Do you know? Michelangelo’s biography was the first which was published in his lifetime. Well, interestingly he lived for 89 years at that time which was considered to be an unusually long life span in his era. He had an opportunity to witness his biographies. In this blog, we get a chance to visit a few Michelangelo Quotes from his writing that made him one of the great artists of his era.
About: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni known famously as Michelangelo was an Italian, Sculptor, painter architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. He was born on 6 March 1475 in the little Tuscan town of Caprese. His art had a long-lasting impact on Western Art. He was born in the Republic of Rome and hence his art was highly influenced by patterns from classical times. He was among the most well-documented artists of the 16th century. Modern biographers celebrate him as the greatest artist of all time.
- “Your greatness is measured by your horizons.”
Fun fact: Michelangelo was well paid by Pope Julius II who was, one great patron. He also invested widely and successfully in property. With his wealth, Michelangelo would have been among the wealthiest artists of his day, in addition to those of Raphael, Titian, or Leonardo da Vinci. When he was dead, Michelangelo ended up with an estate valued at 50,000 florins, or almost $50 million in modern currency. This is one of Michelangelo quotes which encourages every individual to think out of the box.
- “Only God creates. The rest of us just copy.”
Fun fact: These Michelangelo quotes depict the self-portrait in the Sistine Chapel’s “The Last Judgment” The picture shows the second coming of Christ, and while the artist was influenced by the Bible, his creative vision is what comes through. In that section of the painting, Michelangelo refers to some of the horrific methods used to execute martyrs.
- “No great work of art is ever finished.”
- “Art is a shadow of Divine perfection.”
Fun fact: This is the type of Michelangelo quotes that depicts their personality which is presented by Michelangelo through his forms of contributions to society in forms of sculpture, art, paintings, architecture, and poetry. One of his poems, “Neither painting nor sculpture will be able any longer to calm my soul, now turned toward that divine love that opened his arms on the cross to take us in.” This is one of his best-known poems. It was written in 1554.
- “There is no greater harm than that of time wasted.”
Fun fact: Based on data on time wasted at work. 89% of workers waste time at work in some capacity, 31% waste about 30 minutes a day, and the top 10% waste more than three hours on average during the workday. Facts about time management show that you can achieve this by either eliminating, delegating, or outsourcing certain activities to make more time available for the important stuff.
- “Perfection is no small thing, but it is made up of small things.”
- “I am still learning.”
Fun fact: The human brain is the most intricate organ in the body. A person only ever uses 10% of their brain, according to popular belief. However, according to a study, people use the majority of their brains. So to increase your brain and make optimum use of your brain it is very important to learn new things.
- “I couldn’t give you something mediocre even if that’s all you requested.”
Fun fact: This is one of those Michelangelo quotes that reflects his personality. Michelangelo was a poet of the High Renaissance. Due to his creative abilities and mastery in artistic sectors, he was Compared with great artists like Leonardo da Vinci. He was one of the best-documented artists of the 16th century which differentiated from contemporary. He refused to give in to the idea of being a mediocre person and kept identifying as someone curious inherently to try out all art forms.
- “Critique by creating.”
- “As you give out, so shall you receive.”
Fun fact: As he neared the conclusion of his life, Michelangelo’s devotion to the Catholic faith grew. He was more and more interested in the concept of devotion and also believed in the idea of doing good to receive good. He also never got excited or attracted to the richness and prosperity he got to enjoy under his profession.
- “Art lives on constraint and dies of freedom.”
Fun fact: These type of Michelangelo quotes highlights the value of art. The first biography of a Western artist to be published during the artist’s lifetime was that of Michelangelo. Throughout his lifetime, three biographies were released. Giorgio Vasari put forward one of them, arguing that Michelangelo’s creations were “supreme in not one art alone but in all three,” exceeding those of any other artist, living or dead.
- “The hand that follows intellect can achieve.”
- “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.”
Fun fact: One of these Michelangelo quotes reflects on his hard journey in his initial days. He first became well-known as a result of an unsuccessful attempt at art fraud. He created a sculpture of a sleeping cupid in 1496 and aged it. A dealer bought it from him and later sold it to Cardinal Riario. After learning of the scam, Riario received his money back, but he also extended an invitation to Michelangelo to visit Rome because he was so taken by his skill.
- “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
Fun fact: Although Michelangelo’s David is the most well-known male nudist painting ever and is displayed in cities all over the world. Some of his other creations may have had an even bigger influence on the development of art. The Victory, the Bruges Madonna, and the Medici Madonna are considered the symbols of Mannerist painting because of their twisted forms and tensions.
- “A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”
Conclusion:
We hope these Michelangelo quotes provide you with some insights and ignite a spark of creativity inside you. Throughout his life, Michelangelo wrote about 300 poems. He was a creative personality and these inspiring quotes encourage us all to think out of the box.
