Leonardo and Michelangelo: Archetypes of the Renaissance Man

Each of us has our own opinion of what a "Renaissance man" truly is. Some say he is a paragon, perfect in one subject, while others argue that he is knowledgeable in many areas but adept at none. Time will wash away the fame of most of these people, but two people will be remembered forever for their unparalleled contributions to the development of western art: Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Born in Tuscany, Italy in 1452 and 1475 respectively, Leonardo and Michelangelo were both highly revered and respected by everyone who knew them (Gietmann, 1908). Even with all their differences, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were both artistic innovators who, through their use of powerful imagery and their unconventional ways of creating art, can be considered two of the greatest European polymaths to have ever lived.

First and foremost, Leonardo and Michelangelo were both brilliant even at a young age. When he was small, Leonardo once made a painting of a monster spitting fire on a shield so terrifying that his father sold it to an art dealer who then sold it to the then Duke of Milan. He was then educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio, where he was taught the art of drawing, painting, sculpting and modeling (Vasari, 1568). Similarly, Michelangelo’s talent in the artistic field was noticed by his father, who sent him off as an apprentice to the artist Dominico Ghirlandaio at the young age of thirteen. While there, he excited the admiration of his master by the life-like animation of this drawings, so much so that he received further training in the palace of the Medici at the school of sculptor (Gietmann, 1908). Indeed, they were both prodigies in the truest sense of the word.

Another similarity between the two men would be the exceptional quality of their work: flawless and admirable. Leonardo’s paintings adorn the walls of the Louvre museum in France, where they are looked at in awe everyday. His painting, the ‘Mona Lisa’ is probably the world’s most famous painting, and it is considered priceless, because of which it cannot be insured (“Mona Lisa”, n.d.). Another great masterpiece by Leonardo is his mural painting of the ‘Last Supper’. He took three years to create this mural and it is now the most reproduced work of art in the world (Suttle, 2013). Likewise, Michelangelo’s artwork was outstanding. He created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and ‘The Last Judgment’ on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome (“Michelangelo: The Complete Works”, n.d.). His two most exemplary sculptures are the statues of David and Pietà, which have been carefully tended and preserved to ensure that future generations would be able to view and appreciate Michelangelo’s genius (“Michelangelo”, n.d.). The fact that their works are featured in the grandest churches and museums goes a long way in proving the exceptional quality of Leonardo and Michelangelo’s craftsmanship.

The main difference between Leonardo and Michelangelo, however, seems to lie in their styles and techniques of creating art. Leonardo da Vinci typically painted with oil paint that he made by hand from ground pigments. Later in his career, he worked with tempera made from egg whites. His work surface typically would be a canvas or board, or sometimes stone when painting a mural (“Leonardo Da Vinci’s life”, n.d.). Conversely, Michelangelo much preferred sculpting to painting, for his belief was that sculpture was the highest form of art. For him, sculpture was much more gratifying, and he loved getting his hands dirty and laboring in his works. Even when he painted, Michelangelo preferred frescoes to canvas painting. (“Comparing and Contrasting: Da Vinci and Michelangelo”, n.d.). Perhaps these differences in their styles are the reason for the diversification of art forms in Europe.

Leonardo and Michelangelo’s revolutionizing artistic techniques can, therefore, be said to have paved the way for the rise of western art forms. They were both creative geniuses who excelled from an early age and then throughout life, not just at art but also at various other fields like anatomy and architecture, because of which they can be called polymaths (“Polymath: ‘A Renaissance Man’”, n.d.). Even with their different styles, they managed to capture the attention of everyone who laid eyes on their works. It is for this reason that they are both considered ‘archetypes’ of the Renaissance Man. That being said, their ingenuity and their accomplishments will no doubt be remembered forever.

                              References

Comparing and Contrasting: Da Vinci and Michelangelo (n.d.) Anti Essays.                 Retrieved   from

The World Wide Web: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/14646.html

Gietmann, G. (1908). Michelangelo Buonarroti. In The Catholic Encyclopedia.

 New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved from New Advent:

 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03059b.html

Leonardo Da Vinci's Life (n.d.) Retrieved from 

http://www.davincilife.com/article4-davinci-painting-technique.html

Michelangelo (n.d.) Retrieved from 

 http://www.history.com/topics/michelangelo

Michelangelo: The Complete Works (n.d.). Retrieved from   

 http://www.michelangelo-gallery.org/

Mona Lisa (n.d.) In Encyclopaedia Britannica online. Retrieved from

 http://www.global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388735/Mona-Lisa

Polymath: ‘A Renaissance Man’ (n.d.) Retrieved from 

http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/Polymath.html#Some

Suttle, Tim (2013). Ten Facts About DaVinci’s Last Supper on Maundy  

Thursday. Paperback Theology. Retrieved from

 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/paperbacktheology/2013/03/ten-facts-about-davincis- last-supper-on-maundy-thursday.html

Vasari, Giorgio (1568). Lives of the Artists. Penguin Classics. Pp. 258–9.