Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 2

WARNING:  THIS CLIP PROVIDES CLOSE-UPS OF REINAISSANCE-AGE SCULPTURES.  IT MOVES IN CLOSELY TO EXAMINE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ART WORK.  SOME OF THE DEPICTED SCULPTURES ARE NUDES.  PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Throughout his life, Michelangelo's competitive nature would create difficulties for him with other artists.  A fight, at an early age, gave him a broken nose which marked him for life. 

In 1492, as things were going well for Michelangelo, his patron - Lorenzo de Medici - died.  Within a few years, a firey preacher named Girolamo Savonarola became a popular figure in Florence. 

Ranting against the excesses of pagan art, including nude sculptures, Savanarola urged the people in Florence to be mindful of their morals.  Michelangelo, torn between his admiration for (and fear of) Savanarola, left town for a time.

Without a patron, and as a yet-unknown artist, Michelangelo had to produce something beautiful - that would also sell.   After returning to Florence, he created a now-lost cupid. 

Recently, a modern artist has attempted to recreate that long-lost work.

See, also:

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 1

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 3

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 4

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 5

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 6

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 7

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 8

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 9

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 10

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 11

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 12

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 13

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 14

Renaissance Artist - The Divine Michelangelo, Part 15

Credits

From "The Divine Michelangelo" (2004), with Stephen Noonan playing the title role.  Online, courtesy BBC.

Directors
Tim Dunn
Stuart Elliott

Narrator
Susannah York

Michelangelo
Stephen Noonan