The Rightful Archetypal Renaissance Man

By Darren Hartley


Among the Michelangelo paintings are two of the most influential works in fresco in Western art history. These are the scenes from Genesis on the Sistine chapel ceiling and the Last Judgment on the Sistine Chapel altar wall in Rome. These works are renowned inspite of Michelangelo's low opinion of painting.

An Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simon is also famous for two sculptures, aside from his Michelangelo paintings, These sculptures, completed before he turned thirty, 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 considered to be the best documented 16th century artist. The basis of this fact is the volume of his surviving correspondences, reminiscences and sketches. These sketches are considered to be the earliest Michelangelo paintings.

The title of the archetypal Renaissance man is referred for the individual whose continuous curiosity runs parallel with his inventive skills. Only two artists have been under consideration for this honor, Michelangelo and his fellow Italian and rival, Leonardo da Vinci. Michelangelo earned his berth for the title from his versatility in the disciplines of the highest order. This versatility Michelangelo was able to attain despite the low number of forays he made beyond the arts.

Da Vinci paintings include the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. These two Da Vinci paintings occupy unique positions in the art world as the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious, respectively, paintings of all time. Their fame is approached only by the Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo, Da Vinci's rival and co-Italian painter.

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.

The Vitruvian Man drawing is among the iconic Da Vinci paintings. Unfortunately, the number of surviving Da Vinci paintings is very minimal, pegged at 15. This low survival rate has been attributed to Leonardo's constant and often times disastrous experimentation with new methods. His chronic procrastination of his works was also a contributing factor.

As far as contributions to later generations of artist, Da Vinci and Michelangelo find themselves rivalling one another once again. As far as Da Vinci is concerned, his contribution consists of the surviving Da Vinci paintings, together with his notebooks of drawings, scientific diagrams and personal insights on the nature of painting.

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




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