Michelangelo was born in 1475 in Florence. During his lifetime, he was considered the greatest living artist. His career as an artist began in 1496 when he arrived in Rome. Here he was commissioned to build a life-size statue of a god named Bacchus. WHen he finished this project though, it was rejected by his commissioner. So he decided to return to Florence in 1499. When he returned he began making the “Statue of David”. This is one of his most known sculptures to this day. Later, In 1508, he began working on painting the sistine Chapel. Around 1512 is when he finally finished the painting. Around 1537 is when he added, “The Last Judgement” to the Sistine Chapel. This painting took about four or five years to compete. Finally, in 1541, he finished this painting.
This picture is based on Jesus Christ’s second coming. It also is when the people find out their fate. They either will go to Hell or they will go to Heaven. The significance of this picture is that it shows what people in the renaissance thought was going to happen. They believed that Christ would rise again and that their fate would be chosen by the hands of god. An example of symbolism in this painting is the human skin that St.Bartholomew is holding. Many historians say that Michelangelo painted his face on the skin. The face on the skin represents the torment and anguish that he faced. A technique used in this is the study of anatomy. Everyone of the characters painted in the picture is drawn with a perfect human body. This helps make his painting look more alive and realistic. This painting is stunning because of how detailed it is. Every character drawn in this picture is different from the rest. That is what makes this painting so unique.
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