art history, artwork review

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovica di Leonardo Buonarroti-Simoni, an important sculptor, painter, architect and poet in the Italian Renaissance, was born on March 6, 1475, in the village of Caprese, 100 km from Florence. He was the second child of a family of five children. His mother died when Michelangelo was only 6 years old. The village of Settignano, where he spent his childhood, was known for its quarries and stone carvings. Michelangelo was entrusted to a wet nurse immediately after his birth. His wet nurse's wife was also a stone carver. This must be the reason why Michelangelo became interested in this craft at an early age. . . But he wanted to be a sculptor, not a stonemason. His father is even said to have beaten him to concentrate on learning a "business" rather than art. But he spent his spare time visiting the painters' workshops and improving his drawing skills. Inspired by artists such as Brunelleschi, Masaccio and Donatello, he did not give up in the face of family pressure and followed his ambition to become a sculptor. At the age of twelve, Michelangelo took a job in the workshop of Florentine fresco painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. There he completed his apprenticeship and was then offered to work at the Medici sculpture school. Working in the garden of San Marco, Michelangelo met Lorenzo de' Medici and began to live with them. After 4 years with the Medici, he is shaken by the death of Lorenzo de' Medici. In 1494, the Medici family were expelled from Florence, and Michelangelo left Florence for Venice and Bologna. But not finding what he was looking for, he returned to Florence and began taking orders. He started to make a name for himself with successful works such as Sleeping Cupid (1496) and Bacchus (1496-7), and gained fame with the Pieta (1498-9). Then, when he was only 26 years old, the statue of "David" (1501-4) was ordered from him to be placed at the entrance of the Palazzo della Signoria. His two unfinished paintings, The Manchester Madonna and The Entombment, are his first paintings to show his talent in tempera and oil painting. Since childhood, he wanted to be a sculptor, not a painter. Although his paintings were extraordinary masterpieces, he defined himself as a sculptor and wanted to be known as such. She saw painting as a less skilled, worthless job for women. He saw Leonardo da Vinci as his rival. They made drawings and copies of each other's work. They were even invited to paint a mural at the Salon Dei Cinquecento, but neither painting was completed. Pope II in 1508. Julius commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Intellectuals around the Medici were concerned with Humanism and Neoplatonism. During his time with the Medici, he absorbed their philosophical and literary culture. The idea of ​​humanism was in conflict with the teachings of the church. Believing in the words of ancient thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle was regarded as a doctrine peculiar to pagan belief. As Michelangelo's knowledge and interest in these philosophical ideas increased, he also began to contradict his religious beliefs. He was the first artist whose biography was written while he was alive. He had two biographies written and published during his lifetime. His biographers were Giorgio Vasari and Ascanio Condivi, both of whom were friends. When examining a work of art, we must first ask these three questions; What do i see? How does it look? What does it mean? When we look at Michelangelo's works, we may think that we are lost in these questions and it may seem as if there is no answer for them. But the answers are almost hidden inside the works. BACCHUS(1496-1497), MUSEO NAZIONALE DEL BARGELLO, FLORENCE, 2M, MARBLE When we first look at this statue, we see 2 figures. Both figures are naked. The tall prominent figure is holding a mug in his hand. The small figure we see to the side resembles a child or a dwarf. His legs are like those of an animal, and he holds a bunch of grapes in his hand, which he puts in his mouth. When we look at the expression on the face of the tall figure, we can see that his mouth is open and he is stuck between focusing on something in surprise and not being able to focus. He carries vine leaves and grapes on his head. A small half-animal half-human figure; smiling at something. It looks like he's hiding behind the big figure. The figure holding a cup in his hand, Bacchus, as we know from Ancient Rome, is the god of wine. There is wine in the mug he is holding in his hand, and the expression on his face expresses drunkenness to us. The relaxed demeanor on his body makes him look depraved and rambling. We understand that the next figure is a satyr. Satyrs are voluptuous forest creatures with goat-eared, goat-legged, tail, and mythology. Satir smiles at us in a cheeky and nasty way as she eats the grape in her hand. We can say that these two cheeky and immoral duos seem to be in cooperation. . . PIETA ( 1498–1499 ) SAN PİETRO BASILICA, VATICAN 174x195, MARBLE There are two figures in the Pieta statue. A woman and a man; The woman is sitting, wearing a loose-fitting dress. The man is lying on the woman's lap and has only a piece of cloth on it. Here we see a dynamic composition. When we look at the portraits, it is not difficult to understand her expressions, the woman is thoughtful and in pain. The male figure's soul has already left his body, but he seems at peace. The male figure appears to be Jesus because he bears the mark of the nail from the cross on his hands and feet. Woman looking up with her left hand; Meryem is with her son in her last hour. In a Neoplatonic interpretation, Michelangelo reflected the immortal beauty of Jesus not only in his physical body but also in his soul. DAVUT (1501-1504) GALLERIA DELL'ACADEMİA, FLORENCE 5. 17M MARBLE At first glance we see a man standing on a pedestal. The man is naked, holding a stone in his right hand and a slingshot in his left. He has an angry expression on his face, his gaze is strained and his brows are furrowed. He has a very young and muscular body. His posture is very comfortable, his feet are firmly on the ground. Much larger than normal human sizes, the ideal one is depicted. This young man is most likely preparing for war. Equipped with the armor prepared for the war with Goliath in the Bible, perhaps he wanted to be equipped with God's protection here. He is facing his enemy, preparing to attack. THE CREATION OF ADEM (1508-1512) SISTINA CHAPEL, VATICAN, fresco We see many figures in this fresco, but there are three that stand out. We see one of the male figures stretched out and naked in a garden-like place, while the other male figure hangs in the air in a light white tunic. One of the figures is young and the other is a rather old, long-haired bearded man. We can understand that the naked woman is under the arms of the old man. The body of the young man lying on the ground looks very weak despite his muscles. He barely raises his outstretched arm. The composition before us is quite dynamic. Bodies are anatomically disproportionate and unique, idealized and depicted in body and movement. We think that this fresco is trying to describe the moment just before God created Adam. The description of Adam's creation as a breath of life in the Bible is intended to be explained here as a touch. The young man, Adam, lying on the ground, waiting to come to life. PAPA II. TOMB OF JULIUS, MOSES DETAIL(1513-1516), SAN PIETRO, ROME, 2, 3M, MARBLE At first glance, we see a seated male figure in this work. It's like trying to portray an ideal body that is quite muscular. He holds stone tablets in his right hand. His left foot is slightly extended back. There are clothes on it that we saw in ancient times. Although the figure is in a static position in motion, the composition is as dynamic as possible when we look at it as a whole. Looking at the horns on his head, we can tell that it is a depiction of Moses in a mistranslation of the Bible. Moses stands out with his majesty and majesty. DUE DAILY, JESUS ​​AND THE VIRGIN MARY DETAIL (1538-1541) SISTINA CHAPEL, VATICAN, fresco Two figures that we see in the center come forward, a woman and a man, they are above the clouds. There is a white fabric covering part of the male's body. The woman is dressed in a red and blue dress, with a veil on her head. We can say that the young man has a muscular body. There are too many people around them. We can see the woman snuggling into the young man, watching the people around him. We can understand from the expression on the man's face that he is angry and that the people around him look at them with amazement and anger. One of them even has a knife in his hand. The young man may be preparing to make a move with his right arm to defend himself. This composition, which is quite impressive, approaches us from a dynamic and idealistic perspective. From the holes in the feet of the young man in this picture and the cluster of light behind him, Hz. We understand that it is Jesus. Next to her, we see her mother, Meryem, in red and blue, who has returned to counsel the damned who are descending into the underworld. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was one of the most important masters of the Italian High Renaissance. Michelangelo, whom his contemporaries called Il Divino (the legend), played a large role in the emergence of Mannerism. He died at the age of 89 after hundreds of works such as Bacchus, Pieta, David, The Creation of Adam, Moses, and the Laurentian Library.