Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonaroti Simoni

(www.michelangelo.org)

Before Michelangelo died, he said, "I am still learning" (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonaroti Simoni). These words offer a deep insight into the artist Michelangelo, who spent his whole life seeming to inspire others at his mastering of the arts. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonaroti Simoni, a struggling artist who battled his passion, impacted the Renaissance, and battled his sexuality while maintaining his religion, is a hero to people who appreciate the arts. Michelangelo was one of the most passionate artists of his time, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. He was hardworking and talented, making him one of the most successful people of art history. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence ("Michelangelo"). Michelangelo was a hero because he followed his passion and he influenced the Italian Renaissance with his talent and hard work.

Michelangelo was a hero because he followed his passion. He had a passion for the arts, and did not let anything destroy that. Michelangelo's father sent him to study in Florence, but he had no interest in school and preferred painting. He wasn't encouraged to be an artist by his parents. "The young artist, despite his father's distaste, showed no interest in school, preferring instead to copy paintings from churches and seek the company of painters." (Michelangelo Biography). Michelangelo followed his passion and flourished in the time era, according to the same source. He got accepted into a school that influenced the art and free thinking. "From 1490 to 1492, Michelangelo attended Lorenzo's school and was influenced by many prominent people who modified and expanded his ideas on art, following the dominant Platonic view of that age, and even his feelings about sexuality." (Art History and Artists). The Italian Renaissance was a time era full of art, and Michelangelo strengthened the culture by thriving in it. Michelangelo was passionate because he did not let anyone destroy his passion for painting and he strengthened his knowledge by educating himself at Lorenzo's school so he could be a better artist.

Michelangelo was also a hero because he created an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. He was a talented, hard worker, and lived as an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the Renaissance. He didn't let anything get in the way of his desire to create the type of art he wanted. "At the young age of 17, Michelangelo began dissected corpses at the local church graveyard to gain a deeper understanding of the human body. Examining corpses was strictly banned by the church so Michelangelo's activities were illegal, nevertheless the understanding he had of the human body and its proportions were critical to his success as a sculptor and artist." (Michelangelo Renaissance). Even though it was illegal, Michelangelo dissected corpses and used his talent to mimic the human body in his art. He worked to the most of his ability and constantly used his skill. One of his most skilled pieces was David. It took Michelangelo over two years to create the statue. "Michelangelo was very religious and many of his masterpieces show religious scenes or people from the Bible. One of his most famous sculptures was David, the biblical hero who defeated Goliath. This took two years to make." ("Art Smarts for Kids"). When Michelangelo finished the statue, he was humble when people praised his talent. "If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius," he said. Michelangelo's David is still kept today in the Academia. Michelangelo impacted the Renaissance through his different type of art creation which lasted hundreds of years. He worked hard to gain a deeper understanding of the human body, and he used his talent and skill to create one of the most beautiful statues of all time.

Michelangelo was also brave and didn't let the church stop him from loving who he loved. Michelangelo was bisexual and continued experiencing love, even though the church was against it. Michelangelo's female artworks feature masculinity and male body figures. He has shown more interest in male figures, and his female paintings "look like males with longer hair" (Scholar Magazine). Michelangelo dated and wrote love poems to his boyfriends, which include Tommaso dei Cavalieri and Gherardo Perini, two well known aristocrats in that time. Michelangelo wrote poems expressing his grief when he didn't see Perini, and did not change the pronouns like the other artists did when they wrote same sex poems. "Only I remain burning in the dusk/After the sun has stripped the world of its rays:/Whereas other men take their pleasure, I do but mourn,/Prostrate on the ground, lamenting and weeping." He also wanted the world to see the beauty in men, and thought Cavalieri was the definition of beauty. He often wrote to him, and one of the poems said, "Love takes me captive; beauty binds my soul;/Pity and mercy with their gentle eyes/Wake in my heart a hope that cannot cheat." He is showing how faithful he is to Cavalieri, and how no one, not even the church, could pull them apart.

Michelangelo was an artist that will go down in history. He was passionate and hardworking and had such a beautiful mindset. Michelangelo followed his passion and he influenced the Italian Renaissance with his talent and hard work. He saw so much beauty in a blank canvas or statue or wall, and he wanted others to see what he dreamed of. I aspire to see things like that and be able to show them to the world. He experienced romantic feelings that went against the church, yet he did not change himself for others. He wrote beautiful artistic poems and fought against the stigma that there was a wrong way to love. I hope someday to be as hardworking and talented and passionate as him. Michelangelo is my hero, and the hero of many artists and those who appreciate the arts.