How Did Michelangelo Buonarroti Influence Art

Michelangelo Buonarroti was nicknamed, “Father and Master of the Arts”, and the name could not apply more. Michelangelo’s paintings, sculptures, and architecture are some of the most famous ever created. Michelangelo was one of the greatest and most influential artists of the Italian Renaissance.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. A few weeks after he was born, his family moved to Florence, which later in life, he would call his original home. From an early age, Michelangelo showed an interest in art. In 1488, Domenico Ghirlandaio began to apprentice Michelangelo. Ghirlandaio was a well-known painter in Italy at the time, and Michelangelo showed great promise. It was under Ghirlandaio’s apprenticeship,

This sculpture, known as “Pieta”, is still admired today in the present location of Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Another statue created by Michelangelo was created between the years of 1501 and 1504. Michelangelo had taken over sculpting the statue of “David”, after two earlier sculptors had abandoned the project. Shortly after being sculpted, “David”, had become the symbol of Florence. Instead of being installed in the Cathedral of Florence, as originally planned, “David”, was installed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. Today, the statue of “David”, stands in Florence’s Accademia

When Pope Julius ll asked Michelangelo to switch from sculpting to painting, Michelangelo agreed. This switch led to the decoration of the Sistine Chapel. After the work had to be removed completely, when a fungus was found in the plaster, Michelangelo completely recreated his original work alone. The decoration of the Sistine Chapel was a masterpiece, and influenced many later styles of works of art, including some of the works of one of Michelangelo’s rival painters, Raphael.

After painting the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo focused on architecture. He worked on Julius ll’s tomb, after continually being interrupted by the pope. He also designed and created the Medici Chapel and Laurentian Library, which was created to hold the Medici book collection. Michelangelo’s greatest accomplishment in the field of architecture was becoming chief architect of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Later in his life, Michelangelo began taking on literature and poetry. Michelangelo was devoted to a widow named Vittoria Colonna. He had written over three hundred poems and sonnets for, and about her. Some of these poems include, “To Vittoria Colonna”, “Loves Justification”, and “Celestial