Questions I would Put Michelangelo at the Meeting

If I could visit with one person from the Italian Renaissance, it would most definitely be Michelangelo. He was born in Caprese on March 6, 1475. Even though he was born in Caprese, he grew up in Florence. I would choose him not only because he is the greatest Italian artist in the Italian Renaissance but also because of at the age of 13, he started his career.

Being so young, he wasn’t expected to have the great talent and natural born talent he is known to have today. Michelangelo was brought in as an art apprentice by Lorenzo dé Medici who also worked under Donatello. After a few years of working as an apprentice, he studied under the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni and also studied art and ancient Roman statuary.

Michelangelo Buonarroti contributed his life into the Italian Renaissance and humanities. Being the great and respected artist that he was, his art brought physical realism and a powerful look into the art world. Michelangelo had many important art pieces during this time period. These included his Pietà and David sculptures, which help establish his role as an artist, and also his incredible paintings of the Sistine Chapel.

Some of Michelangelo’s still stands in great and prominent condition. As mentioned before some of his first work included the statues of Pietà and David in 1498. The inspiration of Pietà came from when the French Cardinal Jean Bilères de Lagraulas, the representative of King Charles VIII. Jean Bilères de Lagraulas wanted a statue to portray the Virgin Mary to sit upon his future tomb. Michelangelo delivered and sculpted an almost 6 foot sculpture made from pure marble.

In 1501, Michelangelo got a job to make the sculpture David. The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore wanted a male figure to be placed out front. David’s inspiration came from the Old Testament to be depicted as valiant and holy. Being made from marble just like Pietà, David stood 17 feet tall and still stands today in a museum in Florence.

If I had to chance today to ask Michelangelo any questions, I’d have quite a few. One question would be, as a child, did he know that painting and sculpting was what he wanted to do with his life? I would ask this because at just the age of 13, he mapped his entire life. He knew exactly what his passion was and became a master of everything he loved. He lived and breathed art. I believe Michelangelo would answer yes, he did know that this was what he wanted to do. Based on the era he was born and raised, it was a time for inspiration and new commodities.

I would also ask him what it was like being chosen to do art for two cathedrals. Being the magnificent artist that he was, he had to have been over the moon to be painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and making a sculpture for the cathedral Maria del Fiore. In the age and time of his artful achievements, he brought in new meaning to art and different views into the gifted world he brought himself into. Even though Michelangelo was commissioned for his fine art and awarded tremendously, I don’t think he ever really understood was his art would mean then and even now to not just the art world, but the real world as well.

If Michelangelo Buonarroti never got into the art world, would he be married and have a family? Being brought in to do all of this timeless work, I’m sure he never even thought to settle down and have children of his own. Or if while he was doing his work, would he make time and set aside his art to get married and settle down. Being that good at something, I believe he never had the time or even wanted to push his passion aside and ruin his art. I’m sure he was a very nice, honest, and loveable man but if he were married and had kids, would he have ever got the chance to create the wonderful Pietà and David?

My last and final question for Michelangelo would be, if he knew his artwork would shape and help create such a big name for the art industry, would he have done it any different? I would only ask this because yes, he did create beautiful pieces, large and important to history might I add, but would he have done more? If he would have known how big his name was going to be, would he have more personal pieces to represent his life and how he learned to be the great artist that he once was? Even though he created 178 magnificent painting and sculptures, did he create art for him to love, or was it all just for commission and if he had known how big he would be today, would he do his art different?