Megan Wagner
Artist Profile
1/26/18
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Michelangelo one of the greatest artists of Italy was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese near Arezzo, Tuscany during the period that is known as the Renaissance. He died February 18, 1564 at 89, an exceptionally long life for the era, in Rome a city which still holds many of his artistic contributions. The most famous of which are: the ceiling of the Sistine Chapple, the statues David and Pietà, and a multitude of other works. However, what is rarely known about him is that before he became a recognized artist he in fact had tried to fraud a cupid sculpture into looking ancient and attempted to sell it. When the buyer learned of the truth he immediately demanded his money back but was also so impressed with Michelangelo’s work that he invited him to meet in Rome where the artist stayed for most of his life. It may also surprise you to learn that Michelangelo was also a poet having written over 300 poems most of a Neo-Platonist view and many of which were sonnets to his dear friend Vittoria Colonna. I found this last fact I found to be rather humorous and I hope you will too, but apparently Michelangelo was one of the first people to have a biography about him written whilst the person was still living. It was difficult to decide on which of his more famous quotes I enjoyed more, I think it was a tie really between “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all” and “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” The first being rather humorous and the second capturing the ambitious nature of the man.