Books with title Michelangelo Buonarroti

It’s possible that Michelangelo is the most famous artist in history, but it’s also possible that he’s an underrated artist. The vast influence of his career is reflected by the fact that he is not only known for his own art but has also come to embody an entire epoch of Western art. Along with Leonardo da Vinci, there are no other artists who so fully capture the spirit of scientific and artistic discovery that characterized art during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Moreover, Michelangelo’s career is distinguished from that of his peers through his seamless ability to work within different art forms, receiving acclaim regardless of the medium. After first rising to fame as a sculptor, he also painted and served as an architect, and since his death, Michelangelo has also become decorated for his prolific output as a poet. The diversity and high standard of his work, no matter the medium, make it difficult to even arrive at a most famous work. People can make a compelling argument for at least three works: the statue of David (1501-1504), the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1508-1512), or the design for St. Peter’s Basilica (worked on from 1546 through his death). That the same artist produced these canonical monuments of Western art is remarkable, but that each was made through a different medium defines Michelangelo as a sui generis talent. To top it off, Michelangelo’s work came at the height of a period in Western civilization known for its scientific and artistic exploration. As Michelangelo biographer George Bull noted, this period carries many titles: “The period of Michelangelo’s lifetime has been variously characterized as the age of printing, the age of humanism, the Reformation, Counter-Reformation, Catholic Reform, the waning of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the age of Discovery.” The different titles reflect the sheer amount of activity that took place during this critical era of Western Civilization. Although the different labels can frustrate attempts to clearly define the era, each one of them is important to remember in the context of Michelangelo’s career.

After the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, Michelangelo returned to his father's home, and began to work upon a statue of Hercules, which is now lost. It used to stand in the Strozzi Palace until the siege of Florence in 1530, when Giovanni Battista della Palla bought it from the steward of Filippo Strozzi, and sent it into France as a present to the king.The Magnificent left seven children by his wife Clarice, of the princely Roman house of the Orsini. The eldest, Piero, was married to Alfonsina, of the same illustrious family. Giovanni, the second, had already received a cardinal's hat from his kinsman, Innocent VIII. Guiliano, the third, was destined to play a considerable part in Florentine history under the title of Duke of Nemours. One daughter was married to a Salviati, another to a Ridolfi, a third to the Pope's son, Franceschetto Cybò. The fourth, Luisa, had been betrothed to her distant cousin, Giovanni de' Medici; but the match was broken off, and she remained unmarried.