Michelangelo

            Michelangelo's Pieta, one of the most famous works of art, is an enchanting marble statue. I am writing on this topic because, of all the works of art I have come across, this one held my gaze the longest. The more I study the Pieta the more enchanted I become. Thru my writing I will introduce you to its wonder. It has convinced my critical eye of its greatness, and it will convince yours too.
             The news of Michelangelo's birth is documented by his father " Today March 6, 1475, a child of Male sex has been born to me and I have named him Michelangelo. He was born on Monday between 4and 5 in the morning, at Caprese (Italy), where I am the Podesta."" (Bonner, Early Life). Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born into a family where status was very important. His father, Lodovico Buonarroti was desperately clinging to what remained of the family fortune and had high hopes that his 5 sons, Michelangelo being number 2, would become successful and save the family status. Artists were considered "laborers, no better than shoemakers- (Bonner, Early Life) and Michelangelo's father was not happy when his son revealed to him his chosen path in life. But he conceded, and Michelangelo began his formal training as an artist at the age of 13. He spent 2 years as an apprentice for Domenico Ghirlandaio. He went from there to the Medici family, where he stayed for about 3 years. At first he was studying at their sculpture school and soon he was invited into the household of Lorenzo de Medici the Patron of the family. During this time Michelangelo also studied human corpses to learn human anatomy. This study helped him understand the human body better and therefore recreate it more realistically in his sculptures. In 1492 Lorenzo de Medici died. Michelangelo followed the family for a while. In 1496 Michelangelo made his first trip to Rome. In Rome Michelangelo got the opportunity to study some classical Roman statues that had just been dug up.