Michelangelo

Michelangelo was an Italian Renaissance artist whose sculptures, paintings, and architecture include the David, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

David (Michelangelo): Michelangelo’s marble statue of the biblical hero David, completed in Florence in 1504. Its monumental scale and tense pose made it a landmark of Renaissance sculpture.
Contrapposto: An artistic stance in which a figure’s weight rests mainly on one leg, producing an opposing tilt of hips and shoulders. Michelangelo used this pose to give figures balance and latent movement.
Florence: A city in Tuscany that became a major center of commerce, politics, and Renaissance art. Michelangelo’s early formation and several major commissions were rooted in Florence.
Pope Julius II: The pope from 1503 to 1513 who commissioned major works from Michelangelo, including the Sistine Chapel ceiling. His ambitious commissions drew Michelangelo into the Vatican’s most demanding projects.
Mannerism: A sixteenth-century European art style marked by artifice, complex poses, and departures from Renaissance balance. Later artists adapted the expressive distortions and dramatic poses associated with Michelangelo.
Pietà (Michelangelo): Michelangelo’s marble sculpture of Mary holding the dead Christ, completed around 1499. The early work displays the polished marble carving that brought him fame.
Fresco: A painting technique in which pigments are applied to wet plaster and become part of the wall as it dries. The Sistine Chapel ceiling required him to master painting on wet plaster overhead.
Lorenzo de' Medici: The Florentine ruler and patron who supported artists and scholars during the late fifteenth century. Michelangelo entered the Medici household’s artistic circle as a young apprentice.
Pope Paul III: The pope from 1534 to 1549 who commissioned Michelangelo’s Last Judgment and appointed him chief architect of St. Peter’s. His patronage supported Michelangelo’s late work in painting and architecture.
Michelangelo's influence on sculpture: The lasting impact of Michelangelo’s sculptural forms and artistic ideals on later sculptors. His monumental figures became standards against which generations of sculptors measured their work.

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