Michelangelo- the Life and Times

Andrew Collier

Pd 5

Michelangelo - The Life and Times

The man was born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni on March 6th, 1475 in a town called Caprese, within the district of Arezzo, in Tuscany. His father, Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti di Simoni, was a government administrator in their small town and local administrator to Chiusi (the modern equivalent of a state representative to congress). Michelangelo's mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena. Several months after Michelangelo's birth, his parents returned to Florence, where he was raised. Michelangelo is often quoted as saying, "If there is some good in me, it is because I was born in the subtle atmosphere of your country of Arezzo. Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, with which I make my figures."

At age 11, Michelangelo's father sent him to study grammar with Francesco da Urbino in Florence. Lil' Mikey, however, showed no interest in his schooling, preferring to copy paintings from local churches and hang around painters. At thirteen, Michelangelo became an apprentice to artist Domenico Ghirlandaio. When Michelangelo was only fourteen, his father persuaded Ghirlandaio to pay him as a fully fledged artist, a highly unusual thing at that day and age. In 1489, Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence, asked Ghirlandaio for his two best pupils, He sent Michelangelo and Francesco Granacci. From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo attended the Humanist academy which the Medici had founded. At the academy, Michelangelo's outlook and art were both subject to the influence of many of the most prominent philosophers and writers of the day including Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola and Poliziano. At this time, Michelangelo sculpted the reliefs Madonna of the Steps and Battle of the Centaurs (at this time, Columbus was landing in the Americas). While both were apprenticed to Bertoldo di Giovanni, Pietro Torrigiano struck Mike on the nose, and thus...