James Baquet

    Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) was an Italian Renaissance artist who is commonly known by the mercifully shortened name Michelangelo.

    His best-known works include “The David” and “The Pieta,” and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome’s Vatican. Less well-known are his other endeavors. He was the official architect of St. Peter’s, who designed the dome on that basilica in the Vatican. And he was a poet, penning passionate love poems addressed to both women and men. For all these things he has been considered a Renaissance Man second only to his older contemporary, Leonardo da Vinci.

    His influence was so great that during his lifetime he was called “Il Divino,” or “the divine one.”

    As an Italian working at the height of the Renaissance, Michelangelo received commissions mainly from the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, his works were largely representations of characters and events from the Bible.

    “The David” represents a boy shepherd who later became a king. He is standing with a stone in his hand and a sling over his shoulder, ready to bring down the giant Goliath. This proved that God was on his side. “The Pieta” (meaning “pity”) portrays the Virgin Mary holding her son Jesus after he has been removed from the cross following his crucifixion.

    But perhaps his best-known work is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Its central area shows nine scenes from Genesis, the first book of the Bible. These include the creation of the world; The creation of Adam, with its famous touching fingertips; the story of Adam and Eve; and that of Noah and the Great Flood. Numerous other figures, mythical and historical, surround the center, making more than 300 figures in all. The artist also added architectural elements to the ceiling’s appearance in a technique called trompe l’oeil or “fooling the eye.”

    Devoted to his work, he never married, and lived the simplest of lifestyles. He died a few weeks before his 89th birthday, and is buried in Florence.

    Vocabulary

    Which word above means:

    1. efforts, activities

    2. intense, showing sexual desire

    3. not real, from a story about the gods

    4. a large, important church building

    5. execution of a criminal by nailing him to a cross

    6. like a god

    7. one who cares for sheep

    8. with kindness

    9. the ends of the fingers

    10. the smallest country in the world, located inside Rome, home of the Pope