Thursday, March 3, 2011
Michelangelo vs. Pope Julius
In the film"The Agony and the Ecstacy" the filmaker focused on the unique relationship between Michelangelo and Pope Julius. Comment on how they "allowed " each other to do what they had to do. What qualities did each possess that made the relationship one that lead to one of the most outstanding artworks ever produced? Especially what foresight did Pope Julius see in Michelangelo that enabled them to work together despite their differences?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Much like a director clashing opinions with the actor of a movie, Michelangelo certainly disagreeded with the views of Pope Julius II. Luckily, Pope Julius foresaw the passion and skill that Micelangelo would be able to encompass, despite their differences. The restrictions placed on the volatile creativity of Michelangelo was actually the movitation that pushed him to finish the immense task. Pope Julius effectively forced Michelangelo to transgress beyond his comfortable perameters, ultimately leading to one of the most outstanding artworks ever produced: the frescos of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
ReplyDeleteMichelangelo and Pope Julius II had a very interesting relationship where they each had their own seperate opinions. They were each set in their ways but yet Michelangelo fed off of the critisim which the pope had for his artwork. Michelangelo was unyeilding and ferocious with his patrons no matter if they were papal or secular. Pope Julius II saw the potential in which Michelangelo had.
ReplyDeleteMichelangelo and Pope Julius II an interesting relationship, where they often did not see eye to eye. Michelangelo was reluctant to take on the immense work, and even destoryed his first attempt at the ceiling. Even though Pope Julius made the theme of the ceiling very clear, Michelangelo was able to persuade the Pope to allow him to paint on a topic that he was much more passionate about. When Pope Julius would ask Michelangelo when he would be finished and Michelangelo would reply that he would be finished when he was done, the Pope became frustrated, but he believed in Michelangelo's great talent and allowed him to keep working on the ceiling. After Michelangelo became ill and did not want to continue working, Pope Julius told him that he would get Rapheal to finish the ceiling. He had no intent on hiring Rapheal, but he knew that this would motivate Michelangelo to keep working and get the job done. Michelangelo and Pope Julius II had a rocky relationship, but they ultimately understood each other. This combination led to one of the most well-known and beautiful artworks in history.
ReplyDeleteMichaelangelo and Pope Julius II had two contrasting opinions on how the Sistene Chapel should be painted. Pope Julius II wanted a picture of the disciples on the cieling, but Michaelangelo wanted a better subject for the chapel. He compared his first two that he had drawn to sour wine which needed to be thrown out. Despite the fact the Michaelangelo was directly disagreeing with him, Pope Julius was so drawn into the new subject that Michaelangelo brought to him that he allowed Michaelangelo to paint it as he wanted. As the artist worked, he had a desire to finish, but Pope Julius desired it to be done faster, so he constantly pestered Michaelangelo, asking when he would be done. Even so, when encountered by an art critic, Pope Julius defended Michaelangelo in hopes to see the completed version of the cieling, which he had correctly anticipated to be a beautiful piece of work.
ReplyDeleteIn the "The Agony and the Ecstacy" the unique relationship between Michelangelo and Pope Julius played a major role in the overall film.
ReplyDeleteJulius first of all forced Michelangelo to stop working on the tomb that included sculpture work. Michelangelo loved working on sculpture, so when Julius said he would be commissioned to
paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, their relationship took immediate turn for the worst. Michelangelo didn't want to paint and the Pope's idea for the ceiling proved to be one that restricted Michelangelo's creativity. Michelangelo destroyed the beginning of his work, and surprisingly Pope Juilus let the idea be changed to stories from the book of creation. Michelangelo worked on the ceiling and the Pope pushed him in several ways. He told him he would hire different painters, and continuously bothered Michelangelo to see when he would finish. However the Pope had no intent on firing Michlangelo, but instead attempted to help him finish his work. Michelangelo also helped the Pope. He helped the Pope see a different vision of God, and also when the Pope faked being ill when he didn't think he could fight for the church Michelangelo helped him realize that he was acting like a coward. With that realization, the Pope was able to continue and "recover". Without both working together in this unique way, the Sistine Ceiling may have never been completed.
In the film "The Agony and the Ecstasy," Michelangelo and Pope Julius II shared a unique relationship. Michelangelo did not consider himself a painter when the Pope Julius II asked him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. However, Michelangelo accepted the Pope’s wishes and received commission to paint the ceiling. The two had opposing ideas on how to paint the ceiling, and what the subject matter would be. After completing a two frescoes and destroying them, Michelangelo abandoned his work and went to Florence. There, he found the inspiration to paint The Creation of Adam. He returned to Vatican City to begin work on the ceiling again. Pope Julius had threatened to hire Raphael to paint it instead. Michelangelo allowed the Pope to argue with him and threaten him over the course of time, as Pope Julius allowed Michelangelo to flee the city for a long period of time, knowing he would come back to finish. The Pope was patient, yet demanding. He repeatedly would ask Michelangelo when the ceiling would be finished. Michelangelo was devoted. He spent four years painting the Chapel and did not just paint it to get it done, but painted it to perfection. Pope Julius knew Michelangelo was an outstanding painter. He saw what he could do with a block of marble and how he perfected sculptures. The unique relationship between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II is what made the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel one of the greatest known pieces of art in history.
ReplyDeleteMichelangelo and Pope Julius had many dissagreements about the fresco of the Sistine ceiling. Michelangelo didn't want to paint the ceiling in the first place so he had to fight with the Pope just to agree to do the fresco in the first place. Michelangelo had to fight with himself to find the right inspiration to want to paint the ceiling. Pope Julius also fought against him to finish Tue art work and even threatened to find a replacement artist (Raphael) to complete the painting. Both Michelangelo and Pope Julius were very stubborn in their thoughts and ideas and in the end it was their stubbornness that led him to create on of the greatest works of art in history.
ReplyDeleteBecause of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo was lead out of his comfort zone. His anger toward Julius for putting such a monsterous task in his hand frustrated him. Yet, the Pope saw Michelangelo's creativeness and determination in his work and skill which allowed him to accept Michelangelo's temper and time-length of the task. I think Pope Julius knew that Michelangelo wouldn't be able to accept it and knew when he had the time to think about it, he would come up with a fabulous arrangement for the Chapel. Like magnets, they were two seperates poles that were magnetically attracted.
ReplyDelete