The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo's finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese in 1475. The son of a government administrator, he grew up in Florence, a center of the early Renaissance movement, and became an artist's apprentice at age 13. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. After demonstrating his mastery of sculpture in such works as the Pieta (1498) and David (1504), he was called to Rome in 1508 to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel-the chief consecrated space in the Vatican.
Michelangelo's epic ceiling frescoes, which took several years to complete, are among his most memorable works. Central in a complex system of decoration featuring numerous figures are nine panels devoted to biblical world history. The most famous of these is The Creation of Adam, a painting in which the arms of God and Adam are stretching toward each other. In 1512, Michelangelo completed the work.
After 15 years as an architect in Florence, Michelangelo returned to Rome in 1534, where he would work and live for the rest of his life. That year saw his painting of the The Last Judgment on the wall above the altar in the Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III. The massive painting depicts Christ's damnation of sinners and blessing of the virtuous and is regarded as a masterpiece of early Mannerism.
Michelangelo worked until his death in 1564 at the age of 88. In addition to his major artistic works, he produced numerous other sculptures, frescoes, architectural designs, and drawings, many of which are unfinished and some of which are lost. In his lifetime, he was celebrated as Europe's greatest living artist, and today he is held up as one of the greatest artists of all time, as exalted in the visual arts as William Shakespeare is in literature or Ludwig van Beethoven is in music.
American Revolution
1765 : Parliament enacts the Stamp Act
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/parliament-enacts-the-stamp-act
Automotive
1930 : Detroit-Windsor Tunnel is dedicated
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/detroit-windsor-tunnel-is-dedicated
Civil War
1861 : McClellan replaces Scott as Union army head
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mcclellan-replaces-scott
Cold War
1952 : United States tests first hydrogen bomb
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-tests-first-hydrogen-bomb
Crime
1950 : An assassination attempt threatens President Harry S. Truman
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/an-assassination-attempt-threatens-president-harry-s-truman
Disaster
1755 : Earthquake takes heavy toll on Lisbon
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-takes-heavy-toll-on-lisbon
General Interest
1993 : European Union goes into effect
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/european-union-goes-into-effect
Hollywood
1967 : Newman stars in Cool Hand Luke
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/newman-stars-in-cool-hand-luke
Literary
1871 : Stephen Crane is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/stephen-crane-is-born
Music
1986 : Boston's belated Third Stage hits #1
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/boston39s-belated-third-stage-hits-1
Old West
1924 : Legendary western lawman is murdered
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/legendary-western-lawman-is-murdered
Presidential
1800 : John Adams moves into White House
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-adams-moves-into-white-house
Sports
1959 : Jacques Plante is the first goalie to wear a facemask
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jacques-plante-is-the-first-goalie-to-wear-a-facemask
Vietnam War
1964 : Military and political situation in South Vietnam deteriorates
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/military-and-political-situation-in-south-vietnam-deteriorates
1968 : Two new programs initiated in South Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/two-new-programs-initiated-in-south-vietnam
World War I
1914 : The Battle of Coronel
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-coronel
World War II
1941 : FDR puts Coast Guard under control of the Navy
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-puts-coast-guard-under-control-of-the-navy
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