Michelangelo’s Magnificent Artwork

Name:
Tutor:
Course:
Date:
Michelangelo’s Magnificent Artwork
Michelangelo Di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni commonly known as Michelangelo was an Italian artist whose work made a great contribution to the industry at the time. He ventured in various artistic works including painting, poetry, and sculpturing. He succeeded in all the areas that he ventured into and his artworks are some of the most renowned pieces of the sixteenth century. Michelangelo lived between 1475 and 1564 and he became one of the most famous artists of the Renaissance period in Italy (Michelangelo 65). He is mentioned alongside some of the greatest artists of all times such as Leonardo Da Vinci. In fact, Michelangelo is believed to have been one of the greatest competitors of Da Vinci although he was 23 years younger than Leonardo was. History remembers Michelangelo for his artistic virtuosity in the creation of various artworks including the David sculpture, the last judgment painting, and the Madonna sculpture among other works (Barkan and Buonarroti 106). His proficiency in different areas of art helped him to contribute greatly to various spheres of life including politics and religion. Moreover, Michelangelo used unique designs to create his artwork especially the use of the contrapposto style. His influence in art is still felt today and his works are some of the materials on which modern art is founded, as the world knows it.
Michelangelo’s work is highly appreciated because of the unique styles and techniques that the artist used to create different kinds of art.

For instance, regardless of his low opinion of paintings, his last judgment painting is one of the most decorated and the most appreciated paintings of the sixteenth century. He employed various tactics and knowledge to bring out a clear situation of the judgment day as the Christen religion believes it. Although the painting was criticized for using too much blue color, it still had a great contribution to religion at the time. The artist displayed a level of technical know-how and intelligence that most people living in that era did not possess. One of the most notable contributions of Michelangelo to the field of art was the development of the mannerism art style that is highly appreciated today (Smithers 230). The art design came about as artists in the sixteenth century tried to reproduce the works of Michelangelo. The works are still reproduced today and exhibited in various museums across the globe, an indication that the artist did make a considerable contribution to the field of arts.
Church leaders and political organizations contracted Michelangelo to create different artworks for various reasons. David, one of the most renowned and most appreciated works of Michelangelo had a great impact on the political scene of Florence at the time (Unger 149). The sculpture is a representation of the biblical David who slew Goliath with a sling and a stone leading to the freedom of Israelites from the oppression of their enemies. Initially, the artist was contracted to create the David sculpture for the church, but the political leaders took an interest in its significance to the political situation at the time. It was therefore placed at strategic places across the country to make a political statement and remind the people of their freedom from their enemies.
The sculpture of David represents hope and freedom for the people of Florence who had been under the colonial rule of the Medici. Moreover, the sculpture represents the readiness of the people to deal with difficult situations with the confidence of victory. To the soldiers, the sculpture represents a warrior who is at peace with the situations as they are but ready to defend his position if confronted with any danger. This representation was important for the people of Florence and the entire world at large considering that wars were a common phenomenon during those days. The ability of Michelangelo to capture the emotions of the people and the situations surrounding the society at the period and display it using a single sculpture made him quite popular among the political class and his peers. His contribution to the political scene continued up until his death in 1564 (Michelangelo 94).
Michelangelo also contributed to the religious movements in various ways throughout his life. At a young age, he was allowed by the church to study cadavers to improve his understanding of the human anatomy (Bouleau and Villon 207). Later, he was contracted by church organizations to create artworks that were considered necessary for the church at the time. For instance, he was contracted by the pope to paint his tomb, a job that he did not complete with effectiveness due to unforeseen issues. The last judgment painting depicting the last days of judgment as narrated in the Bible is one of the most recognized paintings of Michelangelo (Smithers 55). The Madonna is also one of the religious artworks that the artist did for the church representing the baby Jesus and his mother Mary. Although the Madonna sculpture is quite different from the first sculpture that Michelangelo did on Jesus and Mary, it has a great significance to the Christian faith thus making it a well thought out piece of art just like any other of Michelangelo’s works.
The outstanding works of Michelangelo can be attributed to many things including his exposure to different lifestyles as well as his ability to use unique styles to represent his work. Michelangelo had very little interest in schooling as a child leading his father to enroll him into apprenticing activities at a tender age where he learned different aspects of art. During his years with the Medici, Michelangelo learned the technique of frescos, which was of great help to his work later in life. Moreover, his association with the social elite of Florence gave him an opportunity to interact and learn from prominent poets, scholars and learned humanists (Kleinbub 76). Most of Michelangelo’s works were influenced by what he learned about philosophy and politics during his association with Lorenzo. He was among the first artists of his time to create multi-figured sculptures, a design that was rare in the 15th and the 16th centuries.
The contrapposto style is among the commonly used styles in Michelangelo’s works. The artist employs this design in almost all his sculptures and paintings at varied levels. At some of the paintings and sculptures, he used several figures in opposite poses to bring out the intended message clearly (Ward 124). For instance, in the pieta, the contrapposto style is used to show the lifeless body of Jesus and the situation of the mother. In the Madonna, the contrapposto style is used to show the baby Jesus leaving the comfort of his mother’s arms to go and serve humanity presumably. On the other hand, the gaze of the mother in the same sculpture is an indication of the mother’s unwillingness to hold on to his son. The implication of the sculpture is that Mary, the mother of Jesus had no real power to keep her son by her side because Jesus had to serve his purpose.
The style is also used in other sculptures such as the David where the man is standing with the weight of his entire body on one leg while the another leg is ready to take off (Sheikh 75). The posture is quite significant and it represents the true nature of humanity. The posture is one that anyone can take; therefore, Michelangelo used the contrapposto style to make the sculpture as real as possible. The artist used the style to represent the situation and the feelings of the people on the ground for political reasons. Moreover, the style was used to indicate that soldiers at the Florence were at peace but ready to confront any situation that threatened that peace.
Michelangelo was one of the most talented artists of the sixteenth century and his works have remained relevant over centuries. He used different techniques to contribute to only to the field of art but also to religion and politics. One of the styles that Michelangelo used on most of his works was the contrapposto style. The style was quite useful in complementing the works of Michelangelo and bringing out the intended message of the sculptures. Additionally, the use of different styles helped the artist to display emotions through art in a much better way. The use of contrapposto among other styles set Michelangelo apart and gave him a competitive edge over his counterparts during his lifetime.

Works Cited
Barkan, Leonard, and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo: a life on paper. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2011. Print.
Bouleau, Charles, and Jacques Villon. The painter’s secret geometry: a study of composition in art. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc, 2014. Print.
Kleinbub, Christian K. Vision and the visionary in Raphael. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011. Print.
Michelangelo. New York: Parkstone International, 2005. Print.
Sheikh, Saad. “The deviating eyes of Michelangelo’s David”, J R Soc Med 98.2 (2005): 75-76. Print.
Smithers, Tamara. Michelangelo in the new millennium: conversations about artistic practice, patronage, and Christianity. Boston: Brill, 2016. Print.
Unger, Miles. Michelangelo: a life in six masterpieces. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014. Print.
Ward, Gerald W. The Grove encyclopedia of materials and techniques in the art. Oxford New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.