Culture Critic
@Culture_Crit4h • 9 tweets • 4 min readTry to wrap your head around the fact that the same person is responsible for all of this.
The greatest works of art (and architecture) of the most accomplished artist in history - a thread 🧵
1. The Torment of Saint Anthony (1488)
Michelangelo's talent was evident very early in life; he painted this at 12 or 13. It's a copy of an engraving by Schongauer, of demons assailing Saint Anthony. Michelangelo added his own twists, like giving some of the demons fish scales.
2. Pietà (1499)
Michelangelo was just 24 years old when he completed it, and it was received in Rome with sheer disbelief. The young genius was fairly unknown then, and many questioned if it was his own work - so he carved his name into the sash across Mary's chest.
3. David (1504)
Still in his twenties, he carved his most iconic work - the young shepherd confronting Goliath. Famous for its astonishing realism, it was the result of detailed anatomical studies by the great polymath. It came to be the defining work of Renaissance sculpture.
4. The Sistine Chapel ceiling (1512)
Reluctantly painted at the request of the Pope during his thirties. Michelangelo preferred to sculpt and did not consider himself a painter - and yet he produced this, adorning the chapel ceiling with vivid scenes from the Old Testament.
5. The Tomb of Pope Julius II (1505 - 1545)
A monumental sculptural ensemble created for the tomb of Pope Julius II. It includes "Moses" at the center, which Giorgio Vasari said was "unequaled by any modern or ancient work".
6. The Medici Chapel tombs (1520 - 1534)
In his forties, under the patronage of the Medicis, Michelangelo moved into architectural design. The marble interior of the Sagrestia Nuova is one of his best works, especially his personifications of Night and Day, and Dawn and Dusk.
7. The Laurentian Library, Florence (1524 - 1527)
Michelangelo designed this library inside the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and so became a pioneer of Mannerism as an architectural style - contradicting classical themes such as by using columns recessed into the wall.
8. The dome of St. Peter's Basilica (1546 - 1564)
At the age of 71 he (reluctantly) took over as chief architect of Saint Peter's Basilica. His key contribution was redesigning the enormous dome, the tallest in the world, which was completed posthumously according to his vision.
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