Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (more commonly known as Michelangelo) was born on March 6th, 1475 in Caprese, a small Florentine village in Italy. At the age of thirteen, after convincing his father, Michelangelo moved to Florence and was formally apprenticed to Domenico Ghirlandaio, a renowned painter for a term of three years. Michelangelo created works of art with his own style, and thus did not belong to a movement. He is a Renaissance artist, but is often regarded as ‘sui generis’ (being the only example of its kind; unique.) Michelangelo is considered a poet, sculptor, architect and painter, but preferred to think of himself as a sculptor. For this reason, his favoured materials were mainly marble and fresco and his most commonly used subjects were male nudes and religious figures. These are used in his most famous and major artistic achievements: The Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, the Statue of David, the Pieta, and the Basilica of Saint Peter. The chosen art work is called the Creation of Man, painted onto the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and considered Michelangelo’s greatest achievement.
Michelangelo’s The Creation of Man is a Renaissance- style fresco done in damp lime-wash on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Being a very religious era, the main subject is of a religious theme and depicts God and Adam reaching out towards each other moments before the power of life is given to Adam. This image is placed in the foreground, with God to the left side surrounded by what appears to be angels, women and infants. The Fresco has been painted with precision and detail, the carefully drawn lines meticulously and academically painted on to achieve a traditional, realistic image.
The Creation of Man was composed using the rule of thirds, the main focal point of the two hands connecting placed almost in the centre. To emphasize the hands, as well as being located in the middle they have been isolated from the figures and the background is a much paler shade then the rest. To bring your attention towards the direction of the connecting hands the arms are used to draw the eye towards the centre. The visual space is shallow as only the ground directly behind Adam can be seen. To create the feel of space, Michelangelo has made the background much lighter and less detailed. As the fresco is of a religious theme, a spiritual feel and a peaceful yet powerful mood was needed. To accomplish this, flowing, delicate and often wavy lines were used, and in certain areas such as the material flowing from the left-hand side, semi-transparent lines were used. As well as lines; light, tone and colour were important to create mood. Most of the colours are pale except in parts of the background, and areas on the figures have a lighter tone to create the look of light cast on them, giving a heavenly feel to the whole scene. Pale, pastel colours were used except in the background where they are deeper. Combined with soft-edged, delicate and natural shapes, this causes the overall look to be lighter, more calm and natural.
During his prolonged life, Michelangelo experienced great fame and respect for being arguably the most influential artist of the Renaissance era, possibly of all time. Although he embodied many characteristics of the Renaissance period, Michelangelo’s artworks show many individual qualities, to the point of eccentricity. As one of the most inspired artists in recorded history, he exerted a tremendous influence on his contemporaries and on Western art in general.
