Michelangelo Buonarroti
Get this SparkNote to go!
Important People and Terms
Bertoldo di Giovanni -
(c.1420–1491) The custodian and curator of Lorenzo
de' Medici's art collection, as well as de' Medici's close friend;
Michelangelo's sculpture teacher.
Donato Bramante -
(1444–1514) The most renowned and accomplished architect
of the High Renaissance before Michelangelo, famous for the Tempietto
and the first designs for St. Peter's.
Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni -
(1444–1530) Michelangelo's father, whom he supported
for much of his later life.
Michelangelo Buonarroti -
(1475–1564) the pre-eminent artist of the High Renaissance
and the subject of this SparkNote.
chiaroscuro -
A
painting technique invented by Leonardo da Vinci which employs degrees
of light and dark shades juxtaposed to create the effect of three-dimensional
modeling.
Clement VII -
One
of the Medici Popes who Michelangelo grew up with; the reigning
Pope during the Sack of Rome in 1527.
Vittoria Colonna -
(1490–1547) The marquess of Pescara; Michelangelo's
close friend and the subject of many of his "love" poems.
Ascanio Condivi -
(c.1525-c.1574) A minor student of Michelangelo's
and the author of the biography Life of Michelangelo in
1553.
Council of Trent -
The Catholic Church's committee meetings to discuss
and organize the Counter- Reformation; first convened in 1545, the
Council decided to prohibit the use of nudes in religious art in
1563.
Counter-Reformation -
The Catholic Church's attempt to reform in the wake
of the Reformation and the rising popularity of Protestantism.
Leonardo da Vinci -
(1452–1519) The oldest member and father figure of
the High Renaissance; a revolutionary thinker, scientist, inventor,
and artist.
Donatello -
(1386–1466)
Important mid-Renaissance sculptor; teacher of Bertoldo, who later
taught Michelangelo.
Marsilio Ficino -
A member of the court of Lorenzo de'Medici; the principal
philosopher and proponent of Neoplatonism.
Domenico and David Ghirlandaio -
(1449–1494) Two popular Florentine painters in whose
studio Michelangelo briefly served as an apprentice.
High Renaissance -
The period from about 1495 to 1527; principally defined
by the refined and extended brand of Renaissance humanist art practiced
by Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Giorgione, and Titian.
humanism -
A
Renaissance philosophical stance that held that the Classical age
of Greece and Rome epitomized the highest standards of human cultural
excellence and perfection; also emphasized the independence and sovereignty
of the individual.
Julius II -
The
Pope who commissioned Michelangelo for his tomb and the Sistine
Ceiling, among other projects.
Martin Luther -
The
leader of the Protestant Reformation; sparked an uproar against
the Catholic Church after posting his "Theses" in Wittenburg in
1517.
Medici -
The
most affluent and influential family in Florence; great Renaissance
patrons of the arts, they supported Michelangelo as rulers of Florence
and as Popes
Lorenzo de' Medici -
The philosophy that reconciled Classicism and Christianity
during the Renaissance; most actively argued by Marsilio Ficino.
pieta -
A
sculpture of the dead Christ being
contemplated, by the Virgin Mary or other Biblical figures, after
being taken down from the cross.
Pius IV -
The
reigning Pope when Michelangelo died in 1564 and the Pope who ordered
the repainting of the nudes in the Last Judgment.
Reformation -
The
religious movement that split the Catholic Church and led to the
creation of Protestantism; started by Martin Luther in 1517 in
Wittenburg, Germany, the Reformation quickly split Europe religiously
and politically.
Renaissance -
A
period that began in Italy and Northern Europe around 1400, marked
by a dramatic resurgence of interest in the arts and sciences and
triggered by a renewed emphasis on the ideas and art of Classical Greece
and Rome.
Giuliano da Sangallo -
(c.1443–1516) Architect who worked on the design
and construction of St. Peter's after Bramante and before Michelangelo.
Girolamo Savonarola -
Dominican friar who led a puritanical revolt against
Neoplatonism and was burned at the stake for heresy; Michelangelo
met him at the palace of Lorenzo de'Medici
