Our artist this term is Michelangelo. We read the book Michelangelo by Diane Stanley. (We love her biographies, by the way. We will also be reading Saladin, Joan of Arc and Leonardo Da Vinci by the end of the year.) Here is what the kids had to say about Michelangelo:
"Michelangelo was a sculptor, painter and architect. He lived in Italy during the Renaissance. Some of his greatest works were the Sistine Chapel ceiling, St. Peter's church, The Pieta, sculptures of Moses and David and a painting of the Last Judgement."
Each of the kids picked their favorite work of Michelangelo:
Caleb- the sculpture of Moses
Ethan- Sistine Chapel ceiling
Adam- Sistine Chapel ceiling
Abigail- The Pieta
Mom- the sculpture of David
Other facts we learned from the book:
Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci were rivals. There was even a commission in Florence where Michelangelo was going to paint one wall of the council chamber and Da Vinci was to paint the opposite wall. Neither artist finished their work.
Michelanglo, who considered himself primarily a sculptor, did not care much for painting when he undertook the commission for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1508. It took him four years to complete this work which shows the story of the creation of the earth to the destruction of the flood. He started with the last scene of Noah and worked backward to the scenes of the creation. If you look closely you can see how his style changes over the course of the four years that it took him to complete the ceiling. Stanley says that looking at the Sistine Chapel is like watching a "genius learn how to paint".
Stanley also says that Michelangelo did not lay on his back to paint the ceiling but stood on scaffolding and painted over his head for four years! Ouch.
There was a man who was critical of Michelangelo's painting, The Last Judgement. Michelangelo responded by including him in the painting complete with donkey ears and wrapped in a large snake!
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