Michelangelo. Eugene Muntz

1504

      Quill, 40.8 × 28.4 cm

      Casa Buonarotti, Florence

      Altogether, Michelangelo spent three years in the atelier copying masters such as Donatello and Jacopo della Quercia, sharpening his eye as he went along. There, he became fully aware of his own visual acuity, analytical mindset and solid feel for colors.

      Study for The Battle of Cascina

      c. 1504

      Black pencil, 28.2 × 20.3 cm

      Musée du Louvre, Paris

      He also made enemies at the atelier, for many were envious, and his nose bore the mark of a blow by the jealous, violent Torrigiani, to whom we owe the Villa Romana.

      Nude Study and Other Studies Probably for the Battle of Cascina

      c.1504–1505

      Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

      Though he met Lorenzo de Medici through Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo would always deny that his teacher had taught him anything of value or influenced him in any way. Filled with ambition, Michelangelo was sure of his exceptional talent and liked to see it as the sole reason for his success.

      Virgin with Child and St John the Baptist as a Child (Tondo Taddei)

      1504–1505

      Marble, diameter: 106.8 cm

      Royal Academy of Arts, London

      It was a good era for artists. Lorenzo de Medici, also known as “Il Magnifico”, was a patron of art and literature who, inside his own palace, founded a school chaired by Bertoldo, a student of Donatello’s, then prominent in the Florence art scene.

      Virgin with Child and St John the Baptist as a Child (Tondo Pitti)

      1504–1505

      Marble, 85 × 82.5 cm

      Museo del Bargello, Florence

      The most promising young artists flocked to study sculpture there. Through that school, Michelangelo met the Medici family and was greatly impressed by their fabulous collection of sculptural works. The school marked a quantum leap in his artistic education and led to a lifelong working relationship with the Medici family.