To Create Like Michelangelo

He was born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni but became known to the world as Michelangelo, a celebrated Italian Renaissance artist. His paintings and sculptures are known around the world.

The Bacchus sculpture depicts Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and intoxication, holding a goblet and grapes in his hands with a faun, half-man, half-goat, standing behind him eating grapes. It was commissioned by Cardinal Raffaele Riario and an antique sculpture collector. However, the cardinal turned down the artwork, and it was bought by his banker, Jacopo Galli, and a friend of Michelangelo. It is one of only two surviving sculptures from the artist’s first period of residence in Rome. In 1572, the Medici purchased Bacchus and moved it to Florence. The sculpture reflects the High Renaissance style, emphasizing human anatomy and naturalism.

The Conversion of Saul is the first of two major paintings created by Michelangelo in Paul’s Chapel in the Vatican. The other depicts Peter’s Crucifixion. This is the private chapel of Pope Paul III, and the paintings were created on opposing sides of the chapel’s lengthy walls. The first artwork depicts Saul’s conversion to Christianity while on the way to Damascus.

The Creation of Adam is the centerpiece of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The artist painted the ceiling between 1508 and 1512 which became an outstanding example of High Renaissance art. Pope Julius II commissioned the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The Creation of Adam is centered on nine events from the Bible in the Book of Genesis. To complete the project, Michelangelo lay on his back on a scaffolding.

The world knows the magnificent Renaissance sculpture of the Biblical hero David. Made of marble, the statue stands 17 feet tall. It was originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence. The artist completed the sculpture in 1504, and it was too large for the cathedral. Thirty Florentine residents, among them Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, were commissioned to find a suitable place for David. The final decision was that the sculpture would be placed near the entrance to the Palazzo della Signoria. Years later, to preserve it from deterioration, the statue of David was placed for exhibition in the Academia Gallery, but a replica was installed in the piazza.

Doni Tondo is a painting commissioned by the Agnolo Doni to celebrate his marriage to Madalena Strozzi, the daughter of a prominent Tuscan family. It is the only finished panel painting by the mature Michelangelo to survive. The painting is at the Uffizi in Florence. The painting is in the shape of a tondo, meaning "round" in Italian. The painting depicts the Holy Family—child Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. In the foreground, along with John the Baptist in the center, are five nude male figures in the background.

The Last Judgement is a giant fresco covering the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. This art creation took Michelangelo four years to complete. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. The dead rise and descend to their fates as judged by Christ, who is surrounded by prominent saints. Altogether, in the artwork are more than 300 figures.

Madonna of Bruges is a marble statue of the Virgin and Child. It was purchased by Giovanni and Alessandro Moscheroni, rich textile merchants in Bruges. The sculpture was stolen by troops during the French Revolution and World War II and concealed from view; it was subsequently discovered and returned to Belgium, where it now resides at the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium.

Moses is a sculpture in the Cathedral of San Pietro in Rome. (pictured above) It depicts the Biblical figure Moses with horns on his head. This is based on a description in Chapter 34 of Exodus in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible used at the time. The sculpture was commissioned by Pope Julius II for his burial tomb.

The Pieta is among the most famous of Michelangelo’s sculptures. The artist was commissioned by Cardinal Jean de Billheres to create a sculpture for a side chapel in Old St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Once completed, the Pieta was so successful it brought Michelangelo great fame. This is his only signed artwork and is the only known Renaissance sculpture to have been authorized by the Chapter of St. Peter and put in St. Peter’s Basilica. It is a Carrara marble sculpture of Jesus and Mary at Mount Golgotha representing the “sixth sorrow” of the Virgin Mary. The artwork depicts the moment when Jesus was taken down from the cross and given to his mother, Mary.