How Did Michelangelo Buonarroti Influence Art

Michelangelo Buonarroti, one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance, devoted his whole life to groundbreaking works of art that would influence and inspire future artists to come for centuries. His art, which ranged from sculptures to paintings to poetry, astonished and inspired people of every origin and age. There was no place he would rather be than in his studio perfecting his work, which consumed his life up until his death. One could even infer that Michelangelo found comfort and solace in his art. One of Michelangelo’s most famous works featured in the Sistine Chapel ceiling portrays the nine stories of Genesis as well as stories of the salvation of Israel’s people, but many could not even fathom the stories of misery and
His goal was perfection in art and the other students were envious of his talent. When he was sixteen, Ghirlandaio, in order to diversify Michelangelo's talent, "sent him to study sculpture with Bertoldo de’ Giovanni" (Jacobsen 2008, 256). At that time, Florence was ruled by the influential and powerful Medici family who were great philanthropists. The prince, Lorenzo, was so impressed with Michelangelo that he “gave him the privileges of a son” (Jacobsen 2008, 256). Although this was an incredible opportunity for him, his father felt his worst fear came true- Michelangelo would be a lowly artist working under someone else (Jacobsen 2008, 256). The Medici family would highly influence the technique and style with which Michelangelo sculpted. During the two years he lived with them, he learned a lot about Greek philosophy and became infatuated with Greek sculpture. He wanted to capture ideal beauty in his statues the way they did. In order for Michelangelo to perfect his sculptures, he “secretly cut up dead bodies to see how they were put together” (Jacobsen 2008,