Michelangelo: The Best Renaissance Artist

Last year, in art history class, we had a debate over the best Renaissance artist called the Renaissance Rumble. Personally, I believe that Michelangelo is the obvious choice, and I want to voice my reasons why.

1. He is a triple threat.

While artists are often familiar with multiple medias, it is not very often that you have an artist who is extremely talented at painting, sculpture, AND architecture. He has an extremely impressive resume to show for his talents in each area.

Sculpture

• David

• Pieta

• Moses

• Angel

Painting

• Sistine Chapel frescoes (The Creation of Adam)

• Doni Tondo

Architecture

• San Lorenzo

• Porta Pia Rome

• St. Peter's Basilica

2. The Sistine Chapel and David

Do I even have to elaborate? In all seriousness, he is the mastermind behind two of the most famous works of art of all time: the Sistine Chapel, which receives around 6 million visitors a year and David, which sees over 1 million visitors.

The ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel includes The Creation of Adam, another extremely notable scene. Michelangelo also painted the Last Judgment scene on the wall, which depicts the human body purposely distorted. The wall scene is tormented and chaotic and includes hundreds of figures.

In David, Michelangelo mastered the portrayal of the human body.

3. He was pioneering

A great artist is one who is not afraid to surpass previous styles and to challenge artistic beliefs. Michelangelo was exactly that. He included nudity in his artwork to show that the human body was not a sin. Some people were so enraged by his nudity in the Last Judgment scene in the Sistine Chapel that they painted over it, covering the human anatomy. Before Michelangelo, the human body was mostly portrayed as 2D rather than 3D. But, he changed the way that the human body would be depicted. In addition, with his realism and immaculate attention to detail, he set the standard extremely high for all artists that came after him.