Michelangelo sketch
“The greatest danger for most of us
is not that we aim too high and we miss it,
but that we aim too low and we reach it.”
~Michelangelo, artist
Talk about aiming high!
Not only did Michelangelo carve David from a piece of discarded marble considered flawed, he also was a painter, poet, architect and engineer! Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, were sculpted before he turned thirty!
And despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome and The Last Judgment on the chapel’s altar wall. Michelangelo referred to himself as a sculptor, and preferred working with marble most. Prior to the ceiling frescoes, the only painting he had done was as a student! Still, Michelangelo finished painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling in just a little over four years!
is not that we aim too high and we miss it,
but that we aim too low and we reach it.”
~Michelangelo, artist
Talk about aiming high!
Not only did Michelangelo carve David from a piece of discarded marble considered flawed, he also was a painter, poet, architect and engineer! Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, were sculpted before he turned thirty!
And despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome and The Last Judgment on the chapel’s altar wall. Michelangelo referred to himself as a sculptor, and preferred working with marble most. Prior to the ceiling frescoes, the only painting he had done was as a student! Still, Michelangelo finished painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling in just a little over four years!
Head of David, Michelangelo
If all this seems too much to live up to, consider this other wonderful quote by Michelangelo:
“I am still learning.”
Michelangelo is said to have often repeated this phrase.
Consider, too, that Michelangelo was a human being who experienced frustrations, too.
Here is the first example:
According to Giorgio Vasari, shortly after the installation of his Pietà, Michelangelo overheard someone remark that it was the work of another sculptor. As a result, Michelangelo signed the sculpture in the middle of the night; Michelangelo carved Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this on the sash running across Mary's chest. It was the only work Michelangelo ever signed. Vasari also reports the anecdote that Michelangelo later regretted his outburst of pride and swore never to sign another work of his hands.
And here is one more example that Michelangelo, too, encountered obstacles, frustrations, and disappointment:
Despite the fact that Michelangelo thought sculpture superior to painting, Pope Julius was adamant that Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling anyway. And what Pope Julius wanted, Pope Julius usually got. Besides that, he had been delaying Michelangelo on a prior, wildly lucrative commission (sculpting 40 massive figures for his tomb), and kept dangling that carrot as a reward for completion of the ceiling job.
I tend to live an introspective life, but with my birthday and the New Year approaching I evaluate even more my goals and accomplishments of the past 12 months. I feel like I am in a constant state of learning: learning to balance solitude and community, learning to better document my art work, learning to live in the present (like my one-eyed dog demonstrates so well).
Learning requires leaving the familiar and moving into the unfamiliar. It requires setting our egos aside – which I will definitely need to do tomorrow night as I try a new dance class!
What are you still learning?
Mary
“I am still learning.”
Michelangelo is said to have often repeated this phrase.
Consider, too, that Michelangelo was a human being who experienced frustrations, too.
Here is the first example:
According to Giorgio Vasari, shortly after the installation of his Pietà, Michelangelo overheard someone remark that it was the work of another sculptor. As a result, Michelangelo signed the sculpture in the middle of the night; Michelangelo carved Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this on the sash running across Mary's chest. It was the only work Michelangelo ever signed. Vasari also reports the anecdote that Michelangelo later regretted his outburst of pride and swore never to sign another work of his hands.
And here is one more example that Michelangelo, too, encountered obstacles, frustrations, and disappointment:
Despite the fact that Michelangelo thought sculpture superior to painting, Pope Julius was adamant that Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling anyway. And what Pope Julius wanted, Pope Julius usually got. Besides that, he had been delaying Michelangelo on a prior, wildly lucrative commission (sculpting 40 massive figures for his tomb), and kept dangling that carrot as a reward for completion of the ceiling job.
I tend to live an introspective life, but with my birthday and the New Year approaching I evaluate even more my goals and accomplishments of the past 12 months. I feel like I am in a constant state of learning: learning to balance solitude and community, learning to better document my art work, learning to live in the present (like my one-eyed dog demonstrates so well).
Learning requires leaving the familiar and moving into the unfamiliar. It requires setting our egos aside – which I will definitely need to do tomorrow night as I try a new dance class!
What are you still learning?
Mary
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