MICHELANGELO,

born March 6, 1475, Caprese, Republic of Florence died Feb. 18, 1564, Rome, Papal States in full Michelangelo Di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. In 1488 Michelangelo was apprenticed to the painter Domenico Ghirlandajo, from whom he learned the technique of fresco and panel painting. In Rome (14961501) he sculpted a number of works; one of his most famous, the Piet, is now in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican. On his return to Florence in 1501, Michelangelo started work on a gigantic marble David and completed it in 1504. Michelangelo's output in these years was prolific; he executed three tondi (circular representations) of the Madonna (two sculptures, one painting; c. 150305), the cartoon of the Battle of Cascina for the Hall of Five Hundred of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence (1504), and, at Rome (150506), worked on the tomb of Pope Julius II, who commissioned him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (150812). After Julius' death, he again worked on the pope's monument (completed 1545), of which his great statue Moses forms a part. In 1514 he designed the front of a small chapel in Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, and in 1520 the mortuary chapel of the Medici family in San Lorenzo in Florence. The statues of the Medici tomb rank beside the Moses as Michelangelo's greatest achievements in sculpture, although after 14 years' work (152034) he left it for pupils to complete. In Rome he painted The Last Judgment, a powerful fresco in the Sistine Chapel (153441). Michelangelo's architectural works include his Mannerist masterpiece, the Laurentian Library (152359), Florence, and parts of the facade of the Palazzo Farnese (1547). As chief architect of St. Peter's, he designed that basilica's monumental dome. His writings, including many sonnets, constitute a compelling spiritual autobiography. Additional reading Biographical works For early sources of information, see Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors & Architects, 10 vol. (191215, reprinted 1976; originally published in Italian, 1550); and Charles Holroyd, Michael Angelo Buonarotti: With Translations of the Life of the Master by His Scholar, Ascanio Condivi, and Three Dialogues from the Portuguese by Francisco d'Ollanda, 2nd ed. (1911). Other biographies include Charles H. Morgan, The Life of Michelangelo (1960), an accurate interpretative record of the artist's life and accomplishments; Herbert Von Einem, Michelangelo (1973; originally published in German, 1959), a study of his character; Howard Hibbard, Michelangelo, 2nd ed. (1985), a work for the general reader; Robert S. Liebert, Michelangelo: A Psychoanalytic Study of His Life and Images (1983), a historically balanced scholarly analysis; and David Summers, Michelangelo and the Language of Art (1981), which explores the historical background through the study of intellectual and philosophical terminology of the time. Studies of creative output The most detailed work of reference on all aspects of the artist and his work is Charles De Tolnay, Michelangelo, 5 vol. (194360, reissued 196970), which was strongly influenced by the author's theories of psychology as applied to the artist, as are most books on Michelangelo. Erwin Panofsky, Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance (1939, reissued 1972), contains a significant presentation of the relation of Michelangelo's work to Neoplatonism, but it is not accepted by all scholars. Other works include Johannes Wilde, Michelangelo: Six Lectures (1978), a knowledgeable and appreciative analysis, though the conclusions sometimes differ from those of other scholars; Linda Murray, Michelangelo: His Life, Work, and Times (1984), a brief chronological overview; James S. Ackerman, The Architecture of Michelangelo, 2nd ed. (1986), an analysis of the artist's buildings expressed in terms usually applied to sculpture; John Pope-Hennessy, Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture, 3rd ed. (1985), a lucid analysis of the work of other sculptors of the time side-by-side with Michelangelo's; and Carlo Pietrangeli et al., The Sistine Chapel: A New Light on Michelangelo: The Art, the History, and the Restoration (1986), a collection of photographs documenting the restoration project, accompanied by critical essays of art historians and theologians. Reproductions and sources The following analytical collections can be recommended: Mario Salmi (ed.), The Complete Work of Michelangelo, 2 vol. (1966); Umberto Baldini, The Sculpture of Michelangelo (1982; originally published in Italian, 1981), containing an exhaustive collection of photographs; Ludwig Goldscheider (ed.), The Sculptures of Michelangelo, 2nd rev. ed. (1950), The Paintings of Michelangelo, 2nd ed. (1948), and Michelangelo Drawings, 2nd ed. (1966); Frederick Hartt, Michelangelo Drawings (1970, reprinted 1976); Luitpold Dussler, Die Zeichnungen des Michelangelo: Kritischer Katalog (1959); Leo Steinberg, Michelangelo's Last Paintings: The Conversion of St. Paul and the Crucifixion of St. Peter in the Cappella Paolina, Vatican Palace (1975); Complete Poems and Selected Letters of Michelangelo, translated by Creighton Gilbert, 3rd ed. (1980); and Letters, translated and edited by E.H. Ramsden (1963).For further study of the artist's life and work, major bibliographies are a good starting point. See Ernst Steinmann and Rudolf Wittkower (eds.), Michelangelo Bibliographie 15101926 (1927, reissued 1967); and Luitpold Dussler (ed.), Michelangelo-Bibliographie, 19271970 (1974). For information on modern studies, see RILA: International Repertory of the Literature of Art (semiannual). Thematic lists of selected sources include Carole Cable, Michelangelo as an Architectural Draftsman (1981); and Laura S. Kline, Michelangelo's Architecture: A Selected Bibliography (1983). Creighton E. Gilbert Major Works: Sculpture Madonna of the Stairs (c. 1491; Casa Buonarroti, Florence); Battle of the Centaurs (c. 1492; Casa Buonarroti); St. Petronius, St. Proclus, and An Angel (149495; S. Domenico, Bologna, Italy); Bacchus (149697; Bargello, Florence); Piet (1499; St. Peter's, Vatican City); David (150104; Accademia, Florence); Madonna and Child (150104; Notre-Dame, Brugge); Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John (Taddei Madonna; tondo, c. 1503; Royal Academy, London); Madonna and Child (Pitti Madonna; tondo, c. 1503; Bargello); St. Matthew (c. 1505; Accademia); Moses (c. 151315; for the tomb of Pope Julius II, 150545; S. Pietro in Vincoli, Rome); Rebellious Slave and Dying Slave (151316; Louvre, Paris); Risen Christ (Christ Bearing the Cross; 151920; Sta. Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome); four unfinished figures known as Slaves or Prisoners (c. 1520; Accademia); Medici tombs (Dawn, Dusk, Day, Night, Giuliano de' Medici, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Madonna; 152034; S. Lorenzo, Florence); Apollo (David; c. 1530; Bargello); Victory (c. 153234; Palazzo Vecchio, Florence); Piet (Deposition; 155055; Duomo, Florence); Rondanini Piet (155264; Castello Sforzesco, Milan). Drawings Major collections: British Museum; Royal Library, Windsor; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Eng.; Casa Buonarroti, Florence; Teylers Museum, Haarlem, Neth. Architecture Chapel of Leo X (dedicated to SS. Cosmas and Damian; facade, 1514; Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome); Laurentian Library (152359; S. Lorenzo, Florence); Palazzo Farnese (cornice of facade and top story wall of courtyard completed 1547; Rome); St. Peter's Basilica (dome designed 155761; Vatican City); Porta Pia (1561, Rome). Paintings Holy Family (Doni Tondo; c. 150305; Uffizi, Florence); frescoes, Sistine Chapel ceiling (150812; Vatican City); The Last Judgment (153441; Sistine Chapel); Conversion of St. Paul (154245; Pauline Chapel, Vatican City); Crucifixion of St. Peter (154250; Pauline Chapel).