Many people have contributed something to what we know as the renaissance era, whether it was art, music, or poetry; But few have contributed to the renaissance era what Michelangelo has. Examples of this can be seen throughout history with his many famous paintings, sculptures, or his lesser known poetry. These examples include the Sistine chapel paintings and his David sculptures, these contributions alone prove that Michelangelo was one of the major contributors to the renaissance era. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. His father was employed by the Florentine government, and soon after Michelangelo’s birth his family returned to the city of Florence. Michelangelo’s new …show more content…
At the age of six Michelangelo’s mother passed away and initially his father did not approve of his chose career path. At the young age of thirteen, Michelangelo became an apprentice of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio who was well known for his murals. After a year of apprenticing Mr. Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo begin to catch the eye of Lorenzo de Medici, who was known as Florence’s leading art patron and citizen. Lorenzo de Medici, who was often accompanied by the city’s most intellectual and artistic men, gave an invitation to Michelangelo to occupy a room at his palatial home. It was here that Michelangelo was able to learn from and be inspired by the many scholars and talented writers in Lorenzo’s intellectual circle. The time spent in Lorenzo de Medici’s home would forever …show more content…
Lagraulas wanted to create a large statue of the Virgin Mary with her dead son resting in her arms that was intended to be used as a Pieta to grace his own future grave. What Michelangelo created was a five foot nine inch tall intricate masterpiece, created from a single block of marble. Even to this day, 500 years later, people still flock to see this beautiful statue. In 1501 Michelangelo returned to his home of Florence and was hired to create a huge male figure made of marble. This figure was intended to enhance the city’s famous cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. He chose to model this statue after a young David from the Old Testament. This statue depicts David as powerful and larger than life figure at over 17 feet tall. This sculpture still remains in Florence to this day at the Galleria dell’Accademia. This statue is a world renowned symbol of the city of Florence’s artistic heritage and is considered by scholars to be almost