Michelangelo Buonarroti – Ages 10 – Adult | Online Edition
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MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION Step 1 - Introducing the Michelangelo Buonarroti Slideshow Guide BEGIN READING HERE MOTIVATION Have you ever had to do a job you really didn’t want to do? Maybe you even got in an argument about it and stormed away angry. Did you end up doing the job anyway, because the person in charge, like a parent or teacher, insisted you do it? That is exactly what happened to our master artist when he was twenty-eight years old. Who would have had that much power over him as an adult? Click Start Lesson To Begin DEVELOPMENT 1. POPE JULIUS II Pope Julius was the powerful ruler of the church in Rome, and he heard about Michelangelo’s amazing talents. The Pope wanted to build beautiful churches and statues in Rome, so people would remember him. He tricked Michelangelo into moving to Rome to work as a sculptor. Sculpting was Michelangelo’s first love as an artist. But soon after Michelangelo began working, the Pope canceled the sculpture and forced him to begin a new project. That’s when the arguments began. Why? Click Next To Change Slide 2. SELF-PORTRAIT Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor. He generally signed his letters and contracts for important works of painting as “Michelangelo the Sculptor.” Time and time again he spoke of his dislike for painting. He claimed it was NOT his profession. Can you guess what Pope Julius asked him to do? (PAINT) Yes, the powerful Julius wanted and insisted that Michelangelo paint, because he was under contract. The artist argued, left town, tried everything he could to change the Pope’s mind. But Michelangelo finally gave in. The result was one of the most unique and famous works of art in the world. Let’s take a look. Click Next To Change Slide 1 MICHElANGELO BUONARROTI– Ages 10 – Adult | MeetTheMasters Online Edition MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION 3. & 4. SISTINE CHAPEL: VIEW TOWARDS ENTRANCE, SISTINE CHAPEL: VIEW TOWARDS ALTAR This is the assignment forced upon Michelangelo. It is the huge ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. This ceiling occupied Michelangelo for four years. It was extremely hard work, and it left the artist exhausted. How do you paint such a giant, tall ceiling? Try this so you can get some idea of what Michelangelo endured. Please stand up. Pretend you have climbed a very tall, steep ladder. You might even be feeling a bit dizzy when you reach the top, because you are more than sixty feet in the air! That’s like the height of three stories in a building. There’s a small, flat platform at the top where you can catch your breath and rest after such a long climb. Now, tilt your head back as far as it can go to look at the ceiling which is right above your head. Bend and arch your back so your head goes back even further. Raise your arm up holding a paintbrush. Try to hold this position as I tell you more. For the next four years, Michelangelo spent all his waking hours in this position. He even wrote a poem about it, illustrated with a little sketch. Click Next To Change Slide 5. SKETCH OF PAINTER You can relax now and sit down. See if his sketch looked like your position. Is his back bent? (YES) Is his head back as far as it can go? (YES) He said “My paintbrush all the day doth drop a rich mosaic on my face.” Do you think he had a very colorful face by the end of each day? (YES) At night he was so exhausted that he would fall into bed with his clothes and boots on. And to make matters worse, the Pope was not good about paying him, and work was constantly interrupted due to lack of funds for supplies and assistants. There was a war going on, and Pope Julius was far away and out of contact. Before Michelangelo climbed the ladder to begin work, he planned and prepared for six months. The ceiling has over 300 painted figures of people in scenes from the Bible. Once his general design was in order, he began sketching the individual scenes and figures in detail. He made 200-300 preliminary drawings. Sometimes he used live models, and other times he sculpted little figures out of wax and clay. Then he could study the light and shadows to make them realistic. But was he painting on canvas? (NO) It was a ceiling, so a special technique called fresco painting had to be learned. It was very tricky. His assistants would apply fresh plaster to a section of the ceiling where Michelangelo would paint for the day. He would paint right on the wet plaster, so it became a part of the ceiling itself. The tricky part was it could not be touched up after it dried. In a single day, Michelangelo had to completely finish all the work planned, or it dried and was spoiled, and he had to plaster over it and start again. Does it sound very stressful, complicated and really difficult? (YES!) Let’s look at a close-up figure from the Sistine Chapel. 2 MICHElANGELO BUONARROTI– Ages 10 – Adult | MeetTheMasters Online Edition MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION Click Next To Change Slide 6 .PROPHET JEREMIAH This is the prophet Jeremiah. Can you pose like Jeremiah? Tell me how Jeremiah or you would be feeling if you were sitting like this. (SAD, THOUGHTFUL, DEPRESSED) It is believed that Michelangelo used himself as a model for Jeremiah. Do you think this also shows Michelangelo’s emotional state? (YES) Notice Jeremiah’s physical size and strength - the powerful lines of his shoulders, arms, and heavy boots. Are his hands ones of pampered royalty or of a worker and doer? (WORKER) Is he in deep thought? (YES) Let’s take a close-up view. Click Next To Change Slide 7. DETAIL: PROPHET JEREMIAH Find a realistic detail you notice and admire, and point it out in this close-up of Jeremiah. (HAND - VEINS, LINES, BONES, FINGERNAILS; FACE - WRINKLES, CREASES; LIGHT AND SHADOWS) What is the brightest part? (YELLOW SLEEVE) Now follow that highlight upwards along his hand, which leads our eye to his face. There we catch the full extent of his despair. Lost in bitterness, his head sunk on his hand, he gazes downward. Unlike resting his head on a closed fist, the artist extended the index finger. Do you think this reveals peace or unrest? (UNREST) Remember, Jeremiah was just one of over 300 figures Michelangelo painted with such detail and realism. Was the Pope encouraging and supportive of this great artist whom he so badly wanted to paint the chapel ceiling? The Pope constantly pressured Michelangelo to hurry, hurry, and finish the huge ceiling. The Pope would show up unannounced, climb the ladders, and check on the progress. Finally, Michelangelo said, with great relief, that it was ready to be shown to the world. Let’s look at one of most famous scenes of the ceiling, as the people so long ago did. They walked in, looked up in wonder, and saw this next scene. Michelangelo positioned it right in the center so it couldn’t be missed. Click Next To Change Slide 8. THE CREATION OF ADAM Notice the graceful but powerful hands reaching out to touch each other in such a dramatic way. These hands, representing the creation of mankind, have come to symbolize the 3 MICHElANGELO BUONARROTI– Ages 10 – Adult | MeetTheMasters Online Edition MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION Sistine Chapel to people all over the world, beginning when Michelangelo first opened the chapel to the public. At the unveiling, people came running from all corners of the earth. This great work stopped them in amazement. It left them wondering and lost for words. The Pope, his greatness fed by this success, rewarded Michelangelo with money and splendid presents. But what else was the artist left with? He ruined his eyesight to the extent that he could not read letters or look at drawings unless they were held high above his eyes. This lasted for several months. Michelangelo was left exhausted by this giant work. But through this difficult process, he became more deeply involved as the work proceeded. He grew enormously in his techniques and ideas. His paintings became more exciting, freer, with more movement and realism. So even though he disliked painting and was forced into it by the Pope, few painters in the history of art can begin to come close to his mastery and vision which we see in the Sistine Chapel. Do you remember what kind of art Michelangelo preferred over painting? (SCULPTURE) Yes, he thought of himself as a sculptor first. Let’s enjoy three of his most famous sculptures. Click Next To Change Slide 9., 10., 11., 12., 13., & 14. SLIDES – PIETA, DETAIL: PIETA, MOSES, GIANT BLOCK OF MARBLE, DAVID, DETAIL: DAVID (Show and identify six slides.) 14. DETAIL: DAVID Michelangelo felt the human body was the most important subject an artist could sculpt or paint. He spent a lot of time studying nature and science to make his masterpieces as lifelike as possible. Unlike other artists of his time, he gave energy and strength to the people he sculpted. He began sculpting as a teenager. His work was so beautiful that no one saw the work of a teenager but that of an admired, accomplished and well-practiced master. He was so talented that he was enrolled as a student in a sculptor's shop.