Michelangelo's Perception Of Beauty In Art

The search for beauty has been a fundamental quest of human civilization. We all have subjective ideals of the beautiful but as Plato would argue, we also have a bigger underlying understanding of beauty itself. No one goes to the Grand Canyon and considers it ugly; even the most adverse to natural environments have the ability to recognize its magnitude. Artistry has been built upon the ideals and dilemmas surrounding beauty. Throughout the years, artists have endeavored in individual journeys to replicate the overall idea of perfection. If art is an imitation of life, Michelangelo’s mastery of sculpting is the closest portrayal of human beauty. In order to understand the beauty of Michelangelo’s work it’s important to consider the subjects of his artwork, the necessary …show more content…
Michelangelo sketched and studied every aspect of anatomic figure, he even had access to corpses in the mortuary section of a hospital. Michelangelo left us with highly detailed sketches of every layer of the human body; skin, muscle and bone. His sketches are inquiries on proportion and accurate anatomical representation. They also seem to demonstrate Michelangelo’s conception of the ideal, with very defined male bodies and curvy female bodies. As beautiful as his sketches were, the artist would be highly displeased by their veneration; to him they were just rough drafts, ideas, that would later bloom into masterpieces. The artist really didn’t care too much about finishing sketches, as exemplified by the one for the The Creation of Adam and The Battle of Cascina. Though the torsos are highly detailed, certain areas were often left unshaded or not even drawn in. Overall, his sketches were nothing more than practice; little brainstorms to draw inspiration