Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
Michelangelo was born in 1475 in Florence, Italy. In his youth, like many other master artists, he apprenticed with a famous painter. During his apprenticeship, he learned all the intricacies of his profession by acquiring a solid technique in drawing. The escapism in his personality made him try to interpret and add innovation to the techniques of the time, instead of taking them as they were. Thus, he first cut a cadaver in order to learn about the muscular and nervous systems of the human body. He continued this investigation until the human figures were no longer mysterious to him. During that period, he took on many small businesses and, as his fame spread throughout the country, he was commissioned by the Pope for a church job. This church, which is the Sistine Church, has a great importance in his art career. Michelangelo, whose mastery is sculpture, was given the painting job of this church. Being overly emotional, Michelangelo was not very happy with this task given to him. But he agreed, saying 'duty is duty'. While his irritability continued, he began to seek help for this job. But he suddenly closed himself in the church and painted this church ceiling alone for four years, not letting anyone near him.
The fact that he completed this work with the power of a single body, which astonished the art world when his work was completed, is considered an extraordinary achievement even today. After this work, he returned to sculpture, which he loved so much, and produced many works that have survived to the present day during his long life. The movement in his works can be seen even in an ordinary resting posture. This is what he wanted to gain from his works of art; to give warm movements, life and tranquility from cold marble.
Being conscious of his social place, Michelangelo continued his modesty and reproachful attitude towards some of the works he had done in the past, saying to those who symbolized him as "Sculptor", "I am Michelangelo Buonarrati and a shop painter and sculptor. Even though I served the Popes, I was compelled to do this".
Versatility is one of the main features that distinguishes the Renaissance from other historical periods. As a matter of fact, one of the first names that come to mind when the Renaissance is mentioned, Michelangelo is not only a good sculptor, painter and architect, but also a Renaissance poet who wrote hundreds of poems. Since he aimed for perfection in every work he embarked on, he gave such importance to this effort that he would correct the same poem over and over again. Although not very diverse, Dante draws on strong literary sources such as Petrarch. So much so that many of his contemporaries state that Michelangelo knew the poems of these two great poets of Italian literature by heart. His poems, which he started to write under their guidance and by imitating them, become more and more original with the influence of the people who entered his life and the experience he gained. He creates a parallelism between the love theory of Neoplatonic philosophy, which gained importance especially in Florence of that period, and his own artistic views, and reflects this both in his life, visual works and poems. In this context, his poems provide an understanding of the emotion, thought and intention behind the visual works of this great genius of the Renaissance. While he was still alive, some of his poems were composed and appreciated enough to be lectured on. A Renaissance Poet: A Study of Michelangelo Buonarroti and His Poems, this thesis consists of three main parts: these chapters are, respectively,
1) XV. and XVI. The Social, Political and Cultural Situation of Italy in the Context of the Renaissance in the Centuries,
2) An Analysis of Michelangelo's Life and Visual and Literary Works from a Historical Perspective,
3) Michelangelo and Neoplatonism. Thesis XV. and XVI. Chapter I, entitled The Social, Political and Cultural Situation of Italy in the Context of the Renaissance in the Centuries, is divided into two sub-titles after first drawing a general framework of the situation in Italy dominated by city-states, and focuses on the cities of Florence and Rome, where Michelangelo spent almost his entire life. . The II. Title of the study titled An Analysis of Michelangelo's Life and Visual and Literary Works from a Historical Perspective. In the chapter, the life and poetic evolution of Michelangelo, which is tried to be conveyed in parallel by opening six sub-titles, is divided into periods. The last part of the study, titled Michelangelo and Neoplatonism, III. In the first part, the effects of Platonic philosophy and Neoplatonic philosophy, starting from Plato and continuing until the Renaissance, on Italian literature are presented in a general framework. Then, another sub-title was created for the main part with the title of Reflections of Neoplatonic Philosophy in Michelangelo's Poems, and the Neoplatonic elements in Michelangelo's poems and the identification of these elements with art were examined.
