< p > The skill with which people work stone shows how civilized they are, says a Tuscan proverb. Anyone who visits Florence, the flower of Tuscany, can see the truth of this proverb. Since the time of the Etruscans, the people of this region have worked stone, using it to build houses and palaces, temples and fortresses, streets and walls. It is no wonder then that some of the greatest sculptors of the Renaissance were born there: Ghiberti, Donatello, and Michelangelo.
Over time, Florence developed in trade, crafts, art, and philosophy, and in the 15th century, under the secure rule of the Medici family, it became not only the flower of Tuscany but of all Europe. In such an environment, on March 6, 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti was born. By coincidence, he grew up in the family of a scalpellino, a sculptor from Settignano. Michelangelo used to say that his love for marble came from there.
Scalpellini respected the stone on which they lived. Their children began learning how to work with stone at the age of six.
Stone. The “alphabet” of the stonemason and the rhythm of hammer strikes on the chisel accompany the stonemason throughout his life; seven numbers for strikes and four for rest. They said that stone does not resent the chisel because violence is not exerted upon it. It is in its nature to change. But every stone has its own character. It needs to be understood and treated carefully. Stone is given understanding and love, but one must listen to what it says. As we treat the stone, so it responds to us. If it is not listened to, it will turn into something lifeless, colorless, and ugly. It can be destroyed by force, but not subdued. Only with love can beauty be created from it.
Michelangelo’s father, Ludovico, was not a man inclined towards art. He wanted his son to become a banker and improve the family’s reputation. He enrolled him in a banking school in Urbino. But all Michelangelo learned there was drawing, so at the age of thirteen, despite his father’s objections, he enrolled in the painting studio of Domenico Ghirlandaio, according to the words of the founder himself, the most renowned Leaning forward and with the most work in all of Italy. The motto of his school was: Nature is the perfect guide. He continued to do so, never failing to learn something every day.
After just one year spent in Ghirlandaio’s workshop, Lorenzo de’ Medici invited Michelangelo to his sculpture garden under the supervision of Donatello’s last living student, Bertoldo di Giovanni. Bertoldo noticed Michelangelo’s talent, but tested him and after a few years, once he was convinced of the sincerity of Michelangelo’s efforts, he passed on all his knowledge to him. Since then, Michelangelo lived in the Medici Palace. He attended the Florentine Academy of Neoplatonism founded by Cosimo de’ Medici. Marsilio Ficino, Cristoforo Landino, Angelo Poliziano, and Pico della Mirandola, the greatest philosophical minds of the time, taught him history, philosophy, and poetry. With their help, as well as through the rich art collection and library of the Medici, he gained extensive knowledge and deeper insight into art.
With the fall of the Florentine Republic Michelangelo’s public youth and learning period had irreversibly disappeared, but his learning and exploration did not stop there, as witnessed by his works. From his first work, Madonna on the Stairs, to his last, the design of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, they constantly surprise with freshness and deeply woven messages. He was not afraid of people, authorities, or death; he was only afraid of mediocrity. He did not want to create something mediocre, even when it was demanded of him, such as the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
Pope Julius wanted to decorate the Sistine Chapel with frescoes of the twelve apostles. Hesitant, Michelangelo accepted the task, but when the work was nearly finished, he realized that it was not his best. He then did something unthinkable, even to rulers. He opposed the pope’s will, destroyed the frescoes, and disappeared. After several months in hiding, he returned with sketches and ideas that required much more time and effort to create than it would have taken for the twelve apostles. The apostle is given. The Pope understood his reasons and forgave him for disobedience.
For the next four years, Michelangelo spent his time under the vault of the chapel. He painted lying on his back day and night, almost without stopping. He slept only four hours a day, forgetting to eat, exposed to cold and dampness. It was the will in action. The outcome of this endeavor needs no special recounting – not only a painting was born, but an entire canon of painting. What Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” is to the world of music, the “Sistine Chapel” is to the world of painting – his most magnificent symphony.
More than historical facts, Michelangelo’s works speak of him. In every sculpture, every painting, every fresco, a part of his thoughts, experiences, and even his character is contained. His works are not just silent testimonies of a bygone era. Even after five centuries, they still live and convey their stories. The sculpture of David, for example, contains a lifelong story: it emerges from his posture, the look on his face, the way he – He swings the slingshot with difficulty, scrutinizing every detail, even the smallest. He is a man facing a life-changing decision, knowing he can defeat Goliath, but also aware that once he engages, there’s no going back for him. However, he is not just the biblical David, a memory of a heroic act from the distant past, no matter how great it was. Moreover, he represents every person who finds themselves at a crucial crossroad in life, and therefore, the story he tells resonates equally within each of us.
Michelangelo’s works are not just moments of inspiration transformed into form. They are a fusion of inspiration, technique, and understanding. Besides their unquestionable external beauty and simplicity, they are the result of deep knowledge of art, its canons and laws. They embody mathematics, proportion, and the philosophy that gave substance to form. The paintings of prophets and prophetesses in the niches of the Sistine Chapel’s vault were distorted to appear proportional when viewed from the floor, as the curves of the arches demanded. Additionally, each figure, each character has their own significance. In a hidden geometric form, a sacred number reflects its own inner harmony. The statue of Moses, for example, is made in the geometric form of a cone around which a spiral wraps from the base to the top. The legs, arms, curvature of the body, and beard all follow this spiral, reflecting harmony and the connection to the message of the spiral: the ascent from the earthly to the divine in humans. Moses, like David, tells his story. He represents the universal father of mankind and, like a true father, is full of love for his children. He is there to teach them, not to punish or abandon them. He is depicted at the moment of making the decision to give the tablets of the law to his people.
Another Tuscan proverb captures Michelangelo: “Who works in stone must have its nature: rough on the outside, serene on the inside.” Due to his uncompromising attitude towards the hypocrisy of his time, he had few sincere friends, many enemies, and most of all, envious individuals. But that didn’t matter to him as long as there was work he could take on. To fulfill his projects, he often… Miche had to come up with innovations such as a scaffold for the Sistine Chapel or the road he designed for extracting marble from Pietrasanta.
In addition to being a sculptor and painter, it is lesser-known that he wrote poetry and dabbled in architecture. However, marble was and remains his greatest love. Once he wrote:
“Not even the best of artists carries in their mind a thought
that this rough stone does not already hide
in its endless shell.
To shatter the marble enchantment,
that is all the hand serving the mind needs to do.”
When asked where his ideas come from, he replied: Ideas are natural functions of the mind, just as breathing is a natural function of the lungs. However, in accordance with Plato’s philosophy, he never considered himself the source of ideas. He was the one who connects ideas and form.
When marble is once outside the quarry, it is no longer a mountain, it is a river. It can take its course. That’s what I do. I help that marble river change its course.
These words perhaps best illuminate the role Miche played. Angelo dedicated himself as an artist. He was a bridge that connected the tradition of classical antiquity sculpture with new ideas of humanism and the Renaissance, and he devoted his entire life to this idea.