What influence did Michelangelo have on renaissance art and modern western society ?
Michelangelo had an unparalleled influence on the renaissance. A master of both painting and sculpting, he was also an architect, engineer and poet. His abilities as a painter and sculptor were unsurpassed in his day. While many artists studied under him and assisted him with the painting of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, none equaled him as an artist.
At the young age of 17, Michelangelo began dissected corpses at the local church graveyard to gain a deeper understanding of the human body1. Examining corpses was strictly banned by the church so Michelangelo's activities were illegal, nevertheless the understanding he had of the human body and its proportions were critical to his success as a sculptor and artist. Michelangelo's incredibly realistic sculptures depicted finely chiseled veins,wrinkles, muscles, bones and nerves. Such skill was and is still unsurpassed in the 21st century. Michelangelo's life-like sculptures and painting were widely influential to renaissance artists, His art was copied and imitated by many artists and eventually developed into its own art movement called Mannerism 2. Mannerist painters exaggerated and elongated the human bodies proportions. From around 1520 to 1580, during the late renaissance, Mannerism was very popular until Baroque art came into fashion. Before Michelangelo, artists depictions of the human body during the dark ages were quite one dimensional, flat looking and out of proportion3. In modern western art, Michelangelo's ability to sculpt the human body out of marble with such precision and sophistication is still unmatched but his realistic approach to sculpture and painting can be seen in many modern works of art.
Michelangelo was strongly inspired and influenced by ancient Greek and Roman art 4. During the dark ages, European medieval art was exclusively based on Christian themes, due to the lacking number of artists, many artistic techniques and knowledge was lost during this era. Although Michelangelo was a devout Catholic, he revived ancient Greek and Roman aspects of art and in doing so he inspired other artists to paint more secular art instead of traditional christian scenes5. This impacted on the humanist movement during the renaissance. What Michelangelo did differently to his predecessors and peers was that he made a hero out of man instead of god. His famous sculpture of the biblical figure 'David' is a renaissance interpretation of an ancient greek theme of a male hero standing nude.6No artist had ever attempted this style of sculpture, on such a large scale since ancient times. David has a muscular body displaying strength, his posture is powerful and authoritarian, his face is frowning and neck is tense, he appears to be psychologically preparing himself for battle ahead of him. Unlike earlier artistic interpretations of David where he is portrayed winning victory over the goliath, his gaze is directed at the city of Rome. At the time this sculpture was completed in 1504, Michaelangelo's home of city of Florence had hit hard times. The leader of the city-state, Girolamo Savonarola had been burned at the stake for challenging Pope Alexander VI and Florence faced numerous threats made by Rome and other countries abroad.7 Florence needed symbol of defiance to Rome and an identity. David symbolised this resistance perfectly and was put on public display in the town square of the Palazzo Vecchio – Florence's town hall. David was a magnificent art work in its day and in western society today. The statue is one of the most enduring icons of the renaissance
and has been countlessly reproduced,imitated,parodied and reinterpreted in modern art and pop culture8. 'David' will forever be one of the greatest humanist statements of the renaissance period.
Michelangelo was known to dislike painting and did not regard himself as a painter, as he much preferred the medium of sculpture9. Nevertheless he singlehandedly painted the entire ceiling and alter wall of the Sistine chapel in Vatican city, 1508.10 In a mere four years, he had painted over 400 life-sized biblical figures using the difficult medium of fresco painting, all whilst lying on his back on high scaffolding. These facts alone are incredibly impressive but what what is more impressive is the degree of sophistication and detail he put into every single one of the numerous biblical scenes. He painted in a similar way to how he sculpted, all the bodies were muscular, proportional and life like. His techniques of painting was far more advanced than medieval christian art during the dark ages. By painting the Sistine chapel, Michelangelo revolutionised European art. The most well known painting in the chapel is 'The Creation of Adam'. This fresco painting depicts Gods creation of man. The highly original composition of the painting shows Adam in a reclining position on a featureless, barren earth with God reaching forward towards him, almost touching finger tips. This composition has been interpreted to mean that Adam is physically alive but God is about to endow Adam with knowledge and a soul to truly become alive. The pose of Adam and God almost touching has become iconic in modern western society, as the subject of many parodies and imitations in pop culture and is one of the single most enduring images of humanity.The identity of the woman next to God is questionable but commonly believed to be either Eve or Mary. Not much attention was ever given to the minor figures in the painting or the background. In recent times however, it has been discovered that the red cloak floating behind God and his fellow figures is the shape of an anatomically correct brain. Michelangelo was a Catholic, but he was also a scientific man and had a deep understanding of the human anatomy due to his study of human corpses. A study conducted at John Hopkins University found that the outline of the cloak almost perfectly lines up with a diagram of the brain11. It cannot be a coincidence that Michelangelo painted a human brain behind the Figure of God, but what were his intentions and motives behind his actions ? Art critics and historians are still conflicted about the meaning of the brain, some theories include that it is a clever suggestion that God is about to endow Adam with knowledge or a message that tells us God was created in the human brain. Michaelangelo may have been working for the pope but he still influenced humanism during the renaissance due to his incorporation of ancient greek and roman themes as well as scientific elements.
To conclude, Michaelangelo exerted a huge amount of influence upon artists of his time and well into modern times, as well as supporting the humanist movement of the renaissance through his sculpture and art. The renaissance period would have failed to be as revolutionary as it was in Italy and the rest of Europe if he was not apart of the movement. His impact on the renaissance influenced art and society for centuries afterwards, well into modern western society today.
1http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
2http://emptyeasel.com/2007/11/06/what-was-mannerism-who-were-the-mannerists-an-intro-to-16th-century-art/
3http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753904
4http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
5http://100swallows.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/michelangelo-the-humanist/
6http://www.italyguides.it/us/florence/michelangelo_david.htm
7http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/booksandartsdaily/4794208
8http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/david_a.html
9http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
10http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
11http://inventorspot.com/articles/michaelangelo_painted_brain_gods_head
Michelangelo had an unparalleled influence on the renaissance. A master of both painting and sculpting, he was also an architect, engineer and poet. His abilities as a painter and sculptor were unsurpassed in his day. While many artists studied under him and assisted him with the painting of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, none equaled him as an artist.
At the young age of 17, Michelangelo began dissected corpses at the local church graveyard to gain a deeper understanding of the human body1. Examining corpses was strictly banned by the church so Michelangelo's activities were illegal, nevertheless the understanding he had of the human body and its proportions were critical to his success as a sculptor and artist. Michelangelo's incredibly realistic sculptures depicted finely chiseled veins,wrinkles, muscles, bones and nerves. Such skill was and is still unsurpassed in the 21st century. Michelangelo's life-like sculptures and painting were widely influential to renaissance artists, His art was copied and imitated by many artists and eventually developed into its own art movement called Mannerism 2. Mannerist painters exaggerated and elongated the human bodies proportions. From around 1520 to 1580, during the late renaissance, Mannerism was very popular until Baroque art came into fashion. Before Michelangelo, artists depictions of the human body during the dark ages were quite one dimensional, flat looking and out of proportion3. In modern western art, Michelangelo's ability to sculpt the human body out of marble with such precision and sophistication is still unmatched but his realistic approach to sculpture and painting can be seen in many modern works of art.
Michelangelo was strongly inspired and influenced by ancient Greek and Roman art 4. During the dark ages, European medieval art was exclusively based on Christian themes, due to the lacking number of artists, many artistic techniques and knowledge was lost during this era. Although Michelangelo was a devout Catholic, he revived ancient Greek and Roman aspects of art and in doing so he inspired other artists to paint more secular art instead of traditional christian scenes5. This impacted on the humanist movement during the renaissance. What Michelangelo did differently to his predecessors and peers was that he made a hero out of man instead of god. His famous sculpture of the biblical figure 'David' is a renaissance interpretation of an ancient greek theme of a male hero standing nude.6No artist had ever attempted this style of sculpture, on such a large scale since ancient times. David has a muscular body displaying strength, his posture is powerful and authoritarian, his face is frowning and neck is tense, he appears to be psychologically preparing himself for battle ahead of him. Unlike earlier artistic interpretations of David where he is portrayed winning victory over the goliath, his gaze is directed at the city of Rome. At the time this sculpture was completed in 1504, Michaelangelo's home of city of Florence had hit hard times. The leader of the city-state, Girolamo Savonarola had been burned at the stake for challenging Pope Alexander VI and Florence faced numerous threats made by Rome and other countries abroad.7 Florence needed symbol of defiance to Rome and an identity. David symbolised this resistance perfectly and was put on public display in the town square of the Palazzo Vecchio – Florence's town hall. David was a magnificent art work in its day and in western society today. The statue is one of the most enduring icons of the renaissance
and has been countlessly reproduced,imitated,parodied and reinterpreted in modern art and pop culture8. 'David' will forever be one of the greatest humanist statements of the renaissance period.
Michelangelo was known to dislike painting and did not regard himself as a painter, as he much preferred the medium of sculpture9. Nevertheless he singlehandedly painted the entire ceiling and alter wall of the Sistine chapel in Vatican city, 1508.10 In a mere four years, he had painted over 400 life-sized biblical figures using the difficult medium of fresco painting, all whilst lying on his back on high scaffolding. These facts alone are incredibly impressive but what what is more impressive is the degree of sophistication and detail he put into every single one of the numerous biblical scenes. He painted in a similar way to how he sculpted, all the bodies were muscular, proportional and life like. His techniques of painting was far more advanced than medieval christian art during the dark ages. By painting the Sistine chapel, Michelangelo revolutionised European art. The most well known painting in the chapel is 'The Creation of Adam'. This fresco painting depicts Gods creation of man. The highly original composition of the painting shows Adam in a reclining position on a featureless, barren earth with God reaching forward towards him, almost touching finger tips. This composition has been interpreted to mean that Adam is physically alive but God is about to endow Adam with knowledge and a soul to truly become alive. The pose of Adam and God almost touching has become iconic in modern western society, as the subject of many parodies and imitations in pop culture and is one of the single most enduring images of humanity.The identity of the woman next to God is questionable but commonly believed to be either Eve or Mary. Not much attention was ever given to the minor figures in the painting or the background. In recent times however, it has been discovered that the red cloak floating behind God and his fellow figures is the shape of an anatomically correct brain. Michelangelo was a Catholic, but he was also a scientific man and had a deep understanding of the human anatomy due to his study of human corpses. A study conducted at John Hopkins University found that the outline of the cloak almost perfectly lines up with a diagram of the brain11. It cannot be a coincidence that Michelangelo painted a human brain behind the Figure of God, but what were his intentions and motives behind his actions ? Art critics and historians are still conflicted about the meaning of the brain, some theories include that it is a clever suggestion that God is about to endow Adam with knowledge or a message that tells us God was created in the human brain. Michaelangelo may have been working for the pope but he still influenced humanism during the renaissance due to his incorporation of ancient greek and roman themes as well as scientific elements.
To conclude, Michaelangelo exerted a huge amount of influence upon artists of his time and well into modern times, as well as supporting the humanist movement of the renaissance through his sculpture and art. The renaissance period would have failed to be as revolutionary as it was in Italy and the rest of Europe if he was not apart of the movement. His impact on the renaissance influenced art and society for centuries afterwards, well into modern western society today.
1http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
2http://emptyeasel.com/2007/11/06/what-was-mannerism-who-were-the-mannerists-an-intro-to-16th-century-art/
3http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753904
4http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
5http://100swallows.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/michelangelo-the-humanist/
6http://www.italyguides.it/us/florence/michelangelo_david.htm
7http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/booksandartsdaily/4794208
8http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/david_a.html
9http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
10http://www.michelangelo.com/buon/bio-index2.html
11http://inventorspot.com/articles/michaelangelo_painted_brain_gods_head