What Michelangelo Buonarroti became famous for briefly. Buonarotti Michelangelo: paintings and their description

Creativity and ideas Michelangelo inspire and fascinate many people.

Michelangelo's work briefly

Michelangelo in his art he reflected all the ideals of the era: from heroic pathos to the crisis state of the humanistic worldview. Also in early works the main features and ideas of his work were determined - plastic power, dramatic images, inner tension, monumentality and admiration for human beauty.

The work of Michelangelo Buonarroti can be divided into 2 periods - Roman and Florentine:

• Roman period

In Rome, Michelangelo created the Bacchus statue, paying tribute to antiquity. At that time, the Gothic scheme dominated the sculptural field. But the artist managed to introduce new ideas into it - persuasiveness and brightness. life images, humanistic deep content. Pope Julius II in 1505 entrusted him with the design of his own tomb. He made many sketches and it was completed as early as 1545. Especially for her, Buonarotti created a large number of sculptures.

The statue of Moses deserves special attention, expressing titanic strength, mighty will and temperament. In the cycle of painting of the Roman period, the painting of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo of 1508-1512 deserves special attention. This grandiose creation includes scenes from the biblical book of Genesis, compositions of the figures of the sibyls and prophets, images of Christ and his ancestors. His frescoes are full of clear and plastic lines, intense expressiveness, colorful range, exquisite colors. He spent the last 30 years of his life in Rome.

In 1536 - 1541, Buonarotti was engaged in the creation of a fresco " Last Judgment", depicting tragic force images. Ideas of the futility of human efforts, painful hopelessness in the search for truth are reflected in the frescoes of the Paolina Chapel. The latest creations of the artist are full of plasticity, internal dynamism, tension of the masses. Until the end of his life, he was engaged in the design of the Capitol ensemble.

• Florentine period

In Florence, Buonarotti performed a grandiose work - the statue of "David" (1501-1504). It embodied the ideas of heroic impulse and civic prowess. He also painted the Palazzo Vecchio (1504 - 1506), in which he expressed the desire and readiness of the citizens of Florence to defend the republic. In the period 1516 - 1534, the artist worked on a project for the facade of the church of San Lorenzo, the architectural and sculptural ensemble of the Medici tomb. All works by Michelangelo Buonarroti Florentine period full of deep pessimism, heavy reflection, aimless movement. His statues are devoid of portrait features and depict the fluidity of time.

Who is Michelangelo, one way or another, everyone knows. The Sistine Chapel, David, Pieta - this is what this Renaissance genius is strongly associated with. Meanwhile, dig a little deeper, and the majority is unlikely to be able to clearly answer what else the wayward Italian was remembered for by the world. Expanding the boundaries of knowledge.

Michelangelo made money by fakes

It is known that Michelangelo began with sculptural falsifications, which brought him a lot of money. The artist bought marble in huge quantities, but no one saw the results of his work (it is logical that the authorship had to be hidden). The most notorious of his forgeries may be the Laocoön and his Sons sculpture, which is now attributed to three Rhodian sculptors. The suggestion that this work may be a fake of Michelangelo was made in 2005 by researcher Lynn Catterson, who refers to the fact that Michelangelo was among the first to be at the discovery site and was one of those who identified the sculpture.

Michelangelo studied the dead

Michelangelo is known as an excellent sculptor who was able to recreate the human body in marble in great detail. Such painstaking work required an impeccable knowledge of anatomy, meanwhile, at the beginning of his career, Michelangelo had no idea about how the human body is worth. To make up for the missing knowledge, Michelangelo spent a lot of time in the monastery mortuary, where he examined dead people trying to understand all the subtleties human body.

Michelangelo hated painting

They say that Michelangelo sincerely disliked painting, which, in his opinion, was significantly inferior to sculpture. He called painting landscapes and still lifes a waste of time, considering them "useless pictures for ladies."

Michelangelo's teacher broke his nose out of jealousy

As a teenager, Michelangelo was sent to study at the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, which existed under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici. The young talent showed great zeal and diligence in his studies and quickly achieved not only success in the school field, but also won the patronage of the Medici. Incredible Achievements, attention from influential people and, apparently, a sharp tongue led to the fact that Michelangelo made many enemies at school, including among teachers. Thus, according to Giorgio Vasari, italian sculptor Renaissance and one of the teachers of Michelangelo, Pietro Torrigiano, out of envy of his student's talent, broke his nose.

Michelangelo was seriously ill

For the last 15 years of his life, Michelangelo suffered from osteoarthritis, a disease that causes joint deformity and pain in the limbs. Work helped him not to completely lose his ability to work. It is believed that the first symptoms appeared during the work on the Florentine Pieta.

Also, many researchers of the work and life of the great sculptor claim that Michelangelo suffered from depression and dizziness, which could appear as a result of working with dyes and solvents, which caused poisoning of the body and all further accompanying symptoms.

Michelangelo's secret self-portraits

Michelangelo rarely signed his work and never left behind a formal self-portrait. However, he still managed to capture his face in some pictures and sculptures. The most famous of these secret self-portraits is part of the Last Judgment fresco, which you can find in the Sistine Chapel. It depicts Saint Bartholomew holding a flayed piece of skin representing the face of none other than Michelangelo.

Michelangelo was a poet

We know Michelangelo as a sculptor and artist, and he was also an accomplished poet. In his portfolio you can find hundreds of madrigals and sonnets that were not published during his lifetime. However, despite the fact that contemporaries could not appreciate the poetic talent of Michelangelo, many years later his work found its audience, so in Rome in the 16th century the poetry of the sculptor was extremely popular, especially among singers who re-arranged poems about mental wounds and physical disabilities. to music.

Major works of Michelangelo

There are few works of art in the world that could cause as much admiration as these works of the great Italian master. Let's take a look at some of the most famous works Michelangelo and imbued with their greatness.

Michelangelo rightly called one of the greatest geniuses of the Italian Renaissance, along with Raphael. He was a true all-rounder in the art world. Being not only a talented architect, sculptor and painter, Michelangelo wrote poems and sonnets.

The master himself was more inclined towards sculpture, but under pressure he had to do a lot of unloved work: painting and creating frescoes. Unfortunately, a large number of his works have not survived to this day. In addition, Michelangelo did not have time to complete many of his undertakings. But first things first.

The great genius Michelangelo Buonarotti, full name who - Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarotti Simoni - was born on March 6, 1475 in Tuscany, in the small town of Caprese. His father, Lodovico Buonarotti, was an impoverished nobleman. Michelangelo's mother died of exhaustion when the boy was six years old. The young woman could not bear numerous pregnancies.

The father, not having the financial ability to raise all his children, gave Michelangelo to be raised by a nurse, in whose family the boy learned to work with clay and a chisel. As an adult, the master admitted that he began to knead the clay before writing and reading.

When Michelangelo was 13 years old, his father, seeing his abilities, sent his son to Florence to study in the studio of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. A year later, the teenager moved to the school of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni, who was patronized by Lorenzo di Medici, the ruler of the Florentine Republic.

The politician immediately recognized the talent in young student and invited Michelangelo to his service. It is believed that it was at this time that Michelangelo created the bas-reliefs of the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna near the Stairs. Michelangelo was at the court of the Medici until the death of the latter in 1492, and then went home.

Since 1495, the artist has been living and working first in, then in. In 1495, the sculptures "Saint Johannes" and "Sleeping Cupid" appeared in Florence (lost). A year later, Michelangelo comes to Rome at the invitation of Cardinal Rafael Riario and makes "Bacchus" and "Roman Pieta" or "Lamentation of Christ".

Then Florence again, for four whole years. There, from 1501 to 1505, the master created the famous "David", which was installed on the main square of the city. In addition, he painted Madonna Doni, created a bas-relief of Madonna Taddei, etc.

In 1505, the master went to Rome at the invitation of Pope Julius II, who began the construction of a new St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, to repair papal residence and also build a tomb for yourself. It was on this tomb that Michelangelo began to work.

Its creation lasted several decades with interruptions. For her, Michelangelo made sculptures "Moses", "Dying Slave", "Bound Slave" and "Leah".

According to legend, the sculptor's ill-wishers, seeing his superiority, convinced Julius II what close attention to his tomb is a bad omen and can hasten death. The Pope was advised to take Michelangelo to painting, or rather, to entrust him with painting the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

The master with a heavy heart set to work. But unexpectedly, the process captured him, and in four years he single-handedly painted the entire chapel. How he did it is still a mystery.

After the death of Julius II, Michelangelo worked on the Medici Chapel in Florence, designed a new design for the Capitoline Hill in Rome. In addition, he was the chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica.

Michelangelo died at the age of 88 on February 18, 1564 in Rome, but was buried in his beloved Florence, in the church of Santa Croce.

To this day, the master is known as a talented sculptor and painter, and few people know that Michelangelo was a poet. After his death, about 300 poems, madrigals and sonnets remained. They are dedicated to love, happiness and loneliness.

Michelangelo Buonarroti(1475-1564) is the third great genius Italian Renaissance. In terms of personality, he approaches Leonardo. He was a sculptor, painter, architect and poet. The last thirty years of his work have already been Late Renaissance. During this period, anxiety and anxiety, a premonition of future troubles and upheavals appear in his works.

Among his first creations, the statue “Swinging Boy” attracts attention, which echoes the “Disco Thrower” antique sculptor Myron. In it, the master manages to vividly express the movement and passion of a young being.

Two works - the Bacchus statue and the Pieta group - created at the end of the 15th century, brought Michelangelo wide fame and fame. In the first, he was able to amazingly subtly convey the state of light intoxication, unstable balance. The Pieta group depicts the dead body of Christ, lying on the lap of the Madonna, mournfully leaning over him. Both figures are merged into a single whole. The impeccable composition makes them surprisingly truthful and authentic. Breaking away from tradition. Michelangelo portrays the Madonna as young and beautiful. The contrast of her youth with the lifeless body of Christ further enhances the tragedy of the situation.

One of highest achievements Michelangelo appeared statue of David which he ventured to carve out of an unused and already spoiled block of marble lying around. The sculpture is very high - 5.5 m. However, this feature remains almost invisible. Ideal proportions, perfect plasticity, rare harmony of forms make it surprisingly natural, light and beautiful. The statue is filled with inner life, energy and strength. It is a hymn to human masculinity, beauty, grace and grace.

Among the highest achievements of Michelangelo are also works. created for the tomb of Pope Julius II - "Moses", "Shackled Slave", "Dying Slave", "Awakening Slave", "Crouching Boy". The sculptor worked on this tomb with a break for about 40 years, but never brought it to completion. However, that. that the sculptor managed to create is considered greatest masterpieces world art. According to experts, in these works Michelangelo managed to achieve the highest perfection, ideal unity and correspondence between the inner meaning and the outer form.

One of the significant creations of Michelangelo is the Medici Chapel, which he added to the church of San Lorenzo in Florence and is decorated with sculptural tombstones. The two tombs of the Dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano Medici are sarcophagi with sloping lids, on which are located two figures - "Morning" and "Evening", "Day" and "Night". All figures look bleak, they express anxiety and a gloomy mood. Michelangelo himself experienced such feelings, since his Florence was captured by the Spaniards. As for the figures of the dukes themselves, when depicting them, Michelangelo did not strive for portrait resemblance. He presented them as generalized images of two types of people: the courageous and energetic Giuliano and the melancholic and thoughtful Lorenzo.

Of Michelangelo's last sculptural works, the Entombment group deserves attention, which the artist intended for his tomb. Her fate was tragic: Michelangelo smashed her. However, it was restored by one of his students.

In addition to sculptures, Michelangelo created beautiful workspainting. The most significant of them are Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

He took them twice. First, by order of Pope Julius II, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, spending four years (1508-1512) on it and doing fantastically difficult and tremendous work. He had to fresco over 600 square meters. On the huge surfaces of the ceiling, Michelangelo depicted Old Testament scenes - from the Creation of the world to the Flood, as well as scenes from Everyday life- a mother playing with children, an old man immersed in deep thought, a young man reading, etc.

For the second time (1535-1541), Michelangelo creates the Last Judgment fresco, placing it on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. In the center of the composition, in a halo of light, there is a figure of Christ, who raised in a formidable gesture right hand. Around it are many naked human figures. Everything depicted on the canvas is given in a circular motion, which begins at the bottom.

on the left side, where the dead are depicted rising from the graves. Above them are the upwardly striving souls, and above them are the righteous. The topmost part of the fresco is occupied by angels. In the lower part right side there is a boat with Charon, who drives sinners to hell. The biblical meaning of the Last Judgment is expressed vividly and impressively.

IN last years Michelangelo's life is engaged architecture. He completes the construction of St. Peter, making changes to Bramante's original design.

The Renaissance can be divided into three main parts: 1420-1500. - Early Renaissance (Quattrocento); from 1500 to 1527 - High Renaissance (Cinquecento, it was on this short period had the work of three great Italian masters: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti and Rafael Santi); from 1530 to 1620s — Late Renaissance. The architectural activity of Michelangelo Buonarroti belongs to the Late Renaissance.

Michelangelo said to G. Vasari: “If there is anything good in my talent, then this is because

that I was born in the rarefied air of your Aretine land, and chisels and hammers,

with which I make my statues, I extracted from the milk of my nurse.

LIFE AND ART

The Renaissance is unique due to the number of real titans in art, which she gave to the world. They accomplished more in three centuries than other civilizations did in a millennium. And Michelangelo Buonarroti (Michelangelo di Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti Simoni, March 6, 1475, Caprese - February 18, 1564, Rome) was one of the most prominent among them. Michelangelo is known as a man of passionate conviction, as a master of incredible versatility: he worked as a sculptor, painter, and architect. Ideally, he strove for a synthesis of all three arts. Michelangelo also wrote beautiful poems, was an extraordinary thinker, was acutely worried religious quest era. Among the favorites literary works genius was The Divine Comedy» Dante, whom he almost knew by heart. The master relied on individual theological views from it in his creations.

Michelangelo had a restless and principled character, which is characteristic of such gifted natures. This often led him to conflicts with customers, even with such as the Pope or representatives of the Medici family, and sometimes created situations that were dangerous not only for the master’s career, but also for his life. No wonder an acquaintance of Michelangelo wrote to him in 1520: "You inspire fear in everyone, even the pope." And Pope Leo X directly said about the genius that he was “terrible, you can’t deal with him.” But the talent of the artist was beyond prejudice.

According to contemporaries, including religious thinker Vittoria Colonna, Michelangelo were distinguished by moral purity and extreme asceticism. As a creator, as an artist, he selflessly lived in the world of his ideas. For him, humanism was not just an abstract doctrine, but the essence of a way of thinking and creating. The master believed infinitely in the possibilities and beauty human spirit, soul and body, which is proved by all his works, in which man appears as the perfect crown of Divine creation.

For all his versatility, Michelangelo is best known as a sculptor. He himself said that he was not an architect, as well as a painter. This, however, did not prevent the paintings of the Sistine Chapel from becoming world famous - it was in them that Michelangelo first showed extraordinary architectonic thinking. Perhaps the work of an architect, whose works were embodied by masons and engineers according to drawings, contradicted his main vocation - to work with my own hands. Michelangelo did not receive a special architectural education, which may have helped him to be extremely bold in handling canons and orders. As a result, he created a special architectural style- innovative, bold, without monotony, which formed the basis further development architecture in the 17th century. As one researcher said: "Michelangelo was ahead of his time even in his mistakes."

Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in the small Tuscan town of Caprese, north of Arezzo, not far from Florence. The future genius of the Renaissance came from a not very wealthy family: his father, Lodovico Buonarroti (1444-1534), was an impoverished nobleman. He held the post of city councilor (podesta) in Caprese, and then in Chiusi, and later became the manager of the Florentine customs. Michelangelo's mother, Francesca di Neri di Miniato del Sera, died exhausted from frequent pregnancies when the boy was only six years old. He never mentioned her in his extensive correspondence with relatives.

Most early childhood future artist spent in Settignano, where his father had a small estate. Circumstances forced him to give up his son to raise married couple Topolino, who lived in the same village. Biographer Michelangelo Giorgio Vasari writes about the warm attitude that the master kept to his nurse even in adulthood. Michelangelo considered himself indebted to foster parents because he learned to sculpt from clay and use a chisel before he could read and write (according to information, the nurse was the daughter of a stonemason, and the boy probably helped their family in their work). In such a simple village environment, his childhood years passed.

Separate documents indicate that Michelangelo's ancestor was the noble Messer Simone, who came from the family of the Counts of Canossa. After Michelangelo became a celebrity, this count's surname acknowledged a blood relationship with him. Alessandro di Canossa in 1520 invited the master to visit him, asked him to consider his house as his own and called him a respected relative. However, many of the modern researchers believe that the history of this relationship is nothing more than a fiction.

In terms of creative education and training, Michelangelo belonged to the Florentine school, although his whole life passed between the two greatest cities of the Renaissance: Florence and Rome. birth father, apparently, wished for a more reliable future for his son and did not want to send him to study crafts. He believed that there was no difference between the work of a stonemason and a sculptor, and the occupation artes mechanicae(“mechanical arts”, this concept included architecture, sculpture, trade, etc.) seemed to him unworthy of the Buonarroti family. This is reported by both biographers - Vasari and Condivi - and the information looks plausible.

In 1485, Lodovico Buonarroti sent his son to the Latin school of Francesco da Urbino, but Michelangelo studied reluctantly, skipped classes and instead attended temples where he copied paintings. On this basis, a conflict arose with his father, but still the parent managed to be broken, largely thanks to the support of the painter Francesco Granacci, close friend and associate of Michelangelo. In 1488, Lodovico resigned himself to his son's creative inclinations and placed him as an apprentice in the studio of the artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. The boy studied with Ghirlandaio for a year, but his temperament was too calm and not very free. creative fantasy the mentor quickly pushed away his ward. He was more to his liking Giotto and Masaccio, that is, those painters in whose works the monumental and sculptural beginning was clearly expressed (Michelangelo's educational copies of their works have been preserved). In 1489 he moved to a school organized by the Medici family in the monastery of San Marco, in the garden of the Casino Mediceo. The main master in it was the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni. Disciple of Donatello, he bowed before antique art and instilled love for him Michelangelo.

The Medici family was the richest in Florence. Until 1492, it was headed by Lorenzo, who personally patronized Michelangelo, early recognizing in him a talent with the unmistakable insight of a man who had already seen more than one genius of the Renaissance. From 1490 to 1492, the young man lived at the court of Lorenzo, where he could continue his studies, copying antique samples, and also get acquainted with famous Italian poets and humanists - Angelo Poliziano, Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola. They laid the foundations for Michelangelo humanistic outlook and introduced him to Florentine neoplatonism (the doctrine of the high dignity and vocation of a person), which influenced all his work. During this period, the reliefs "Madonna near the stairs" and "Battle of the centaurs" were created. After the death of his patron, Lorenzo Medici, Michelangelo was forced to return home for a short time, without receiving any support from the new successors of the surname.

Undoubtedly, the turbulent political events that seized Florence in the 1490s strongly affected the young sculptor. They were associated with the invasion of French troops, the expulsion of the Medici, the restoration of the republic under the rule of Pietro Soderini, elected for life. Everything in the city was seething and seething, the factions and parties entered into a fierce struggle with each other, the situation was heating up every day. A bright place in the history of Florence was occupied by the Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola, who condemned the new trends of the era in art and religion and openly fought even with the popes, and not just with the Medici family. From the latter, he actually took away power over Florence and appropriated it to himself. Savonarola was the abbot of the monastery of San Marco, where Michelangelo studied, so the young master must have closely observed the development of events around this figure. Savonarola's spectacular rise was followed by an equally stunning fall. After a short trial, the fanatical monk was hanged and burned, with the general consent of the people, who had recently admired his sermons. At the time of these events, in 1494-1495, Michelangelo moved to live in Bologna, where he worked on sculptures for the tomb of the saint, and also carefully studied the work of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Inspired by works the last Michelangelo began to write his first poems and retained this passion until the end of his days, being among the best poets of his era. After the political passions in Florence subsided a little, he returned to hometown, where he soon received an order for the sculptures "Saint Johannes" and "Sleeping Cupid". The last piece was sold to Cardinal Rafael Riario in 1496 under the guise of a Roman children's gravestone. The deception, like the name of the real author of the sculpture, was soon revealed. The cardinal was not angry for long and, seeing the talent of the young man, invited him to work in Rome, which was the beginning of the first Roman period in the life of the master. During this trip, Michelangelo was fired strong impression antique monuments, with which, of course, he already came into contact in Florence, but not as close and not as often as in Rome, where one could feel the living breath of Antiquity.

In the years 1496-1501, Michelangelo created "Bacchus". The marble for the statue was donated to the low-income sculptor by the cardinal himself. And soon he received an order for the "Roman Pieta", which quickly became famous (now located in St. Peter's Cathedral). In its refinement and subtlety, it competes with the best works Bernini. The composition with the Mother of God and the dead Christ lying on her knees embodies the famous lines of Dante: "The daughter of her Son." Vasari reports this fact: when Michelangelo learned that the authorship of the Pieta was attributed to another master, he engraved his name on the belt of Our Lady. Subsequently, he repented of such a vain impulse and left his works anonymous.

In 1501, Michelangelo returned to Florence, where in a few years he created a number of sculptural works, including the statue of David, grandiose in size and significance, which became a symbol of the High Renaissance. It was decided to put it in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in the place where the statue of "Judith" by Donatello stood. Vasari wrote about the significance of the figure of David for the Florentine Republic: Michelangelo "created David as a sign that he defended his people and ruled them fairly, so the rulers of the city must courageously protect him and rule them fairly." It was one of the most favorable periods in the artist's life. Public orders poured in, he was at the peak of his fame, which was reflected in the decision of the city authorities to build a personal house with a workshop for him.

In 1505, Michelangelo was summoned by the newly elected Pope Julius II to Rome. The pontiff ordered him a large-scale project of his tomb, the construction of which turned into a multi-year epic, a true legend. Michelangelo proposed to build a monumental architectural monument with abundant sculptural decoration. It was supposed to be an independent structure in three tiers, which could be walked around. It was supposed to be decorated with 40 statues taller than human height. At the top would be the figure of the sleeping Pope Julius II. The tomb was intended to be placed in the center of the new St. Peter's Basilica, which was being built under the direction of the architect Bramante. In 1505-1545, work on the tomb, according to sketches prepared by Michelangelo, finally began. The master spent eight months in the Carrara quarries, choosing the right one for such huge project marble. But due to financial difficulties, the project was stopped. This was partly due to the rising political environment, which demanded the participation of Rome in an internecine war, but partly because of the intrigues that his enemies unleashed against Michelangelo (according to rumors, Bramante was among them). Without obtaining an audience with the pope and without receiving any payment for recent months, the master left Rome in a rage in 1506 and returned to Florence - without the permission of the pontiff, which was incredible audacity. In Florence, Michelangelo was about to return to work on the twelve statues of the apostles, which had been ordered to him back in 1503 by the consuls of the woolen workshop. But a short time later, on the initiative of Julius II, who highly appreciated the artist, they were reconciled in Bologna, in the Palazzo dei Sedici. Vasari writes that Michelangelo resisted the meeting for a long time and did not respond to the pope's repeated calls to Rome, but in the end, respecting decency, even asked his forgiveness.

The tomb was never completed on the originally planned scale, although its construction was resumed several times in subsequent years: new contracts were concluded with the master three more times. In the end, exhausted by this order and the ups and downs around him, Michelangelo erected a much more modest tomb of Pope Julius II in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. Of the 40 conceived marble figures, the sculptures of Moses, the Bound Slave, the Dying Slave, and Leah were carved. The figures of other slaves, which remained unfinished, amaze with their expression, tragedy, intense brokenness of the spirit.

After returning to Rome at the call of Julius II, the sculptor received an order for his bronze statue. The Pope was undoubtedly a person with strong character, strong-willed and at the same time generous, but he greatly offended Michelangelo, and perpetuating the offender is not an easy task. Nevertheless, the sculptor worked on the statue throughout 1507, and in 1508 it was installed in Bologna. Unfortunately, it was lost in 1511, when Annibale Bentivoglio, supported by French troops, returned to Bologna.

In 1508, Michelangelo received a new order from Pope Julius II - to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The master tried to refuse, declaring that he was a sculptor, not a painter. But dad was able to persuade him - and this masterpiece immortalized the name of a genius. Work on the huge ceiling of the chapel (40.23 x 13.41 meters) lasted four long years- from May 1508 to October 1512. It was very tense, and not only because of the complexity of the task: since ancient times, intrigues have been woven around the master. Julius II constantly hurried Michelangelo, it even came to threats to throw him off the scaffolding, and once the pope hit him with a staff. The artist renounced everything, did not meet with anyone and plunged exclusively into painting: “I do not care about health or earthly honors, I live in greatest works and with a thousand suspicions. It was a new frontier in his work, a mature, monumental work of the 33-year-old master, which embodied his theological program and combined all three art forms: painting, sculpture and architecture. Volumes of research are devoted to this huge topic. Let us only note the architectural aspect of the work: the entire elongated surface of the ceiling is divided into slender zones, combined with triangular stripping above the tympanum walls near the windows. All scenes are enclosed in a powerful illusory frame, which was imitated by pictorial means. The painting of the Sistine Chapel is one of the pinnacles of all Renaissance art.

Julius II died in 1513. The new pope, Leo X, was Giovanni Medici. Michelangelo again received the patronage of an influential family. He was commissioned to build the chapel of Leo X in Engelsburg, and his ties with Florence were renewed. In July 1514, the master was given the task to design the facade of the Florentine temple of San Lorenzo, which the Medici considered theirs. Unfortunately, only a detailed model of it was made. Filippo Brunelleschi had already worked on the church in the past: he not only led the general restructuring, but also erected a tomb for individual members of the Medici family ( old sacristy). Michelangelo set to work with great enthusiasm. In the years 1516-1519, he repeatedly went to Carrara and Pietrasanta for marble for the facade of the church of San Lorenzo, and in the next stage, in 1520-1534, the architect began to work on the Medici Chapel, or New Sacristy. In it, he was engaged in the general design of the premises, largely in the style of Brunelleschi. It was also planned to build three tombs (but only two were built: for Giuliano, who died during the Pazzi conspiracy, and for his brother Lorenzo Medici). The tombs are decorated with statues of the dead themselves and statues representing morning, day, evening and night. One can hardly imagine a more tense, concentrated and expressive images filled with tragedy and eschatological forebodings, which reflected the general state of anxiety that reigned in the republic. At the same time, Michelangelo was designing the Laurentian Library, also in Florence.

In those years, historical events threatening the well-being of the republic took place: Rome was sacked by Spanish troops, after which new dad Clement VII (in the world of Giulio de' Medici) was forced to make an alliance with Charles V against Florence. The city accepted the challenge. Michelangelo was appointed the chief builder of fortifications, the design of which the master immediately took up. What happened next was not quite clear history: Michelangelo for some reason left Florence, went to Venice, but then returned and joined the ranks of the defenders of the city. Florence, however, had to capitulate, and the artist was forced into hiding, fearing the wrath of the pope. But Clement VII, interested in completing many of the works begun by the master, granted him forgiveness. In Florence, on the orders of the pontiff, the power of the despotic and cruel Alessandro Medici was established, which forced Michelangelo, a republican by conviction, to leave the city, this time for good. In Rome, where he settled, the artist becomes a republican emigrant who preferred the company of the same exiles as himself. Meanwhile, the 50-year mark is approaching, there is no more strength, and Michelangelo increasingly feels tired: “If I work a day,” he writes in July 1523, “then I must rest for four.”

By 1532, there is a mention of the acquaintance of the master with Tommaso Cavalieri, a young man from a noble Roman family, who remained his close friend for the next 30 years. Cavalieri, who had a great influence on inner world Michelangelo, the aging genius dedicated a number of sonnets. Also, the artist gave a confidante, a connoisseur of antiques and the owner of an extensive collection, big number carefully crafted drawings antique themes("Fall of Phaethon", "Titius", "Ganymede" and others). Some of them have reached our time.

In 1537, Alessandro de' Medici was assassinated, his place was taken by Cosimo de' Medici, also a cruel and prudent politician who relied on Spain. The influence of the Spanish court extends to all spheres of life of the Florentines, the return to the long-abolished feudal system begins. Unlike his predecessor, Cosimo appreciated Michelangelo and repeatedly asked him to return to Florence, however, he invariably received refusals. Vasari, being dependent on Cosimo, was forced to disguise the conflict in his book Lives of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors and Architects and explain the artist's evasiveness by the difficult climate of the republic. In one of the letters of the master, the real reason is revealed: he says that he will not only return, but also put up a statue of Cosimo for his own money if he returns freedom to Florence. In this conviction, Michelangelo was a clear supporter of the ideas of Savonarola, although he himself experienced many difficulties in his younger years because of the attitude of the preacher to the new art.

Public unrest was also accompanied by a counter-reformation in the religious sphere and anti-clericalism, with which Catholic Church fought actively. The circle of philosophers and humanists, headed by Contarini, Paul and Sadoleto, stood up for the moral purification of the church, for the principles of Savonarola and put forward new mystical ideas of communication with God. Michelangelo sympathized with them, and also became close to a prominent philosophical figure - Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara. All this is reflected in his work. His main work of the 1530s is a huge fresco "The Last Judgment" on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, on which the master worked for about six years (1535-1541). Its eschatological meaning is amazing.

In 1546, when the transition from the High Renaissance to the Late Renaissance had already taken place, the artist was entrusted with the most significant architectural orders in his life. For Pope Paul III, he completed the Palazzo Farnese (the third floor of the courtyard facade and cornice) and designed the new decoration of the Capitoline Hill. In 1563, he set about rebuilding the ancient baths of Diocletian into the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

But the most important for Michelangelo was the appointment of the chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica. Master, appreciating the importance grandiose project, wished that the decree emphasized that he participates in the construction out of love for God and the pope, without any special remuneration. It is these works that will become the main architectural dominants of the era, despite the simultaneous development of mannerism and the emergence of academicism and baroque.

Michelangelo in his architectural creations was strict about all the little things, designed buildings in such a way that all the details were conditioned and interdependent, constructive; the plane was a living organism as he understood it. He emphasized that “the architectural members depend on the members of the body. And who was not or is not a good master figure, as well as anatomy, he will not be able to comprehend this ... ". The fact that instead of clear plans and sections, he usually created sketches, on which he then sculpted detailed clay models, his vocation as a sculptor affected.

The architectural style of Michelangelo's work differed from the style of buildings created by his predecessors - Brunelleschi and Bramante. It had more freedom from the ancient order foundations, to which the Renaissance era turned. Michelangelo approached the old canons freely and imaginatively, boldly breaking them. This annoyed some contemporaries: the Vitruvian Academy in Rome called Michelangelo's art "barbaric." The Mannerist camp, by contrast, admired his work. But it was clear to everyone that the architectural ideas put forward by him open new era in the history of Italian architecture. As a result, the style of Michelangelo was established in architecture.

Michelangelo lived long life, during which several historical turning points occurred, each of them dramatically influenced the fate of the master. The number of works carried out is much inferior to those conceived by him. He died on February 18, 1564 in Rome at the age of 89. His body was secretly taken to Florence and buried in the church of Santa Croce. Before his death, he regretted that he was leaving this world when, in his craft, he only learned to read in syllables. In the end, he uttered a laconic phrase characteristic of him: “I give my soul to God, my body to the earth, my property to my relatives.”