How has Michelangelo impacted art throughout time?
- Merete M.
- Feb 15, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 11, 2025
Born on March 6th in 1475, Michelangelo was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect. He has many famous works and has had a huge impact on various artists, cultures, and societies. His many famous works have impacted people in the past and continue to do so today. How does he continue to impact the art world and the modern world? His drawing of inspiration from works using models of classic antiquity allows him to continue to make impacts on the Western world today, centuries after his death.
Michelangelo’s Works:
Michelangelo designed architecture in famous spaces such as the Laurentian Library and in the rebuilding of St. Peter’s church. The Laurentian Library holds many revolutionary concepts. Though the library wasn’t open until 1571, 7 years after Michelangelo’s death, he had a huge influence on the design and construction of the building. Though he was not initially requested to join in the efforts of the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Church, in 1546 Michelangelo was appointed chief architect. He reverted the design back to Bramante’s original, keeping the Greek cross plan, but enlarged and redesigned the dome and support piers. The dome of St. Peter’s is now a key design to the building and to Vatican City’s skyline. The design of the building, both inside and out, shows Michelangelo’s unique and talented designs and buildings in architectural history. Michelangelo’s work also includes many sculptures. David, the most famous of many of Michelangelo’s sculptures, shows mannerism in its artistic design as he creates the hands, head, and torso longer than they usually would be. A second sculpture, the Pietà, is a beautiful and powerful sculpture that represents the Catholic devotion of Michelangelo and many others at the time. Many of Michelangelo’s sculptural works are made in reflection of different gods and faiths and are represented in new and subversive ways. Michelangelo also created many paintings. He designed and painted two of the most influential frescoes in the history of art. A fresco is a painting technique used to paint murals. Water-based paint is directly painted onto wet plaster. This causes the paint to become an integral part of the plaster and therefore it lasts a long long time. His two famous frescoes live in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The paintings that are integrated into the very structure of the building are the Scenes of Genesis on the ceiling and the Last Judgement on the Altar Wall. Michelangelo worked with many different art materials and techniques. However, his style remained the same throughout. He made life-like paintings and sculptures involving mannerism; exaggerated and elongated human body proportions. This led to a movement in the Renaissance called Mannerism 2.
Michelangelo’s effect during the Renaissance:
Throughout the Renaissance Michelangelo inspired other artists to sculpt. Many other artists at the time drew inspiration from his work. Michelangelo received many different reactions to his art. Many people were either in awe of his work or appalled. His art defied norms of the time and pushed for progress within artistic expression. Many of his works of art show people in the nude. These sculptures and paintings forced people to look at his art in a different way. Michelangelo learned anatomy through dissections. He inspected corpses in his late teens and developed his art from there. His interest in human anatomy was focused on the way muscles and bones worked within a human. Michelangelo designed his drawings to be used in both 2 and 3 dimensional objects. His unique understanding and approach to art allowed him to make groundbreaking changes to the idea of art at the time and for a long while to come. His work encouraged people to push their own limits and will continue to do so for centuries to come.
Michelangelo’s effect in the modern world:
Michelangelo’s works continue to influence and inspire artists today. Michelangelo's work has had a huge impact on Western art. Many sculptures and paintings created in the modern world are influenced by his work in the 16th century. Architecture such as the Laurentian Library designs have pioneered mannerist architecture.
Michelangelo’s legacy:
Michelangelo’s work continues to and will continue to affect art and architecture throughout history. His work was revolutionary in the Renaissance and caused groundbreaking changes throughout the Renaissance and for centuries following.
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