Michelangelo autobiography. The only masterpiece of a genius with his autograph. The main stages of Michelangelo's work

Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni (Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni) - the most famous painter from Italy, a genius of architectural and sculptural works, a thinker High Renaissance and the early Baroque period. 9 of the 13 popes who were on the throne during the time of Michelangelo invited a master to carry out work in and.

Little Michelangelo was born in the early morning of March 6, 1475, Monday, into the family of the bankrupt banker and nobleman Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni in the Tuscan town of Caprese, near the province of Arezzo, where his father held the position of podestà ), head of the Italian medieval administration.

Family and childhood

Two days after his birth, on March 8, 1475, the boy was baptized in the Church of San Giovanni di Caprese. Michelangelo was the 2nd child in a large family. Mother, Francesca Neri del Miniato Siena, gave birth to her first son Lionardo in 1473, Buonarroto was born in 1477, and fourth son Giovansimone was born in 1479. in 1481 the younger Gismondo was born. Exhausted by frequent pregnancies, the woman dies in 1481, when Michelangelo was barely 6 years old.

In 1485, the father of a large family married for the second time to Lucrezia Ubaldini di Galliano, who was unable to give birth to her own children and raised adopted boys as her own. Unable to cope with the large family, his father gave Michelangelo to the Topolino foster family in the city of Settignano. The father of the new family worked as a stonemason, and his wife knew the child from childhood, as she was Michelangelo’s wet nurse. It was there that the boy began working with clay and picked up a chisel for the first time.

To give his heir an education, Michelangelo's father sent him to the educational institution of Francesco Galatea da Urbino, located in Firenze. But he turned out to be an unimportant student; the boy liked to draw more, copying icons and frescoes.

First works

In 1488 young painter achieves his goal and goes to study in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio, where he learns the basics of drawing techniques for a whole year. During his year of study, Michelangelo created several pencil copies of famous paintings and a copy of an engraving by the German painter Martin Schongauer entitled “Tormento di Sant’Antonio”.

In 1489, the young man was enrolled in the art school of Bertoldo di Giovanni, organized under the patronage of (Lorenzo Medici), the ruler of Florence. Noticing the genius of Michelangelo, the Medici took him under his protection, helping him develop his abilities and fulfill expensive orders.

In 1490, Michelangelo continued his studies at the Academy of Humanism at the Medici court, where he met the philosophers Marsilio Ficino and Angelo Ambrogini, the future Popes: Leo PP. X and Clement VII (Clemens PP. VII). During 2 years of study at the Academy, Michelangelo creates:

• Marble relief of the “Madonna of the Staircase” (“Madonna della scala”), 1492, is exhibited in the Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence;
• Marble relief "Battle of the Centaurs" ("Battaglia dei centauri"), 1492, exhibited in Casa Buonarroti;
• Sculpture by Bertoldo di Giovanni.

On April 8, 1492, the influential patron of talent, Lorenzo de' Medici, dies, and Michelangelo decides to return to his father's house.

In 1493, with the permission of the rector of the church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito, he studied anatomy on corpses at the church hospital. In gratitude for this, the master makes for the priest a wooden “Crucifix” (“Crocifisso di Santo Spirito”), 142 cm in height, which is now displayed in the church in the side chapel.

In Bologna

In 1494, Michelangelo left Florence, not wanting to participate in the Savonarola uprising (Savonarola) and went to (Bologna), where he immediately took on the task of completing an order of 3 small figurines for the tomb of St. Dominic (San Domenico) in the church of the same name “St. Dominic” (“Chiesa di San Domenico”):

• “Angel with a candelabra” (“Angelo reggicandelabro”), 1495;
• “Saint Petronio” (“San Petronio”), patron saint of Bologna, 1495;
• "Saint Proclus" ("San Procolo"), Italian warrior-saint, 1495

In Bologna, the sculptor learns to create difficult reliefs by observing the actions of Jacopo della Quercia in the Basilica of San Petronio. Elements of this work would be reproduced by Michelangelo later on the ceiling ("Cappella Sistina").

Florence and Rome

In 1495, the 20-year-old master again came to Florence, where power was in the hands of Girolamo Savonarola, but did not receive any orders from the new rulers. He returns to the Medici Palace and begins working for Lorenzo’s heir, Pierfrancesco di Lorenzo de’ Medici, creating for him the now lost statues:

• “John the Baptist” (“San Giovannino”), 1496;
• “Sleeping Cupid” (“Cupido dormiente”), 1496

Lorenzo asked the last statue to be aged; he wanted to sell the work of art at a higher price, passing it off as an antique find. But Cardinal Raffaele Riario, who purchased the fake, discovered the deception, however, impressed by the work of the author, he did not make claims against him, inviting him to work in Rome.

June 25, 1496 Michelangelo arrives in Rome, where in 3 years he creates greatest masterpieces: marble sculptures of the god of wine Bacchus (Bacco) and (Pietà).

Heritage

Throughout his subsequent life, Michelangelo repeatedly worked in Rome and Florence, fulfilling the most labor-intensive orders of the Popes.

Creation genius master manifested itself not only in sculptures, but also in painting and architecture, leaving many unsurpassed masterpieces. Unfortunately, some works have not reached our time: some were lost, others were deliberately destroyed. In 1518, the sculptor for the first time destroyed all the sketches for painting Sistine Chapel(Cappella Sistina), and 2 days before his death, he again ordered his unfinished drawings to be burned so that his descendants would not see his creative torment.

Personal life

It is not known for certain whether Michelangelo had a close relationship with his passions or not, but the homosexual nature of his attraction is evident in many of the maestro’s poetic works.

At the age of 57, he dedicated many of his sonnets and madrigals to the 23-year-old Tommaso dei Cavalieri(Tommaso Dei Cavalieri). Many of their joint poetic works speak of mutual and touching love to each other.

In 1542, Michelangelo met Cecchino de Bracci, who died in 1543. The Maestro was so saddened by the loss of his friend that he wrote a cycle of 48 sonnets, praising grief and sadness over an irreparable loss.

One of the young men posing for Michelangelo, Febo di Poggio, constantly asked the master for money, gifts and jewelry in exchange for reciprocated love, receiving the nickname “little blackmailer” for this.

The second young man, Gherardo Perini, also posing for the sculptor, did not hesitate to take advantage of Michelangelo’s favor and simply robbed his admirer.

In his twilight years, the sculptor felt a wonderful sense of affection for a female representative, the widow and poetess Vittoria Colonna, whom he had known for more than 40 years. Their correspondence constitutes a significant monument of Michelangelo's era.

Death

Michelangelo's life was interrupted on February 18, 1564 in Rome. He died in the presence of a servant, doctors and friends, having managed to dictate his will, promising the Lord his soul, the earth his body, and his relatives his property. A tomb was built for the sculptor, but two days after his death the body was temporarily transported to the Basilica of Santi Apostoli, and in July he was buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in the center of Florence.

Painting

Despite the fact that the main manifestation of Michelangelo's genius was the creation of sculptures, he has many masterpieces of painting. According to the author, high-quality paintings should resemble sculptures and reflect the volume and relief of the presented images.

“The Battle of Cascina” (“Battaglia di Cascina”) was created by Michelangelo in 1506 for painting one of the walls of the Great Council Hall in the Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico) commissioned by the gonfaloniere Pier Soderini. But the work remained unfinished, since the author was summoned to Rome.

On a huge cardboard in the premises of the Sant’Onofrio hospital, the artist masterfully depicted soldiers in a hurry to stop swimming in the Arno River. The bugle from the camp called them to battle and the men in a hurry grab their weapons, armor, pull clothes over their wet bodies, while helping their comrades. The cardboard housed in the Papal Hall became a school for artists such as Antonio da Sangallo, Raffaello Santi, Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio, Francesco Granacci, and later Andrea del Sarto del Sarto), Jacopo Sansovino, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Perino del Vaga and others. They came to work and copied from a unique canvas, trying to get closer to the talent of the great master. The cardboard has not survived to this day.

“Madonna Doni” or “Holy Family” (Tondo Doni) - a round painting with a diameter of 120 cm is exhibited in (Galleria degli Uffizi) in Florence. Made in 1507 in the “Cangiante” style, when the skin of the depicted characters resembles marble. Most of the picture is occupied by the figure of the Mother of God, with John the Baptist behind her. They are holding the Christ child in their arms. The work is filled with complex symbolism, subject to various interpretations.

Manchester Madonna

The unfinished “Manchester Madonna” (Madonna di Manchester) was executed in 1497 on a wooden board and is kept in the National Gallery in London. The first title of the painting was “Madonna and Child, John the Baptist and Angels,” but in 1857 it was first presented to the public at an exhibition in Manchester, receiving its second title, by which it is known today.

Entombment (Deposizione di Cristo nel sepolcro) was executed in 1501 in oil on wood. Another unfinished work by Michelangelo, owned by the London National Gallery. The main figure of the work was the body of Jesus taken from the cross. His followers carry their teacher to the grave. Presumably, John the Evangelist is depicted to the left of Christ in red clothes. Other characters could be: Nikodim and Joseph of Arimathea. On the left, Mary Magdalene is kneeling in front of the teacher, and on the bottom right, the image of the Mother of God is outlined, but not drawn.

Madonna and Child

The sketch “Madonna and Child” (Madonna col Bambino) was made between 1520 and 1525 and can easily turn into a full-fledged painting in the hands of any artist. Kept in the Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence. First, on the first piece of paper, he drew the skeletons of future images, then on the second, he “increased” the muscles on the skeleton. Nowadays, working with great success has been exhibited in museums across America for the past three decades.

Leda and the swan

The lost painting “Leda and the Swan” (“Leda e il cigno”), created in 1530 for the Duke of Ferrara Alfonso I d’Este (Italian: Alfonso I d’Este) is known today only through copies. But the Duke did not get the painting; the nobleman sent to Michelangelo for the work commented on the master’s work: “Oh, this is nothing!” The artist kicked out the envoy and gave the masterpiece to his student Antonio Mini, whose two sisters were soon getting married. Antonio took the work to France, where it was bought by the monarch Francis I (François Ier). The painting belonged to the Château de Fontainebleau until it was destroyed in 1643 by François Sublet de Noyers, who considered the image too voluptuous.

Cleopatra

The painting “Cleopatra” from 1534 is an ideal female beauty. The work is interesting because on the other side of the sheet there is another sketch in black chalk, but it is so ugly that art historians have made the assumption that the author of the sketch belongs to one of the master’s students. Portrait Egyptian queen Michelangelo gave it to Tommaso dei Cavalieri. Perhaps Tommaso tried to paint one of the ancient statues, but the work was not crowned with success, then Michelangelo turned the page and turned the squalor into a masterpiece.

Venus and Cupid

The cardboard "Venere and Cupid", created in 1534, was used by the painter Jacopo Carucci to create the painting "Venus and Cupid". The oil painting on wood panel measures 1 m 28 cm by 1 m 97 cm and is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. ABOUT The original of Michelangelo's work has not survived to this day.

Pieta

The drawing “Pietà per Vittoria Colonna” was written in 1546 for Michelangelo’s friend, the poetess Vittoria Colonna. The chaste woman not only dedicated her work to God and the church, but also forced the artist to penetrate deeper into the spirit of religion. It was to her that the master dedicated a series of religious drawings, among which was “Pieta”.

Michelangelo repeatedly wondered if he was competing with God himself in an attempt to achieve perfection in art. The work is kept in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Epiphany

The sketch “Epiphany” (“Epifania”) is a grandiose work by the artist, completed in 1553. It was made on 26 sheets of paper with a height of 2 m 32 cm 7 mm after much thought (multiple traces of changes in the sketch are noticeable on the paper). In the center of the composition is the Virgin Mary, who with her left hand pushes Saint Joseph away from her. At the feet of the Mother of God is the baby Jesus, in front of Joseph is the baby St. John. On Mary’s right hand there is a figure of a man, unidentified by art historians. The work is exhibited in British Museum(British Museum) in London.

Sculptures

Today, 57 works belonging to Michelangelo are known, about 10 sculptures have been lost. The master did not sign his work and cultural workers continue to “find” more and more new works by the sculptor.

Bacchus

The sculpture of the drunken god of wine made of Bacchus marble, 2 m 3 cm high, is depicted in 1497 with a glass of wine in his hand and with bunches of grapes, symbolizing the hair on his head. He is accompanied by a goat-legged satyr. The customer for one of Michelangelo's first masterpieces was Cardinal Raffaele della Rovere, who subsequently refused to take the work back. In 1572, the statue was bought by the Medici family. Today it is exhibited in the Italian Bargello Museum in Florence.

Roman Pieta

Order to paint a ceiling with an area of ​​about 600 sq. m. “Sistine Chapel” (“Sacellum Sixtinum”), Pope Julius II (Iulius PP. II) gave the Apostolic Palace to the master after their reconciliation. Before this, Michelangelo lived in Florence, he was angry with the pope, who refused to pay for the construction of his own tomb.

Previously, the talented sculptor had never worked on frescoes, but he completed the order of the royal person in as soon as possible, painting the ceiling with three hundred figures and nine scenes from the Bible.

Creation of Adam

“The Creation of Adam” (“La creazione di Adamo”) is the most famous and beautiful fresco of the chapel, completed in 1511. One of the central compositions is full of symbolism and hidden meaning. God the Father, surrounded by angels, is depicted flying into infinity. He reaches out his hand to meet Adam's outstretched hand, breathing the soul into the ideal human body.

Last Judgment

The Last Judgment fresco (“Giudizio universale”) is the largest fresco of Michelangelo’s era. The master worked on the image measuring 13 m 70 cm by 12 m for 6 years, finishing it in 1541. In the center is the figure of Christ with his right hand raised up. He is no longer a messenger of peace, but a formidable judge. Next to Jesus were the apostles: Saint Peter, Saint Lawrence, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Sebastian and others.

The dead look at the judge with horror, awaiting the verdict. Those saved by Christ are resurrected, but the sinners are carried away by the devil himself.

“The Universal Flood” is the first fresco painted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the chapel in 1512. The sculptor was helped to carry out this work by masters from Florence, but soon their work ceased to satisfy the maestro and he refused outside help. The image shows human fears in last moment life. Everything is already flooded with water, except for a few high hills, where people are desperately trying to avoid death.

“Libyan Sibyl” (“Libyan sibyl”) is one of the 5 depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the chapel. A graceful woman with a folio is presented half-turned. According to art historians, the artist copied the image of the Sibyl from a posing young man. According to legend, she was a dark-skinned African woman of average height. The maestro decided to portray a soothsayer with white skin and blond hair.

Separation of Light from Darkness

The fresco “The Separation of Light from Dark,” like other frescoes in the chapel, is filled with a riot of colors and emotions. The highest mind, full of love for all things, has such incredible power that Chaos is unable to prevent it from separating light from darkness. Giving to the Almighty human form says that every person has the power to create a small universe within himself, distinguishing between good and evil, light and darkness, knowledge and ignorance.

St. Peter's Cathedral

At the beginning of the 16th century, Michelangelo, as an architect, participated in the creation of the plan for St. Peter's Basilica together with the architect Donato Bramante. But the latter disliked Buonarroti and constantly plotted against his opponent.

Forty years later, the construction completely passed into the hands of Michelangelo, who returned to Bramante's plan, rejecting the plan of Giuliano da Sangallo. The maestro introduced more monumentality into the old plan when he abandoned the complex division of space. He also increased the dome pylons and simplified the shape of the half-domes. Thanks to innovations, the building acquired integrity, as if it were cut from one piece of material.

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Chapel Paolina

Michelangelo was able to begin painting the “Cappella Paolina” in the Apostolic Palace only in 1542 at the age of 67 years. Long work on the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel greatly undermined his health; inhaled fumes of paint and plaster led to general weakness and heart disease. The paint ruined his vision, the master hardly ate, did not sleep, and did not take off his boots for weeks. As a result, Buonarroti stopped work twice and returned to it again, creating two amazing frescoes.

“Conversion of the Apostle Paul” (“Conversione di Saulo”) - Michelangelo’s first fresco in the “Paolina Chapel” measuring 6 m 25 cm by 6 m 62 cm, completed in 1545. The Apostle Paul was considered the patron saint of Pope Paul III (Paulus PP III) . The author depicted a moment from the Bible, which describes how the Lord himself appeared to Saul as an implacable persecutor of Christians, turning the sinner into a preacher.

Crucifixion of Saint Peter

The fresco “Crucifixion of St. Peter” (“Crocifissione di San Pietro”) measuring 6 m 25 cm by 6 m 62 cm was completed by Michelangelo in 1550 and became the artist’s final painting. Saint Peter was sentenced to death by Emperor Nero, but the condemned man wished to be crucified upside down, since he did not consider himself worthy to accept death like Christ.

Many artists, depicting this scene, encountered misunderstandings. Michelangelo solved the problem by presenting the crucifixion scene before the erection of the cross.

Architecture

During the second half of his life, Michelangelo increasingly began to turn to architecture. During the construction of architectural monuments, the maestro successfully destroyed the old canons, putting into the work all the knowledge and skills accumulated over the years.

In the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Michelangelo worked not only on the Medici tombs. The church, built in 393 during reconstruction in the 15th century, was supplemented with the Old Sacristy according to the design of Filippo Brunelleschi.

Later, Michelangelo became the author of the project for the New Sacristy, built on the other side of the church. In 1524, by order of Clement VII (Clemens PP. VII), the architect designed and built the building of the Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) on the south side of the church. A complex staircase, floors and ceilings, windows and benches - every little detail was carefully thought out by the author.

“Porta Pia” is a gate in the northeast (Mura aureliane) in Rome on the ancient Via Nomentana. Michelangelo made three projects, of which the customer, Pope Pius IV (Pius PP. IV), approved the least expensive option, where the facade resembled a theater curtain.

The author did not live to see the construction of the gate completed. After the gate was partially destroyed by lightning in 1851, Pope Pius IX (Pius PP. IX) ordered its reconstruction, changing the original appearance of the building.

The titular basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri) is located on the Roman (Piazza della Repubblica) and was erected in honor of Our Lady, the holy martyrs and God's angels. Pope Pius IV entrusted the development of a construction plan to Michelangelo in 1561. The author of the project did not live to see the completion of the work, which occurred in 1566.

Poetry

The last three decades of Michelangelo's life were not only engaged in architecture; he wrote many madrigals and sonnets, which were not published during the author's lifetime. In poetry, he sang love, glorified harmony and described the tragedy of loneliness. Buonarroti's poems were first published in 1623. In total, about three hundred of his poems, just under 1,500 letters from personal correspondence and about three hundred pages of personal notes have survived.

1. Michelangelo's talent was evident in the fact that he saw his works before they were created. The master personally selected pieces of marble for future sculptures and himself transported them to the workshop. He always stored and treasured unprocessed blocks as finished masterpieces.
2. The future “David,” which appeared before Michelangelo as a huge piece of marble, turned out to be the sculpture that two previous masters had already abandoned. For 3 years the maestro worked on his masterpiece, presenting the naked “David” to the public in 1504.
3. At the age of 17, Michelangelo quarreled with 20-year-old Pietro Torrigiano, also an artist, who managed to break his opponent’s nose in a fight. Since then, in all the images of the sculptor he is presented with a disfigured face.
4. The “Pieta” in St. Peter’s Basilica impresses the audience so much that it has been repeatedly attacked by individuals with unstable psyches. In 1972, Australian geologist Laszlo Toth committed an act of vandalism by hitting the sculpture 15 times with a hammer. After this, the Pietà was placed behind glass.
5. The author's favorite sculptural composition, Pietà, “Lamentation of Christ,” turned out to be the only signed work. When the masterpiece was unveiled in St. Peter's Basilica, people began to speculate that its creator was Cristoforo Solari. Then Michelangelo, having made his way into the cathedral at night, embossed on the folds of the Mother of God’s clothing “Michelangelo Buonarotti, a Florentine sculpture,” but later he regretted his pride, never signing his works again.
6. While working on The Last Judgment, the master accidentally fell from high scaffolding, severely injuring his leg. He saw this as a bad omen and did not want to work anymore. The artist locked himself in the room, not letting anyone in and deciding to die. But the famous doctor and friend of Michelangelo, Baccio Rontini, wanted to cure the wayward stubborn man, and since the doors did not open for him, with great difficulty he made his way into the house through the cellar. The doctor forced Buonarroti to take medication and helped him recover.
7. The power of the master's art only gains strength over time. Over the past 4 years, more than a hundred people have sought medical help after visiting rooms with Michelangelo's works on display. Particularly impressive to viewers is the statue of a naked “David”, in front of which people have repeatedly lost consciousness. They complained of disorientation, dizziness, apathy and nausea. Doctors at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital call this emotional state “David syndrome.”

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Michelangelo Buonarroti ( full name- Michelangelo de Francesco de Neri de Miniato del Sera and Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni, (Italian: Michelangelo di Francesci di Neri di Miniato del Sera i Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni); 1475-1564) - Italian 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 lived for some time in the town of Settignano.

In 1488, Michelangelo's father came to terms with his son's inclinations and placed him as an apprentice in the studio of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. He studied there for one year. A year later, Michelangelo moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto master of Florence.

The Medici recognized Michelangelo's talent and patronized him. For some time, Michelangelo lived in the Medici Palace. After the death of the Medici in 1492, Michelangelo returned home.

In 1496, Cardinal Raphael Riario bought Michelangelo's marble "Cupid" and invited the artist to work in Rome.

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

Works

Michelangelo's genius left its mark not only on the art of the Renaissance, but also on all subsequent world culture. His activities are mainly related to two Italian cities- Florence and Rome. By the nature of his talent, he was primarily a sculptor. This is also felt in the master’s paintings, which are unusually rich in plasticity of movements, complex poses, and distinct and powerful sculpting of volumes. In Florence, Michelangelo created an immortal example of the High Renaissance - the statue “David” (1501-1504), which became the standard image of the human body for many centuries, in Rome - sculptural composition“Pieta” (1498-1499), one of the first incarnations of the figure of a dead man in plastic. However, the artist was able to realize his most ambitious plans precisely in painting, where he acted as a true innovator of color and form.

Commissioned by 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 a grandiose, dramatic fresco “The Last Judgment”. The architectural works of Michelangelo - the ensemble of the Capitol Square and the dome of the Vatican Cathedral in Rome - amaze with their beauty and grandeur.

The arts have reached such perfection in him that you will not find either among ancient or modern people over many, many years. He had such and such a perfect imagination, and the things that seemed to him in the idea were such that it was impossible to carry out such great and amazing plans with his hands, and he often abandoned his creations, moreover, he destroyed many; so, it is known that shortly before his death he burned large number drawings, sketches and cardboards created with his own hand, so that no one could see the labors he overcame, and the ways in which he tested his genius in order to show it as nothing less than perfect.

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

Notable works


* David. Marble. 1501-1504. Florence, Academy 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, Cathedral of St. Petra.

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

* Madonna of 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, National Bargello Museum.

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

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

* Dying slave. Marble. OK. 1513. Paris, Louvre.

*Winner 1530-1534

*Winner 1530-1534

*Rebellious slave 1513-1515. Louvre

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

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

* Creation of Adam

* SISTINE CHAPEL Last Judgment

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

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

*Medici Library, Laurentian staircase 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, poets composed about a hundred sonnets dedicated to these four statues. The most famous lines of Giovanni Strozzi dedicated to “Night”

This is the night that sleeps so peacefully,
Before you is the creation of an Angel,
She is made of stone, but there is breath in her,
Just wake her up and she'll talk.

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

It's nice to sleep, it's nicer to be a stone,
Oh, in this age, criminal and shameful,
Not living, not feeling is an enviable lot.
Please be quiet, don't you dare wake me up. (Translation by F.I. Tyutchev)

* Tomb of Duke Giuliano de' Medici. fragment

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

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

*Brutus. After 1539. Florence, National Bargello Museum

*Christ, cross bearer

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

*Crouching boy 1530-34 Hermitage, St. Petersburg

*Atlant. Marble. Between 1519, ca. 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, Michelangelo's last work 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 Basilica 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 storage National Museum design in New York, another drawing by the master was accidentally found. It was among the paintings of unknown Renaissance authors. On a sheet of paper measuring 45x25 cm, the artist depicted a menorah - a candlestick for seven candles.
Poetic creativity
Michelangelo is better known these days 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 fully manifested itself only towards the end of his life. Some of the great master’s poems were set to music and already during his lifetime gained considerable popularity, 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, Marchioness of Pescara, came to Rome, where this 47-year-old widow poetess earned the 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 alone befitted her role as a secular nun, her grief for her husband who died from his wounds and her philosophy of an afterlife reunion with him.” Your great platonic love he dedicated several of his most ardent sonnets, created drawings for her, and spent many hours in her company. The artist wrote “The Crucifixion” for her, which has come down to us in later copies. The ideas of religious renewal (see Reformation in Italy), which worried the participants in Vittoria’s circle, left a deep imprint on Michelangelo’s worldview in these years. Their reflection is seen, for example, in the fresco “The Last Judgment” 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 ardent 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 could hardly be called heterosexual: he called her “the man in the woman” (un uoma in una donna). His poems to her... are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the sonnets to the young man Tommaso Cavalieri; moreover, it is known that Michelangelo himself sometimes replaced the address “senior” with “signora” before releasing his poems to the people.” (In the future, his poems were once again censored by his great-nephew before publication).

Her departure to Orvieto and Viterbo in 1541 due to the revolt of her brother Ascanio Colonna against Paul III did not cause 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 Marquise of Pescara, falling in love with her divine spirit and receiving mad reciprocal love from her. He still keeps many of her letters, filled with the purest and sweetest feelings... He himself wrote many sonnets for her, talented and filled with sweet melancholy. Many times she left Viterbo and other places where she went for fun 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 upset him: when he came to look at her, already lifeless, he kissed only her hand, and not her forehead or face. Because of this death, he remained confused and, as it were, distraught for a long time."
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 a historical era and a rare example of a live 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 structure 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 guide. Their poetic “correspondence” attracted the attention of their contemporaries; perhaps the most famous was sonnet 60, which became the subject of special interpretation.” Records of conversations between Vittoria and Michelangelo, unfortunately heavily processed, were preserved in the diaries of Francesco d'Hollande, close to the spirituali circle.

POETRY
There is no more joyful and fun activity:
The golden braids of the flowers vied with each other
Touch your cute head
And kiss everywhere without exception!

And what a pleasure for the dress
Squeeze her waist and fall like a wave,
And how gratifying the golden grid
Embrace her cheeks!

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

And the clean belt, curling tenderly,
It’s as if he’s whispering: “I won’t part with her...”
Oh, how much work there is for my hands!

***
Do I dare, my treasure,
To exist without you is torment,
Are you deaf to pleas to soften the separation?
I no longer melt my sad heart
No exclamations, no sighs, no sobs,
To show you, Madonna, the oppression of suffering
And my death is not far away;
But so that fate then my service
I couldn’t get it out of your memory, -
I leave my heart to you as a pledge.

There are truths in the sayings of old,
And here’s one: he who can, does not want;
You listened, Signor, to the fact that the lies were chirping,
And the talkers are rewarded by you;

I am your servant: my works are given
You are like a ray of sunshine, even though it defames
Your anger is all that my ardor to do reads,
And all my suffering is unnecessary.

I thought that your greatness would take over
Me to you is not an echo for the chambers,
And the blade of judgment and the weight of wrath;

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

***
He who created everything also created the parts -
And then I chose the best one,
So that here you can show us the miracle of your deeds,
Worthy of his high power...

***
Night

It’s sweet for me to sleep, and even more so - to be a stone,
When there is shame and crime all around;
Do not feel, do not see relief,
Shut up, friend, why wake me up?

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

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

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, a city councilor. The father was not rich, and the income from his small property 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 Scarpelino from the same village, called Settignano. There, raised by the Topolino couple, the boy learned to knead clay and wield a chisel before he could read and write. In 1488, Michelangelo's father came to terms with his son's inclinations and placed him as an apprentice in the workshop. Thus began the flowering of genius.

Today we present to you a selection of the most interesting facts about the Italian sculptor, one of the greatest masters of the Renaissance - Michelangelo Buonarroti.

1) According to the American edition of The New York Times, although Michelangelo often complained about losses and was often spoken of as a poor man, in 1564, when he died, his fortune was equal to tens of millions of dollars in modern equivalent.

2) Distinctive feature Michelangelo's work is a nude human figure, executed in the smallest details and striking in its naturalism. However, at the beginning of his career, the sculptor did not know the features of the human body so well. And he had to learn them. He did this in the monastery morgue, where he examined dead people and their insides.

3) Many of his caustic judgments about the works of other artists have reached us. Here, for example, is how he responded to someone’s painting depicting grief over Christ: “ It's truly sad to look at her" Another creator, who painted a picture where the bull turned out best, received the following comment from Michelangelo about his work: “ Every artist paints himself well».

4) One of the greatest works is the vault of the Sistine Chapel, on which he worked for 4 years. The work consists of individual frescoes, which together represent a huge composition on the ceiling of the building. Michelangelo kept the whole picture as a whole and its individual parts in his head. There were no preliminary sketches, etc. During his work, he did not let anyone into the room, not even the Pope.

"Lamentation of Christ", Michelangelo Buonarotti. St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican.

5) When Michelangelo completed his first “Pieta” and it was exhibited in St. Peter’s Basilica (at that time Michelangelo was only 24 years old), the author heard rumors that people attributed this work to another sculptor - Cristoforo Solari. Then Michelangelo carved on the belt of the Virgin Mary: “This was done by the Florentine Michelangelo Buonarotti.” He later regretted this outburst of pride and never signed his sculptures again - this is the only one.

6) Michelangelo did not communicate with women until he was 60 years old. That is why his female sculptures resemble male bodies. Only in his seventies did he meet his first love and muse. She herself was then over forty, she was a widow and found solace in poetry.

7) The sculptor did not consider anyone his equal. Sometimes he yielded to those in power, on whom he depended, but in relations with them he showed his indomitable temper. According to a contemporary, he inspired fear even in the popes. Leo X said about Michelangelo: “ He's scary. You can't deal with him».

8) Michelangelo wrote poetry:

And even Phoebus can’t hug at once
With its ray the cold globe of the earth.
And we are even more afraid of the hour of the night,
Like a sacrament before which the mind fades.
The night flees from the light, as from leprosy,
And is protected by pitch darkness.
The crunch of a branch or the dry click of a trigger
It’s not to her liking - she’s so afraid of the evil eye.
Fools are free to prostrate themselves before her.
Envious like a widow queen
She doesn’t mind destroying fireflies either.
Although prejudices are strong,
From sunlight a shadow will be born
And at sunset it turns into night.

Tomb of Michelangelo Buonarroti in Santa Croce

9) Before his death, he burned many sketches, realizing that there were no technical means to implement them.

10) Famous statue David was made by Michelangelo from a piece of white marble left over from another sculptor who unsuccessfully tried to work with this piece and then abandoned it.

David

11) In the winter of 1494, there was a very heavy snowfall in Florence. The ruler of the Florentine Republic, Piero di Medici, ordered Michelangelo to sculpt a snow statue. The artist completed the order, but, unfortunately, no information about what the snowman sculpted by Michelangelo looked like has been preserved.

12) Having ascended the papal throne, Julius II decided to build himself a magnificent tomb. The Pontiff gave Michelangelo unlimited freedom in creativity and money. He was carried away by the idea and personally went to the place where marble for the statues was mined - to Cararra. Returning to Rome almost a year later, having spent a lot of money on the delivery of marble, Michelangelo discovered that Julius II had already lost interest in the tomb project. And he is not going to pay the expenses! The angry sculptor immediately abandoned everything - the workshop, the blocks of marble, the orders - and left Rome without the pope's permission.

13) In the history of art there is the following incident. Michelangelo placed high demands on his works and judged them strictly. When asked what an ideal statue is, he replied: “Every statue should be designed in such a way that it could be rolled down a mountain without a single piece breaking off.”

The culmination of the High Renaissance and at the same time a reflection of the deep contradictions in the culture of the era was the work of the third of the titans of Italian art - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564). Even in comparison with Leonardo and Raphael, who are striking in their versatility, Michelangelo is distinguished by the fact that in each of the areas of artistic creativity he left works of grandiose scale and power, embodying the most progressive ideas of the era. Michelangelo was a brilliant sculptor, painter, architect, draftsman, military engineer, poet, and at the same time he was a fighter for high humanistic ideals, a citizen who defended the freedom and independence of his homeland with arms in hand.

The great artist and fighter are inseparable in the idea of ​​Michelangelo. His whole life is a constant heroic struggle to assert the human right to freedom and creativity. Throughout his long creative career, the artist’s focus was on a person who was effective, active, ready for a feat, and overwhelmed by great passion. His works of the late period reflect tragic crash Renaissance ideals.

Michelangelo was born in Caprese (in the vicinity of Florence), in the family of a city ruler. As a thirteen-year-old boy, he entered the workshop of Ghirlandaio, and a year later he entered the art school at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent. Here, in the so-called Medici gardens at the monastery of San Marco, he continued his studies under the guidance of Bertoldo di Giovanni, a staunch admirer of antiquity. Having become acquainted with the rich, refined culture of the Medici court, with the wonderful works of ancient and contemporary art, with famous poets and humanists, Michelangelo did not isolate himself in an elegant court environment. Already his early independent works confirmed his attraction to large monumental images, full of heroism and strength. The relief “Battle of the Centaurs” (early 1490s, Florence, Casa Buonarroti) reveals the drama and stormy dynamics of the battle, the fearlessness and energy of the fighters, the powerful plasticity of interconnected strong figures, permeated with a single rapid rhythm.

The final formation of Michelangelo's social consciousness occurred during the expulsion of the Medici from Florence and the establishment of a republican system there. Trips to Bologna and Rome contribute to the completion of art education. Antiquity opens up to him the gigantic possibilities hidden in sculpture. In Rome, the marble group “Pieta” was created (1498–1501, Rome, St. Peter’s Basilica) - the first large original work master, imbued with faith in the triumph of the humanistic ideals of the Renaissance. The sculptor solves the dramatic theme of Christ’s mourning by the Mother of God in a deeply psychological way, expressing immeasurable grief by tilting his head, exactly found in the gesture of the Madonna’s left hand. The moral purity of the image of Mary, the noble restraint of her feelings reveal the strength of character and are conveyed in classically clear forms, with amazing perfection. Both figures are arranged into an indissoluble group, in which not a single detail disturbs the closed silhouette or its plastic expressiveness.

Deep conviction and the excitement of a person striving for a feat are captured in the statue of David (Florence, Academy of Fine Arts), executed in 1501–1504 upon the sculptor’s return to Florence. The idea of ​​civil feat, courageous valor and intransigence was embodied in the image of the legendary hero. Michelangelo abandoned the narrative style of his predecessors. Unlike Donatello and Verrocchio, who depicted David after defeating the enemy, Michelangelo presented him before the battle. He focused on the strong-willed composure and intensity of all the hero’s powers, conveyed by plastic means. This colossal statue clearly expresses the peculiarity of Michelangelo’s plastic language: with the hero’s outwardly calm pose, his entire figure with a powerful torso and superbly modeled arms and legs, his beautiful, inspired face expresses the utmost concentration of physical and spiritual forces. All muscles seem to be permeated with movement. Michelangelo's art returned to nudity the ethical meaning it had in ancient sculpture. The image of David also acquires a broader meaning, as an expression of the creative powers of a free person. Already in those days, the Florentines understood the civic pathos of the statue and its significance, installing it in the city center in front of the Palazzo Vecchio as a call for the defense of the fatherland and for fair rule.

Having found a convincing form for the statue (with support on one leg), masterfully modeling it, Michelangelo made him forget about the difficulties that he had to overcome in working with the material. The statue was carved from a block of marble, which everyone believed had been ruined by an unlucky sculptor. Michelangelo managed to fit the figure into a ready-made block of marble so that it fit extremely compactly.

At the same time as the statue of David, cardboard was made for painting the Council Hall of the Palazzo Vecchio “The Battle of Cascina” (known from engravings and a pictorial copy). By entering into competition with Leonardo, the young Michelangelo received greater public appreciation for his work; He contrasted the theme of exposing the war and its atrocities with the glorification of the sublime feelings of valor and patriotism of the soldiers of Florence, who rushed to the battlefield at the call of the trumpet, ready for heroism.

Having received an order from Pope Julius II to build his tombstone, Michelangelo, without finishing the Battle of Cascina, moved to Rome in 1505. He creates a project for a majestic mausoleum, decorated with numerous statues and reliefs. To prepare the material - marble blocks - the sculptor went to Carrara. During his absence, the pope lost interest in the idea of ​​​​building a tomb. Insulted, Michelangelo left Rome and only after persistent calls from the pope returned. This time he received a new grandiose order - painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he accepted with great reluctance, since he considered himself primarily a sculptor, and not a painter. This painting became one of the greatest creations of Italian art.

Under the most difficult conditions, Michelangelo worked for four years (1508–1512), completing the entire painting of the huge ceiling (600 sq. m.) with his own hand. In accordance with the architectonics of the chapel, he divided the vault covering it into a number of fields, placing in a wide central field nine compositions on scenes from the Bible about the creation of the world and the life of the first people on earth: “The Separation of Light from Darkness”, “The Creation of Adam”, “The Fall” , “The Intoxication of Noah”, etc. On the sides of them, on the slopes of the vault, are depicted figures of prophets and sibyls (soothsayers), in the corners of the fields - sitting naked young men; in the vault sails, formwork and lunettes above the windows are episodes from the Bible and the so-called ancestors of Christ. The grandiose ensemble, including more than three hundred figures, seems to be an inspired hymn to the beauty, power, and intelligence of man, glorifying his creative genius and heroic deeds. Even in the image of God - a majestic, mighty old man, the creative impulse expressed first of all in the movements of his hands, as if truly capable of creating worlds and giving life to man, is emphasized. Titanic strength, intelligence, insightful wisdom and sublime beauty characterize the images of the prophets: the deeply thoughtful, mournful Jeremiah, the poetically inspired Isaiah, the mighty Cumaean Sibyl, the beautiful young Delphic Sibyl. The characters created by Michelangelo are characterized by enormous strength generalizations; for each character he finds a special pose, turn, movement, gesture.

If tragic thoughts were embodied in individual images of the prophets, then in the images of naked young men, the so-called slaves, a feeling of the joy of being, irrepressible strength and energy is conveyed. Their figures, presented in complex angles and movements, receive the richest plastic development. All of them, without destroying the plane of the vaults, enrich them, reveal tectonics, enhancing the overall impression of harmony. The combination of grandiose scale, harsh power of action, beauty and concentration of color gives rise to a feeling of freedom and confidence in the triumph of man.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, a small town 40 miles southeast of Florence. Now this town is called Caprese Michelangelo in honor of the artist. His father, Lodovico, was acting as mayor of Caprese at the time of his son's birth, but soon his term of office came to an end and he returned to his homeland, Florence. The ancient Buonarroti family had by this time become greatly impoverished, which did not stop Lodovico from being proud of his aristocracy and considering himself above earning his own living. The family had to live on the money that the farm brought in in the village of Settignano, located three miles from Florence.
Here, in Settignano, infant Michelangelo was given to the wife of a local stonecutter to be fed. Stone in the vicinity of Florence has been mined for a long time, and Michelangelo liked to say later that he “absorbed the chisel and hammer of the sculptor with the milk of his nurse.” The boy's artistic inclinations manifested themselves in early age, however, the father, in accordance with his concepts of aristocracy, for a long time resisted his son’s desire to become an artist. Michelangelo showed character and, in the end, obtained permission to become an apprentice to the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. This happened in April 1488.
The very next year he moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of the actual owner of the city, Lorenzo de' Medici (nicknamed the Magnificent). Lorenzo the Magnificent was a very educated man, well versed in art, he wrote poetry himself and was immediately able to recognize the talent of young Michelangelo. For some time Michelangelo lived in the Medici Palace. Lorenzo treated him like a favorite son.
In 1492, Michelangelo's patron died, and the artist returned to his home. Political unrest began in Florence at this time, and at the end of 1494 Michelangelo left the city. Having visited Venice and Bologna, at the end of 1495 he returned. But not for long. The new republican rule did not contribute to the pacification of city life; on top of everything else, a plague epidemic broke out. Michelangelo continued his wanderings. On June 25, 1496, he appeared in Rome.
He spent the next five years in the "Eternal City". The first one was waiting for him here great success. Soon after his arrival, Michelangelo received an order for a marble statue of Bacchus for Cardinal Raphael Riario, and in 1498-99 another for the marble composition “Pietà” (in fine arts This is how the scene of the Mother of God mourning Christ was traditionally called). Michelangelo's composition was recognized as a masterpiece, which further strengthened its position in the artistic hierarchy. The next order was the painting “Burial”, but the artist did not finish it, returning to Florence in 1501.
Life in his hometown had stabilized by that time. Michelangelo received an order for a huge statue of David.
Completed in 1504, David, like the Lamentation of Christ in Rome, cemented Michelangelo's reputation in Florence. The statue, instead of the previously planned location (at the city cathedral), was installed in the very heart of the city, opposite the Palazzo Vecchio, where the city government was located. She became a symbol of the new republic, which, like the biblical David, fought for the freedom of its citizens.
The story of another order received from the city is interesting - for the painting “The Battle of Cascina” for the Palazzo Vecchio. Its plot was supposed to be the victory of the Florentines over the Pisans at the Battle of Cascina, which took place in 1364. The drama of the situation was aggravated by the fact that Leonardo da Vinci undertook to paint the second picture for the Palazzo Vecchio (“Battle of Anghiari”). Leonardo was 20 years older than Michelangelo, but the young man accepted this challenge with an open visor. Leonardo and Michelangelo did not like each other, and many waited with interest to see how their rivalry would end. Unfortunately, both paintings were not completed. Leonardo abandoned his work after the crushing failure he suffered while experimenting with a new technique of wall painting, and Michelangelo, having created magnificent studies for the Battle of Cascina, left for Rome in March 1505 at the call of Pope Julius II.
However, he reached his destination only in January 1506, having spent several months in the quarries of Carrara, where he selected marble for the tomb of Pope Julius II, which was ordered for him. Initially, it was planned to decorate it with forty sculptures, but soon the pope lost interest in this project, and in 1513 he died. A long-term lawsuit began between the artist and the relatives of the deceased. In 1545, Michelangelo finally finished work on the tomb, which turned out to be just a pale shadow original plan. The artist himself called this story “the tragedy of the tomb.”
But another order from Pope Julius II was crowned with complete triumph for Michelangelo. It was the painting of the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The artist completed it between 1508 and 1512. When the fresco was presented to the audience, it was recognized as a work of superhuman power.
Leo X (Medici), who replaced Julius II on the papal throne in 1516, commissioned Michelangelo to design the facade of the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. His version was rejected in 1520, but this did not prevent the artist from receiving further orders for the same church. He began to carry out the first of them in 1519, it was the Medici tomb. The second project is the famous Laurentian Library to store a unique collection of books and manuscripts that belonged to the Medici family.
Busy with these projects, Michelangelo remained in Florence most of the time.
In 1529-30 he was responsible for the city's defenses in the confrontation with the Medici troops (they were expelled from Florence in 1527). In 1530, the Medici regained power, and Michelangelo fled the city to save his life. However, Pope Clement VII (also from the Medici family) guaranteed Michelangelo's safety, and the artist returned to the interrupted work.
In 1534, Michelangelo returned to Rome again, and forever. Pope Clement VII, who was going to commission him to paint the “Resurrection” for the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, died on the second day after the artist’s arrival. The new pope, Paul III, instead of the “Resurrection”, ordered the painting “The Last Judgment” for the same wall. This huge fresco, completed in 1541, once again confirmed the genius of Michelangelo.
The last twenty years of his life he devoted almost entirely to architecture.
At the same time, he still managed to create two wonderful frescoes for the Paolina Chapel in the Vatican (“Conversion of Saul” and “Crucifixion of St. Peter”, 1542-50). Beginning in 1546, Michelangelo was involved in the reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Rejecting a number of ideas from his predecessors, he proposed his own vision of this building. The final appearance of the cathedral, consecrated only in 1626, is still, first of all, the fruit of his genius.
Michelangelo was always a deeply religious man; towards the end of his life his religious feeling became more acute, as evidenced by his last works. This is a series of drawings depicting the Crucifixion and two sculptural groups of the Pietà. In the first, the artist depicted himself in the image of Joseph of Arimathea. The completion of the second sculpture was prevented by death, which overtook Michelangelo at the age of 89, on February 18, 1564.