Synthesized answer
Based solely on the provided passages, Michelangelo's diverse early training contributed to his unique artistic perspective in several ways. His apprenticeship with Domenico Ghirlandajo (1488) excited the master's admiration for the "life-like animation" of his drawings [2]. Following this, he received further training (1489-92) in the Medici palace at the school of sculpture under Bertoldo, a pupil of Donatello, and was introduced by the poet Politian to the "circle of the scholars of the Academy and to their learned pursuits" [2]. This period immersed him in distinguished society and academic learning.
Additionally, after Lorenzo de' Medici's death, Michelangelo busied himself with "anatomical studies" at the monastery of Santo Spirito [1]. He also studied the frescoes in the Branacci chapel [1]. When he began working as a sculptor, he took as his model the works of his predecessors and classical antiquity, "without, however, sacrificing his individuality" [1].
The passages show that his training combined technical skill (Ghirlandajo), academic and social refinement (Medici circle), scientific knowledge (anatomy), and study of past masters, all while maintaining his own…
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From the book
s time was introduced by the poet Politian into the circle of the scholars of the Academy and to their learned pursuits. Meanwhile, Michelangelo was studying with marked success the frescoes in the Branacci chapel. After Lorenzo's death he passed his time partly at home, partly at the monastery of Santo Spirito, where he busied himself with anatomical studies, and partly in the house of Pietro de' Medici, who, however, was banished in 1494. About the same time Michelangelo left Florence for Bologna. He returned in 1495, and began to work as a sculptor, taking as his model the works of his…
← Joannes Bunderius Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) Michelangelo Buonarroti by Gerhard Gietmann Burchard of Basle → From volume 3 of the work. 96435 Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) — Michelangelo Buonarroti Gerhard Gietmann Italian sculptor, painter, and architect, b. at Caprese in the valley of the upper Arno, 6 March, 1475; d. at Rome, 18 February, 1564. Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists of all times, came from a noble Florentine family of small means, and in 1488 was apprenticed to Domenico Ghirlandajo. While apprentice, he excited the admiration of his master by the life-like animation…
t of an ancient athlete. The body is nude, and the full beauty of the lines of the human form is strikingly brought out. In 1508 Michelangelo agreed to carve the twelve Apostles in heroic size (about nine and a half feet high) for the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, but of the whole number only the figure of St. Matthew, a great and daring design, was hewn in the rough. Similarly, he executed but four of the saints which were to decorate the memorial chapel to Pius II and left the rest of the work unfinished. A bronze statue of David with the head of Goliath under his feet was sent to France…
ternately in Rome and Florence by Julius and his successors, Leo X, Clement VII, and Paul III being his special patrons. In 1534, shortly after the death of his father, Michelangelo left Florence never to return. The further events of his life are closely connected with his artistic labours. Some weeks after his death his body was brought back to Florence and a few months later a stately memorial service was held in the church of San Lorenzo. His nephew, Leonardo Buonarroti, erected a monument over his tomb in Santa Croce, for which Vasari, his well known pupil and biographer, furnished the…
id them by word and deed. "I will send you what you demand of me", he wrote, "even if I have to sell myself as a slave". After the death of his father he conceived a deep affection for a young Roman, Tommaso de' Cavalieri, and also entered into intimate friendship with the noble-minded poetess, Vittoria Colonna, then past her youth. With his pupils, Vasari and Condivi, he was on the most cordial terms, and a servant who was twenty-six years in his employ experienced his bounty. The biographies we have from the pupils just mentiond and the letters of Michelangelo himself testify to the gentler…
More questions about this book
- Explain how Michelangelo could simultaneously draw inspiration from "predecessors and the masterpieces of classical antiquity" while also "sacrificing his individuality." What does this balance imply about his creative process?
- Trace the impact of Michelangelo's powerful patrons, from Lorenzo the Magnificent to the various Popes, on his geographic movements and the likely nature of his "artistic labours." How might different patrons have shaped his artistic output?
- What do the statements about Michelangelo's "fame" preceding him and the detailed accounts of his elaborate memorials suggest about the role and status of artists in Renaissance society?
- The text provides extensive biographical detail but deliberately omits specific titles of Michelangelo's works. What might be the purpose of this omission in an entry from the "Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)," and what does it emphasize about Michelangelo as an artist or figure?