caravaggista:The master of marble, Michelangelo Buonarotti, was born today in 1475. I’ve spent much
caravaggista:The master of marble, Michelangelo Buonarotti, was born today in 1475. I’ve spent much of the day thinking about his struggle to spend his life focused on his chisel and block of marble, and only this. As much as he did not think of himself a painter, he was truly a master of paint as well; in the Sistine Chapel, he created something that remains ethereal and legitimately breathtaking. Great art does not come without sacrifice, and today Michelangelo’s sacrifices (and wit in the midst of it all) have been echoing in my mind.I live here in great toil and great weariness of body, and have no friends of any kind and don’t want any, and haven’t the time to eat what I need…- Michelangelo, in a letter to his brother Buonarroto.John, come to the rescue of my dead painting now, and of my honor; I’m not in a good place, and I’m no painter.- Michelangelo, Sonnet to Giovanni da Pistoia (c. 1509/10).I will never forget walking into the Sistine Chapel for the first time last year. It was early morning when my husband and I arrived. Outside, Rome had been bustling with activity and sound. But in the chapel, time stopped, and there was no sound, only pure silence. We were alone with Michelangelo, and alone in one of the most sacred rooms in the history of art.I spent twenty awestruck minutes gazing up at the ceiling, looking at Michelangelo’s masterpiece through a flow of tears that did not stop. This is the glorious culmination of a war of ideals. This is the confirmation of the Christian faith in a single commanding view. This is the apotheosis of the life and career of a genius. Happy birthday, Michelangelo. -- source link