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Michelangelo’s Life
By peace | September 20, 2010
Michelangelo di Buonarotti Simoni
Michelangelo finished Pope Julius’s tomb in 1545. He was 65 years old. Although he had been writing poetry since his student days, he took an interest in writing sonnets, which are a special kind of poem. Sonnets are poems that have 14 lines and a fixed pattern of rhymes. Before he died Michelangelo burned some of his poetry, along with many of his drawings. In spite of this, many of his poems still existed. His grandnephew reworked the remaining poems and had them printed in 1623.
Michelangelo also worked as an architect. On 1 January 1547, he officially became the head architect for the rebuilding of St Peter’s church in Rome. He did not live to see the church finished, but he created the dome, which is a type of curved roof. He worked for free.
Michelangelo had always lived the life of a hermit. He did not care for fine food or clothes and sent most of his money back to Florence to support his father and brothers. Yet he seems to have done this more out of duty than affection. His letters home are all about business and money, with repeated complaints about how hard he is working to provide for the family. As he got older, Michelangelo grew suspicious and rude, coldly rejecting his nephew’s gifts. He accused the poor boy of waiting greedily for him to die, hoping to inherit his money.
Nor had Michelangelo found companionship in marriage. “I already have a wife,” he once said,”who is much for me; one who keeps me unceasingly struggling on. It is my art, and my works are my children.” Art was what mattered to Michelangelo. He never married. Late in life he formed two strong friendships in Rome, one with Vittoria Colonna, a widow, and one with Tommaso Cavalieri, a nobleman. Michelangelo died on 18 February, 1564…
On 18 Februrary 1564, feeling restless and feverish, Michelangelo sat down to make his will. He left his soul to God, his body to the earth, and his goods to his nearest relatives. To his friends, gathered to support him in his final hours, he spoke of how much he regretted ‘dying just as I am beginning to learn the alphabet of my profession‘. Then, shortly before 5 on a chilly winter afternnon, as he sat in a comfortable chair by the fire, Michelangelo died at the age of 89.
Many people believe he was the greatest artist who ever lived. In an age of great artists, he was perhaps the greatest, creating immortal works in all three of the major arts — sculpture, painting and architecture. Not even Leonardo da Vinci could match him in that. Yet near the end of his life, Michelangelo looked on those great works of art, to which he had devoted his life, as “of little value”. But then, with a touch of pride, he added,”They will last for a while”.
Michelangelo TimeLine
1475 : Michelangelo is born in Caprese, Italy on 6 March
1488: He becomes an apprentice to the Florentine artist Domenico Ghirlandaio
1489: Michelangelo goes to live in the Medici Palace.
1492 : Lorenzo de’ Medici dies
1494-95: Michelangelo looks for work in Venice and Bologna
1496-1501: Michelangelo lives in Rome
1498-1500: Michelangelo carves the Pieta
1501: Michelangelo returns to Florence
1501-04: Michelangelo carves David
1508-12: Michelangelo paints the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome
1513-16: Michelangelo works on the tomb for Pope Julius II
1516-34: Michelangelo moves to Rome permanently
1535-41: Michelangelo paints The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel
1545: Michelangelo finishes the tomb of Pope Julius II
1547: Michelangelo is made the head architect of St Peter’s in Rome
1564: Michelangelo dies in Rome on 18 February
More Links About Michelangelo
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Artist of The Body
Michelangelo’s Pieta
The Giant
Michelangelo and The Pope
Sculptures By Michelangelo
Michelangelo’s Last Work
Topics: All Posts, Arts, christian, Famous People, Gallery, Medieval | 3 Comments »
September 20th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
[...] Pieta (Rondanini Pieta) According to Michelangelo‘s first biographers, Vasari and Condivi, the sculptor began this work to adorn his own tomb, [...]
September 25th, 2010 at 12:31 am
[...] Antonio, dies c. 1466 Leonardo joins the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence 1469 Lorenzo de’ Medici becomes ruler of Florence 1475 The artist Michelangelo Buonarroti is born c. 1477 Leonardo sets up [...]
September 25th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
[...] the time Leonardo finished Mona Lisa, younger artists, such as Raphael Sanzio and Michelangelo Buonarroti, were becoming famous. Viewed: 3 times If you like this page, Share it with your [...]