The current exhibition, Michelangelo: Mind of the Master at the Cleveland Museum of Art (through January 5, 2020) includes 28 drawings and photographs of the great Renaissance artist’s frescoes, sculptures, and architectural projects.

 

Michelangelo Buonarrati was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, near Florence. Italy.

 

He lived for 88-years and received commissions from the Medici banking families and a number of Popes.

 

He died in Rome, after an illness, on February 18, 1564.

 

Michelangelo used drawings to develop the shapes and forms of the objects portrayed in his works.

 

He produced thousands of drawings. But the genius that he was – he was very distrustful and protective of his ideas and sadly destroyed most of his drawings in huge bonfires. Nearly 600 of his drawings have survived.

 

Michelangelo used live models, ancient sculpture, and human cadavers to master the details of the naked human body. It was not just the external form and muscles – but what lay beneath the human skin that interested him.

 

Here are two examples to illustrate his use of drawings to make a full-scale drawing of the Battle of Cascina.

 

*This drawing shows a male nude, turning to the right – done in 1504 or 1506 – in black chalk with touches of white

heightening. The drawing was for the male (shown highlighted) in the full-scale drawing for the Battle of Cascina.

*This drawing shows a male nude, striding to the left – done in 1504 or 1506 – in black chalk with touches of white

heightening. The drawing was for the male (shown highlighted) in the full-scale drawing for the Battle of Cascina.

In 1504, Michelangelo received a commission to paint a mural of the Battle of Cascina. The soldiers are shown as male nudes who were surprised by enemy forces when they were taking a bath in a river/This mural was never completed. Here are two photographs of the photograph of the full-scale drawing done by another artist/

In 1505, Pope Julius II summoned Michelangelo to Rome to create a funerary monument for him in St. Peter’s. Michelangelo worked on this project including sculptures for Moses and bound captives, for the next four decades.

 

 

 

 

The fresco covering an area of nearly 6,000 square feet (133 ft. x 46 ft) was commissioned by Pope Julius II and was completed over four years from 1508 to 1512. The fresco is a composition of narrative scenes from the book of Genesis, athletic male nudes, male and female prophets, medallions, and architectural elements. Michelangelo used a scaffolding and painted standing up.

 

 

 

 

These commissions (between 1519 to 1534) involved the integration of architecture and sculpture for two Medici Popes – Leo X (1513-21) and Clement VII (1523-34) – centered on the Medici’s home church – the Basilica of San Lorenzo – an aerial view of which is shown below.

 

*NEW SACRISTY – Housing the family’s tombs as shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

In 1533, Michelangelo received a commission from Pope Clement VII to adorn the adorn the altar wall at the Sistine Chapel. This fresco was painted between 1536-1541 and completed under Pope Paul II.

 

The Last Judgment depicts the second coming of Christ as told in the book of Revelation. Michelangelo’s depiction. however, was unorthodox – he showed a bare-chested Christ hovering in the middle surrounded by mostly nude saints. The extensive nudity caused controversy within the Catholic Church. Some of the nudity was covered, by another artist, with carefully placed drapery after Michelangelo’s death.

 

 

Following the death of architect Antonio de Sangallo, in 1546, Pope Paul III appointed Michelangelo, Chief Architect of the new Saint Peter’s Basilica despite the artist’s limited experience as an architect.

 

The basilica was to be reconstructed over the Old St. Peter’s Church dating to the 4th century.

 

Michelangelo’s principal challenge was the construction of a grand dome for which he used drawings and 3-d models to convey his ideas.

 

Owing to the project’s complexity and magnitude, Michelangelo did not live long enough to see its completion. The project was completed after his death in 1564.

 

 

 

 

The post includes text which in many cases comes directly from the description provided in the exhibition. Many thanks to the CMA.

 

I saw the exhibition multiple times, made copious notes, and took hundreds of photographs.

 

 

Each trip to our great museum is always an experience in unparalled joy.