Sunday, 30 March 2014

The Archetypal Renaissance Man Contenders

By Darren Hartley


Two of the most influential works in fresco in Western art history are Michelangelo paintings. They are renowned regardless of the low opinion of painting Michelangelo has. These works are the Genesis scenes found on the Sistine chapel ceiling and the Last Judgment painting on the Sistine Chapel altar wall. The Sistine chapel is found in Rome.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simon was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer. He is not only known for his Michelangelo paintings but also for two sculptures made before he turned thirty. These are the Pieta and the David.

As an architect, he revolutionized classical architecture by using plaster as the main element in his design of the dome of St Peter's Basilica also in Rome.

Michelangelo is the best documented artist of the 16th century when the sheer volume of surviving correspondences, reminiscences, and Michelangelo paintings in the form of sketches are taken into account.

Michelangelo has been considered for the title of archetypal Renaissance man based on his versatility in the disciplines of the highest order. His fellow Italian and rival, Leonardo da Vinci is his sole competitor for the title. Despite making only a low number of forays beyond the arts, Michelangelo was still able to acquire this discipline versatility. The Renaissance man represents a person whose seeming endless curiosity is matched only by his inventive skills.

Among the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious paintings of all time are the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, two Da Vinci paintings and the Creation of Adam, one of many Michelangelo paintings. They occupy that unique position in the art world.

Primarily known for his Da Vinci Paintings, Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was not only a painter but also an Italian polymath, being a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer, in various stages of his life.

Among the iconic Da Vinci paintings is his drawing of the Vitruvian Man. Due to Leonardo's constant, and frequently disastrous experimentation with new techniques, together with his chronic procrastination, only fifteen Da Vinci paintings experienced survival.

Despite their low number, these surviving Da Vinci paintings are contributions to later artist generations. These contributions are aided by Leonardo's notebooks that house drawings, scientific diagrams and personal thoughts on the art of painting. Again, this set of contributions is only rivalled by the set from his chief contemporary rival, Michelangelo.

An education in the studio of Verrocchio, a renowned Florentine painter, produced the earlier Da Vinci paintings.




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