Research Paper Outline
I. Introduction (how did Michelangelo affect the art society?)
The art world was changed in the 1500s when Michelangelo lived. The medieval, Gothic styles that had taken over in the times before was wiped away and replaced with intricate designs and old world methods that portrayed the beauty of human life and accomplishment. His techniques altered the artist's method for centuries, and still affect new art today.
II. Biography
a.) Born on the 6th of March 1475, his father was the judicial administrator for a small town in Caprese. Michelangelo's mother died when he was six in 1481. He lived with a stone cutter and his wife and family.
I: He later said, "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.
b.) Along with living with a stone cutter (where he learned to handle marble), Michelangelo's influences included da Vinci and Dominico Ghirlandaio.
II: Was an apprentice for Ghirlandaio for a number of years. Another of Ghirlandaio's apprentices hit Michelangelo in the face and broke his nose, hence the disfigurement of his face in all of his personal portraits.
c.) His mother died when he was very small and his father had important government jobs, so he was left with family friends for a number of years. He stayed with the Medicis for two years and studied at their art academy, but when Lorenzo de Medici died he left and went back to his father's home. He pretty much disappeared for the beginning of the 16th century, when he was sent to Paris to work on a larger than life statue of Hercules made of marble. He came back to Florence when it was more stable, and lived peacefully until he died in 1564.
III. Accomplishments
a.) Like most great artists, Michelangelo's work wasn't regarded as highly as it is now in the 1500s. People requested sculptures and paintings, some as large as The David and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and some as small as a small portrait for a family tomb. He saw what he wanted in a blank canvas or slab of marble and could expertly reecreate what he invisioned. "... I saw the angel and the marble and carved until I set him free..." "... Every block of stone has a statue inside of it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it..."
b.) Michelagelo completely revolutionized how artists scuplted with marble. Before Michelangelo's techniques, marble was used for small, simple sculptures or vases, but after he tacked the giant David, the door of marble sculpting began to open wider.
IV. Historical Backdrop (what life was like during his time - political climate, influential people, explorations, inventions, human rights issues, literature, music, art, etc...)
a.) During Michelangelo's life, the wealthy Medici family ruled Florence. He stayed with them and studied at their art academy for two years.
b.) Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince, which upset government officials.
c.) Florence was driven to chaos and threw the Medicis out. (Michelangelo moved to Rome during this time.)
V. Analysis and Closing (restate thesis)
Michelangelo's revolutionizing artistic techniques altered the artist's method for centuries, and still effect how art is made today. His view on the world and its leaders changed the way artists portray their subjects and how bold they allowed their artwork to be. Michelangelo will always be known as one of the most influential artists the world has ever known.
The art world was changed in the 1500s when Michelangelo lived. The medieval, Gothic styles that had taken over in the times before was wiped away and replaced with intricate designs and old world methods that portrayed the beauty of human life and accomplishment. His techniques altered the artist's method for centuries, and still affect new art today.
II. Biography
a.) Born on the 6th of March 1475, his father was the judicial administrator for a small town in Caprese. Michelangelo's mother died when he was six in 1481. He lived with a stone cutter and his wife and family.
I: He later said, "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.
b.) Along with living with a stone cutter (where he learned to handle marble), Michelangelo's influences included da Vinci and Dominico Ghirlandaio.
II: Was an apprentice for Ghirlandaio for a number of years. Another of Ghirlandaio's apprentices hit Michelangelo in the face and broke his nose, hence the disfigurement of his face in all of his personal portraits.
c.) His mother died when he was very small and his father had important government jobs, so he was left with family friends for a number of years. He stayed with the Medicis for two years and studied at their art academy, but when Lorenzo de Medici died he left and went back to his father's home. He pretty much disappeared for the beginning of the 16th century, when he was sent to Paris to work on a larger than life statue of Hercules made of marble. He came back to Florence when it was more stable, and lived peacefully until he died in 1564.
III. Accomplishments
a.) Like most great artists, Michelangelo's work wasn't regarded as highly as it is now in the 1500s. People requested sculptures and paintings, some as large as The David and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and some as small as a small portrait for a family tomb. He saw what he wanted in a blank canvas or slab of marble and could expertly reecreate what he invisioned. "... I saw the angel and the marble and carved until I set him free..." "... Every block of stone has a statue inside of it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it..."
b.) Michelagelo completely revolutionized how artists scuplted with marble. Before Michelangelo's techniques, marble was used for small, simple sculptures or vases, but after he tacked the giant David, the door of marble sculpting began to open wider.
IV. Historical Backdrop (what life was like during his time - political climate, influential people, explorations, inventions, human rights issues, literature, music, art, etc...)
a.) During Michelangelo's life, the wealthy Medici family ruled Florence. He stayed with them and studied at their art academy for two years.
b.) Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince, which upset government officials.
c.) Florence was driven to chaos and threw the Medicis out. (Michelangelo moved to Rome during this time.)
V. Analysis and Closing (restate thesis)
Michelangelo's revolutionizing artistic techniques altered the artist's method for centuries, and still effect how art is made today. His view on the world and its leaders changed the way artists portray their subjects and how bold they allowed their artwork to be. Michelangelo will always be known as one of the most influential artists the world has ever known.