Lesson 1 - Michelangelo - Marlow

This final video is just like the one about Leonardo Da Vinci, except instead it is about Michelangelo Buonarroti Simon who was the most potent sculpture and Da Vinci's biggest rival. Taking a look at another great artist during the Renaissance period, in this video I was shown the life and artistic onset of the man who could practically bless marble with only a hammer and a chisel.

Factually, what I liked that was said was that Michelangelo was always working, so much that he could barely eat. In other words, he was the complete opposite of Da Vinci, yet both men had incredibly gifted hands.

One of the most interesting facts to me was Michelangelo's obsession with the human body and how he so accurately portrays it in his sculptures, giving each figure a human fleshy look to it despite only being made of marble. Sometimes he was criticized for this because it was considered inappropriate for these nude and undesirable figures. For example, the Sculpture of Bacchus, rather than being poised, was staggering almost as if the figure was actually drunk and the body was fleshy and wholesome. Cardinal Riario, who had commissioned for this sculpture, did not approve of its appearance and entirety. Another example of this is the statue of David, which "residents of Florence thought a statue of a nude man was inappropriate for a prominent position such as it was outside of the Florentine government." (Tim Marlow, the narrator of this video). 

I did not enjoy this film as much just for the fact that, although there can't be much done about it, I don't think film accurately portrays the beauty of such work like the statue of David and the Sistine Chapel. I only say this because having been to Florence twice and seeing the statue of David both times, as well as visiting Rome and seeing the Sistine Chapel in person, film will never be able to compare to what you can actually see firsthand through the human eye. Though it is a nude male, the statue of David is elegant and graceful and something I think you can only truly experience in person. And no picture will ever be able to fully grasp the breathtaking beauty of the Sistine Chapel. Despite the self-destruction over the years of Michelangelo's most prominent work, the detail seen in sections of this extravagant ceiling could turn anyone into an art lover for its intricacy and incredible life span.