Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci

1. RENAISSANCE SPIRIT IS
REFLECTED IN LITERATURE
AND ART

2. MICHAELANGELO
Michelangelo was born on March
6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. Born to
a family of moderate means in the
banking business, Michelangelo
became an apprentice to a painter
before studying in the sculpture
gardens of the powerful Medici
family. What followed was a
remarkable career as an artist in
the Italian Renaissance,
recognized in his own time for his
artistic virtuosity. His works
include the "David" and "Pieta"
statues and the ceiling paintings
of Rome's Sistine Chapel,
including the "Last Judgment."
Although he always considered
himself a Florentine, Michelangelo
lived most of his life in Rome,
where he died in 1564, at age 88.

3. SISTINE CHAPEL
The Sistine Chapel ceiling,
painted
by Michelangelo between
1508 and 1512, is a
cornerstone work of High
Renaissance art.
The ceiling is that of
the Sistine Chapel, the large
papal chapel built within
the Vatican between 1477
and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV,
for whom the chapel is
named. It was painted at the
commission of Pope Julius
II. The chapel is the location
for papal conclaves and
many important services.

5. PIETA
The Pietà (1498–1499) is a work
of Renaissance sculpture
by Michelangelo Buonarroti,
housed in St. Peter's
Basilica, Vatican City. It is the
first of a number of works of
the same theme by the artist. The
statue was commissioned for the
French CardinalJean de Bilhères,
who was a representative in
Rome. The sculpture, in Carrara
marble, was made for the
cardinal's funeral monument, but
was moved to its current location,
the first chapel on the right as one
enters the basilica, in the 18th
century. It is the only piece
Michelangelo ever signed.

6. THE LASTJUDGEMENT
The Last Judgment, which took
Michelangelo four years to
complete, covers the altar wall
of the Sistine Chapel, inside the
Vatican.
Painted between 1537 and
1541, it is a depiction of the
Second Coming of Christ and
the Apocalypse, with human
souls either rising to Heaven or
descending to Hell, according
to Christ's judgment.

7. ST. PETER BASILICA
St. Peter's is the most
renowned work
of Renaissance
architecture and remains one
of the two largest churches in
the world. While it is neither
the mother church of
the Catholic Church nor the
Catholic Roman
Rite cathedral of the Diocese
of Rome, St. Peter's is
regarded as one of the holiest
Catholic shrines. It has been
described as "holding a unique
position in the Christian
world" and as "the greatest of
all churches of Christendom"

9. LEONARDO DA VINCI
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more
commonly Leonardo da Vinci, was
an Italian polymath. His areas of
strength included painting, sculpting,
architecture, science, music,
mathematics, engineering, invention,
anatomy, geology, astronomy,
botany, writing, history,
and cartography. Leonardo's genius,
perhaps more than that of any other
figure, epitomized the Renaissance
humanist ideal. He is widely
considered to be one of the greatest
painters of all time and perhaps the
most diversely talented person ever
to have lived in the Western world.

10. MONA LISA
Among the works created by Leonardo in
the 16th century is the small portrait known
as the Mona Lisa or "la Gioconda", the
laughing one. In the present era it is
arguably the most famous painting in the
world. Its fame rests, in particular, on the
elusive smile on the woman's face, its
mysterious quality brought about perhaps by
the fact that the artist has subtly shadowed
the corners of the mouth and eyes so that
the exact nature of the smile cannot be
determined. The shadowy quality for which
the work is renowned came to be called
"sfumato" or Leonardo's smoke. Vasari, who
is generally thought to have known the
painting only by repute, said that "the smile
was so pleasing that it seemed divine rather
than human; and those who saw it were
amazed to find that it was as alive as the
original".

11. THE LAST SUPPER
Leonardo's most famous painting of the 1490s is The Last Supper,
painted for the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie
in Milan. The painting represents the last meal shared by Jesus with
his disciples before his capture and death. It shows specifically the
moment when Jesus has just said "one of you will betray me".
Leonardo tells the story of the consternation that this statement
caused to the twelve followers of Jesus.