Isabella Flores
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. He is considered one of the greatest artists of all time, with his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture ranking among the most famous in existence. While Michelangelo is known to have had assistants, he completed the labour-intensive fresco painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling himself, with only the most menial preparatory tasks delegated to his assistants. This project, comprising over 5,700 square feet of fresco painting, took Michelangelo just four years to complete.
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What You'll Learn
Michelangelo's assistants
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. He is considered one of the greatest artists of all time, with his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture ranking among the most famous in existence.
While Michelangelo is known to have had assistants, the extent of their involvement in his artistic process is not entirely clear. We know that Michelangelo did have assistants during the painting of the Sistine Chapel frescoes, which are considered some of his most influential works. These assistants likely helped with menial preparatory tasks, as Michelangelo himself completed the actual painting.
Michelangelo's most well-known assistant was Ascanio Condivi, whom he tasked with writing a biography to present the artist as he wished to be seen. This biography, likely based on Michelangelo's spoken comments, was published in 1553 and offered a different perspective from the one presented by Giorgio Vasari in his book "The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects" published in 1550.
Michelangelo began his artistic career as an apprentice to the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio at the age of 13. However, he left after one year, as he felt he had nothing more to learn. During his apprenticeship, he would have been expected to copy the works of his master and other great painters, and these copies provide valuable insight into his early artistic development.
Throughout his career, Michelangelo collaborated and interacted with other artists, patrons, and intellectuals. He was part of the circle of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of Florence, who surrounded himself with poets and intellectuals. Michelangelo's rivalry with Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci is also well-documented, with each artist competing for commissions and seeking to surpass the others' achievements.
In conclusion, while Michelangelo did have assistants and collaborators throughout his career, the specific details of their contributions vary. Some assisted with preparatory tasks or documented his life, while others provided inspiration or competition that influenced his artistic practice.
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Michelangelo's apprenticeship
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known as Michelangelo, was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany. He was born into a family of small-scale bankers in Florence, but his family moved back to Florence when the bank failed. Michelangelo's father took a government post in Caprese, and he was the town's judicial administrator at the time of Michelangelo's birth.
Michelangelo became an apprentice relatively late, at the age of 13, perhaps due to his father's objections. He was apprenticed to the Florentine painter Domenico Ghirlandaio for a three-year term, but he left after one year, having learned all he could from the master. During this time, he learned the cross-hatching technique of drawing, which was a "great gift" for painting and frescoes. However, his heart was in sculpture, and he soon left Ghirlandaio's studio to pursue this less-travelled path.
Under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, Michelangelo continued his artistic education in the Medici Sculpture Garden, where he was apprenticed to Bertoldo, a student of Donatello. Bertoldo initially assigned Michelangelo to a drawing desk, where he worked for nearly a year. Bertoldo then taught Michelangelo to model in clay and wax, telling him that he must master these mediums before working on stone.
Michelangelo's fame as an artist grew quickly. By his 20s, he had gained notice for his sculptures of the Pietà (1499) and David (1501). He also painted the Battle of Cascina on one wall of the Sala del Gran Consiglio in the Palazzo della Signoria, Florence, in competition with Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo's most famous works are the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he completed between 1508 and 1512.
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Michelangelo's rivalry with Raphael
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. He is considered one of the greatest artists of all time, with several works in painting, sculpture, and architecture ranking among the most famous in existence. Michelangelo's mastery in a range of artistic arenas defines him as a Renaissance man, alongside his rival and contemporary, Leonardo da Vinci.
Michelangelo was known for his difficult personality, and he is described as a solitary curmudgeon with stormy relations with his patrons and assistants. He was a devout Catholic who led a spartan existence, sleeping in his clothes and eating out of necessity rather than pleasure. In contrast, Raphael was easy-going and pleasure-loving, and while Michelangelo is rumoured to have lived a life of monk-like chastity, Raphael was a Casanova. Michelangelo may have envied Raphael's popularity and social skills, in addition to his artistic reputation.
Despite Michelangelo's negative reactions to Raphael's success, the younger artist maintained a keen interest in his work. Raphael even arranged a secret visit to the Sistine Chapel with the help of Bramante, the architect commissioned to build the new Saint Peter's Basilica. This visit allowed Raphael to admire Michelangelo's work, which was otherwise off-limits by order of the artist himself.
The rivalry between Michelangelo and Raphael influenced their artistic and personal evolution. Despite their competition, Michelangelo admired Raphael's skill. When asked to estimate the value of Raphael's "The Prophet Isaiah" painting, Michelangelo replied that it was worth the price for the knee alone. Additionally, one of Raphael's last paintings, "The Transfiguration", depicts Christ surrounded by an aura of light while floating on Mount Tabor, with characters that have imposing bodies and detailed muscles influenced by Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel finishes.
In conclusion, the rivalry between Michelangelo and Raphael was intense and shaped their artistic careers. Their competition and mutual influence contributed to the development of Renaissance art, leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.
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Michelangelo's self-portraits
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, is a well-documented Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Although he did not consider himself a painter, Michelangelo created two of the most influential frescoes in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and The Last Judgment on its altar wall.
Michelangelo never made a self-portrait, but he included his likeness in his artwork. Other artists, like Raphael and Daniele da Volterra, depicted Michelangelo in their own works. Statues and death masks were also created, capturing Michelangelo's features. One of the closest things to a self-portrait of Michelangelo in paint is the skin of St. Bartholomew, which the artist included in a painting that shows the souls of the dead rising up to face the wrath of God. This painting is now attributed to Jacopino del Conte, though at one point it was believed to be a self-portrait by Michelangelo himself.
There is some debate about whether Michelangelo included a self-portrait in his Sistine Chapel fresco, "The Creation of Adam." In a letter to his friend Giovanni da Pistoia, Michelangelo included a rough sketch in the margins of a person with their left leg crossed in front of the other and painting what appears to be a face overhead. Art historian Adriano Marinazzo has posited that this sketch is a self-portrait of Michelangelo working on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and that Michelangelo modelled his portrayal of God in "The Creation of Adam" after himself.
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Michelangelo's assistants' tasks
Michelangelo is known to have had assistants, but it is not clear exactly how many or who they were. We do know the name of one assistant, Ascanio Condivi, who wrote a biography of Michelangelo, probably based on the artist's own spoken comments.
Michelangelo was a perfectionist and is said to have burned the vast majority of his drawings so that no one could see his creative struggles. Only a few of his drawings for the Sistine Chapel survive.
Michelangelo's assistants would have helped with the preparation of the cartoons, and the mixing and application of paints. They may also have assisted with the construction of the scaffold and the sourcing and preparation of materials.
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Frequently asked questions
Michelangelo did have assistants, but he delegated to them only the most menial of preparatory tasks.
Michelangelo's most famous painting is the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he completed himself.
Michelangelo did not consider himself a painter, and he is even known to have said, "I am not a painter." He thought of himself primarily as a sculptor.
Yes, Michelangelo often painted himself into his works. The most famous of these self-portraits is in The Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel.
Michelangelo's rivals included Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci.
