and sculptural works were among the best of the time, and hence his fame persisted into the future. The efforts he contributed toward every diverse segment of art was very significant, considering that the prodigious interest he triggered yielded massive degrees of surviving correspondence, reminiscence accounted for in centuries and sketches tabled as the most documented in the sixteenth century as well. Indeed, while justifying why Michelangelo Buonarroti is one of notable artists in the Italian Renaissance period who perhaps bridged the gap between the Middle Ages and modern history it is not only essential to outline how he played significant role and the lots of famous masterpieces from him but also critical to demonstrate whether there is a correlation between Michelangelo Buonarroti`s place in the renaissance and whether it did have an effect on modern art history.

Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni, the father to Michelangelo, was a magistrate married to Francesca Neri, and after their fifth born son was sired in Caprese, they moved to Florence while Michelangelo was still an infant. However, it was unfortunate that his mother, Francesca Neri, got sick and he (Michelangelo) was taken to live with a family of stonecutters in the neighborhood. He recounts drinking his milk while hitting the chisel with the hammer to break stones in his childhood times, even before he could join the school. It is recorded that Michelangelo had a microscopic interest in academic matters. Consequently, rather than concentrating on his school work, he spent most of his time looking at painters and admiring their peculiar skills in as they vanished the nearby churches. It is recorded that Michelangelo was very outgoing in his social interactions, a character that anchored him to his colleague and senior grammar student, one Francesco Granacci, who would later introduce him to Domenico Ghirlandaio, one of the finest church painters of the time. While his father was running a flourishing family business, a venture that he wanted to introduce his son to, he learned too well that the Michelangelo had his attention fixed elsewhere, and he chose to help him embrace the passion by facilitating Michelangelo to enroll at the Florentine painters` worker shop, a destination where Michelangelo would be introduced to fresco. Nevertheless, hardly had Michelangelo spent one year at the workshop than a new opportunity came knocking at his door. Michelangelo was fortunate to be welcome to the palace of Lorenzo the Magnificent, the then acclaimed ruler of Florentine following the recommendation by Ghirlandaio. He was thus capable of studying classical sculpture in jointed support by the Medici gardens. The moment was very phenomenal in the life of Ghirlandaio, as it did not only expose him to poets, sculptors, highly educated humanists, but also a chance to study under the respected Bertoldo di Giovanni, the refined sculptor. Even though the adverse effect of interacting with cadavers ruined his health as would later reveal, the golden chance offered to Michelangelo by the Catholic Church to study human anatomy and gain sophisticated insight despite having banned the exploration was very phenomenal. Such a powerful and promising background was a sure standing into the future of Michelangelo, which was characterized by reality combined with a muscular stature manifested in almost palpable lyrical beauty. Indeed, to date, his inspiration lives in the contemporary world, considering the outstanding sculptors of Madonna Seated on a Step and Battle of the Centaurs he made at 16 years of age, and the two have set precedence in modern day art. Nevertheless, more adverse occurrences influenced the prosperity of Michelangelo in the art industry than did the fortunes that came along his way in childhood. For instance, while his welcome at the Lorenzo the Greats grounds marked the paradigm shift towards mingling with the elites, it sparked more strife in his profession following the demise of the latter. The political confrontation that characterized the occurrence forced Michelangelo to flee the destination and later settled at Bologna, where he maintained his conspicuous efforts in his academic life. Later in 1495, Michelangelo returned to Florentine and launched his work, as a sculptor, emulating the classical art of antiquity to posture his abilities in what he had to passion for. When Michelangelo made the cupid sculpture, it was bought by the Roman Cardinal, and though they had confrontations over the masterpiece, the very Cardinal of San Giorgio, named Rario was highly impressed by Michelangelo's art and he welcomed him to Rome, wherein he would work and live and impact the world through magnificent art for the rest of his life.



Madonna Seated on a Step by Anirudh 2015



Battle of the Centaurs by Anirudh 2015



Cupid by Anirudh 2015

Michelangelo was a very young artist by 1501 when he was commissioned with the fathers of Florence, compelled by the passion of the ability he could deliver, to sculpt the revered statue of David. Highly inspired by the ancient Greek art, just like many artists, Michelangelo thrived on this theme of Christianity, except that he went a notch higher, beyond the abilities of his contemporaries. Nevertheless, even though he was a staunch Catholic, he resisted the cultural and traditional religion centered painting, and his veering into secular themes of painting is what triggered talent in many diverse artists to put forward what they knew best in the discipline. Consequently, the humanist movement that characterized the medieval era in Europe during the Renaissance was inspired by such audacious efforts from Michelangelo. Nevertheless, most interesting is the capability of Michelangelo not be made a god, but rather, to making a hero out of marble into a perpetual man, the sculpture of David, which was an interpretation of the male Greek hero of Renaissance standing nude. The city had a compromised leadership, with its security at stake following the constant attacks from neighboring dynasties. Therefore, the creation of the statue of David would allude to the biblical defiant young man by the same name, and this was a clear demonstration of the new courage, defiance, and the audacity in the willingness to meet the any under any circumstances. Nevertheless, as opposed to the short-term objective of those who commissioned Michelangelo to speak to the perceived enemies of Florence through his art, Michelangelo had long term goals, the objectives that went beyond the biblical David, and traversed across centuries to configure a typical Greek figure that towered in influence even to as far as the vivid potential of the western man. While most artists who had depicted David in their art focused on the icon after he slew Goliath, which had become a phenomenal tradition in the industry, Michelangelo decided to apply an all distinctive approach; he chose to design the statue of David, just before he could meet the giant enemy. The essence of this timing was very critical, because then it would bring out the true meaning of the anxiety that characterized the moment, the beauty of defiance and the audacity in brain rather than brawl, as well as the might that rested in measures inestimable in so young a man to outdo the giant of Goliath. Therefore, at the time David had an option of running away. Nevertheless, he soars above the tempest moment and faces his foe, a show of potential beyond proportions in unmatched courage.

In revelation, Michelangelo through his art had the power to launch a new phase of human thought and experience in how difficult and challenging situations were to be handled in life. It was then clear that humanity was not cowed away from the imminent challenges, rather, devising ways out of diversity, and not yielding to the paralysis that anxiety imposes and fear subjects people to, rather, rising outside of the crowd and defending one's position was a paradigm shift that marked the new beginning. The right hand of the statue as was architecture by Michelangelo was relatively bigger than the left arm, a show of the might, the willingness, and the potential that was in phase, to soon inscribe a signature of hope before humanity, curve a new trajectory to trickle down in history in lieu of fiction, and this would control and deliver the shape and the new destiny of the newfangled world. In essence, Michelangelo had no interest in carving the best portray of marble to depict the iconic David, rather, he was focused on delivering a new hope, vision, and a formidable vision for civilization which had faced threats for the last one hundred decades, without making tangible progress beyond superstition. Therefore, the statue of David after the artistical touch by Michelangelo gave rise to a new Europe, a continent that marked its progress from dark ages since then. Perhaps this confirms the reason as to why Michelangelo is configured as the father of Renaissance. Therefore, other than being an indispensable embodiment of leadership, Michelangelo was an icon that shaped the realities of the new world, and ushered in a distinctively new epoch to define the future that runs in the modern day, not only continental Europe but beyond. Indeed, David was a magnificent piece of art whose influential sparks radiated their impact up to as far as the western society lasting into the present day world. Of the most revered and enduring icons of the phenomenal era of the Renaissance, the statue of David by Michelangelo has been imitated, reproduced, reinterpreted, and parodied for dozens of times not only in modern day art but also in pop culture. Indeed, the sculpture of David remains and shall forever be the finest of art delivered in the Renaissance era.



Sculpture of David by Anirudh 2015

While Michelangelo was a formidable master if art, the interest he had for painting was not relatively heightened as it were for sculpture and art, and therefore, he disregarded being referred to as a painter. However, in 1508, he single-handedly offered to paint the Sistine and the altar wall of the Vatican chapel. He did a lot in the preceding four years, as by then he had painted over 400 life-sized biblical figures while lying on his back and using the most sophisticated medium of fresco painting. Even though this could appear unheard of, what is even more perplexing is the unique touch of content he tailored to mirror every single presentation of the biblical scenes he worked on tirelessly. All the bodies were full of life, proportional, and well presented, as he did not only sculpt, but he also did the painting to obtain an all refined product, appealing to all eyes, even that that recognized the least principles of art. Though during the dark ages the Christian art was what mattered and characterized the culture of art, Michelangelo`s work was to mark a new phase in the industry. The European art was revolutionized, given a new meaning, and reinvigorated to a different level, as was influenced by Michelangelo`s painting of the Sistine the chapel. The painting of Adam is a fresco that is very magnificent in the chapel, as it tells volumes about the original creation of God, the human person. The figure is a show of Adam and God almost reaching his hand, a figurative portrayal that depicts the closeness and the vivid communication that so candidly defined the times in antiquity. The picture is interpreted that Adam was reaching out to God to be given the breath and hence the life, which would make him a functioning and a living human person. The almost touch hands of God and Adam remain to be the most symbolic images in the present time in pop culture in the western world, the subject has indeed, become the imitations and the parodies of the discipline. Nevertheless, the appearance of the woman beside God is perceived to be Eve or Mary, and the comprehension is just that confounding. Indeed, at the time Michelangelo lived, nobody knew what the ticking clock behind the person of God meant, but it has since been interpreted as a depiction of the functioning brain. The studying of the human corpses made Michelangelo stand out of his contemporaries not only as a painter and sculptor but also as a scientist and enthusiastic research fellow. The scientific features, humanism, and the ancient Greek themes, as well as the religious themes of Rome incorporated in the art of Michelangelo, made him a messenger for all, despite his dedication to working for the pope.



The Sistine Chapel painting by Anirudh 2015

The Adam sculpture by Anirudh 2015

The unparalleled impact of Michelangelo on Renaissance lives to date. A master of poetry, architecture, painting as well as the revered power of sculpture. In his day, his abilities as a painter and sculptor were unmatched. In the contemporary world, his skilled in the discipline remained to be unsurpassed. Indeed, among his peers who helped him design and paint the Sistine of the Vatican in the chapel, none equaled his insight in the professions. He gained much understanding about the human boy when he ventured into dissecting corpses at the local church. Even though the act was banned, his prowess in the industry coupled with a daring personality which embodied, Michelangelo was able to convince the stakeholders and take an unprecedented lead that would reveal a sharp, on target, and conspicuous nature in art. The anatomical elements like the nerves, veins, muscle distinction, as well as osseous tissues alignment towered in his work, top portray his renaissance classics as incomparable. It is recorded after a critical scrutiny of that even in the twenty-first century, the abilities Michelangelo showed in art remain to be unmatched. Just like any towering artists, the work of Michelangelo was very influential that it attracted tens of hundreds of copying and imitation not only in the Renaissance era but also centuries later so that his work resulted in a movement which was referred to as the Mannerism. Before the Baroque art came into phase, 1520 to the 1580 late Renaissance art was characterized by the Mannerist painters, who had a phenomenal tendency of elongating the human body sculptures to portray magnificent art of the time. Before the influence brought by Michelangelo in the art industry, the dark ages sculptures were limited in ideas, as the commonly delivered human portraits exclusively composed of out of proportion and flat looking sculptures. The skills Michelangelo showed in his work are indispensable, and a lot of artwork in the present day works is broadly evident. Therefore, it remains indisputable that Michelangelo was capable of not only influencing the arts of the Renaissance era, but also those in the times beyond, as well as the culmination of the humanist movement of the then times that mirrored his art and sculpture. Out of principled critical observation and scrutiny based on reason, it can thus be argued that if Michelangelo were not part of the renaissance period, then the transition would not have been as magnificent, instrumental, influential, and impactful as it were, both in continental Europe and beyond. Well into the present day western world, Michelangelo art, and sculpture had the palpable sparks that touched the nerves of both the then and the modern societies, since the Renaissance, across the centuries to date.







































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