Michelangelo

Mckay Creek School Art Literacy

Michelangelo

Picture 1

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born March,6 1475, in Caprese,Italy(near Arezzo, Republic of Florence, now know as Tuscany, Italy)

He is commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.

For several generations, his family had been small-scale bankers in Florence. At later times, during his mother's prolonged illness and after her death in 1481, when he was just six years old.  Michelangelo lived with a stonecutter and his wife and family in the town of Settignano, where his father owned a marble quarry and a small farm.

While Michelangelo was in grammar school, he discovered that he had a passion and skills for art.  He started to get paid for his work at the age of 13, which was very unusual at the time.

He did many sculptures and paintings.

He died February,18th 1564, at the age of 88

Here are a few of his pieces of art:

 Picture 2 & 3(Pieta)

-carved from marble

-1498-1500

-First true masterpiece

-5’9” x 6’5”

Picture 4 (Moses)

-Marble sculpture

-did sculpture in 1513-1515

-Sculpture is 235cm (7.7 feet)

Picture 5 (Sistine Chapel)

-In 1508 he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, (which is in Rome). 

-It took approximately four years to complete. 

-He painted it on wet plaster and that is why it has not chipped off.  

-He painted it all while laying on his back up high on scaffold that he built.

Art Project

Picture 6 (close up of hands on Sistine Chapel)

Have students tape paper under desk and lay on back.

They are trying to follow Michelangelo in some of his art he did no on the Sistine Chapel.  Have them draw the hands and color them with color pencils, while laying on their backs to whole time. 

This will give them an appreciation for how difficult is was for him to paint the whole ceiling like this, lying on his back and how tired his arms would get.

***If students don’t want to or get frustrated with drawing the hands, then have them draw and color anything they would like to.  It is more of an experience of do the art while lying down.***