Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo was more of a Sculptor than a painter, I assume it is the Sistine Chapel gig that put him on this list. He learned the Fresco technique under his apprentice, Domenico Ghirlandaio. He later transferred to the School set up by Lorenzo the Magnificent taught in the Medici estates. This gave him access to the Medici collection where he was influenced by Donatello, Giotto and Masaccio. By 1496 Michelangelo was beginning to come into his own as a Sculptor he created the Pietá out of Marble and it is now considered one of his early Masterpieces. A few years later he created the David, (marble) one of his most famous sculptures. Soon After he was hired to paint the Battle of Cascina, which featured Naked soldiers looking surprised. The painting was never finished, but parts of it were well Traveled enough to establish the Mannerist concept of using Naked men to help express emotion. In 1508, Pope Julius commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The m... Read more

Simply a genius..

Don't be fooled. The public happens to be right on in regards to the Sistine ceiling. Michelangelo is the greatest painter of the greatest age of painters. It is a sad commentary on the state of art when Michelangelo is mentioned in the same sentence with a hack like Boccioni.

Buonarroti was a magnificent sculptor who happened to have significant talent as a painter. His reputation as a painter rests solely on his work at the Sistine Chapel, and even as this is a truly great achievement, a most ambitious and well-accomplished work, there are several other painters of the Renaissance far greater than he. He enjoys an overinflated reputation as a painter because of the prominence of this masterwork, a grandiose public display that has been hyped up and overpraised for centuries. This isn't to denegrate MB's talent as a painter in any way, or to say that the Sistine Chapel isn't great, it's just to say that the general public, being dismally ignorant of artistic matters, tends to overreact to this very accessible work. The fact of the matter is Michalangelo did not leave behind enough of a body of work as a painter to deserve status on this list as greatest painter. Perhaps he deserves the distinction of greatest sculptor, though, and there certainly isn't... Read more

Michelangelo is one of the truly great painters of all time. At the time I am writing this he is rated number 4 on the survey list, which is a very great accomplishment for a man who really considered himself a schulpter. His statues are some of the finest ever carved. But we will always know him best for his magnificent murals on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. What a beautiful legacy to leave behind for everyone to enjoy.