Artists

Believing in the Neo-Platonist theories, Michelangelo thought his genius was bestowed upon him by a divine source. After entering the studio of Domenico Ghirlandaio, he was invited into the circle of Lorenzo dè Medici, where he was exposed to a circle of humanists, as well as classical masterpieces. Michelangelo had a long and prosperous career in painting, sculpture, architecture, and writing. Many works by Michelangelo are still considered to be among the greatest artistic achievements in history, including his Sistine Chapel frescoes and his magnificent statue of David. Sculpture was always Michelangelo's favorite medium, and he finished the technically magnificent Pieta at only twenty four years of age. Michelangelo's artwork is focused on the human soul, which he thought was the most divine aspect of the body. He, like Leonardo da Vinci, dissected bodies to better understand motion and movement, and as a result he mastered the depiction of the figure. The genius' numerous works make up the majority of the masterpieces of the Renaissance, and are unequaled even today. The power of his work lies in its technical perfection, whether in pigment or marble, and his extreme ability to depict the human condition as well as religious devotion. He considered the sculptor's responsibility to be akin to the ability to create man, and certainly lived up to this ideal. To this day Michelangelo is considered to be the finest artist in the history of Western art.