Question

1. The Portrait


In 1496, Michelangelo left Florence and went to Rome. It was not long before his undoubted

genius won him the favour of various rich men who wanted him to work for them. It was in

Rome that he truly established his fame. He sculpted the breathtakingly beautiful Pieta, a life-like

sculpture of the grieving Mary holding the dead body of her Son across her knees. He made this

sculpture for St Peter's church. Soon after, he sculpted his most magnificent statue, the colossal

figure of David, the Jewish hero of the Old Testament. This statue was over four metres high.

His reputation grew even greater. During this time, he was young, full of energy and ambitious.

He worked at a frantic pace and supported his entire family - his father and brothers - who made

constant demands on his money.

Michelangelo was rarely satisfied by his own high expectations of himself. This saddened and

depressed him. He was so absorbed by his work that he took little heed of his appearance and

took scant interest in home comforts. Often when he was working, he took only a piece of bread

in the entire day.

From 1505 onwards, Michelangelo's fortunes were dependent on succession of popes, who were

his main patrons. Michelangelo's work was very often disrupted by the death of one pope and the

arrival of another. Each of them wanted him to work according to their whims. In 1508, Pope

Julius II demanded that he paint on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in his palace, the Vatican.

Michelangelo was reluctant to undertake such a gigantic task as he always considered himself to

be a sculptor, not a painter. With some bitterness and unwillingness, he eventually agreed and

began the work. He started painting vivid frescoes on the ceiling of the Chapel which was

eventually to cover a ten thousand square feet space.

For four-and-a-half years he laboured, lying on his back on scaffolding, nearly one hundred feet

above the Chapel floor. He brilliantly painted the beginning of the world, the creation of the sun

and the moon, the creation of man and woman and the Last Judgement on the ceiling of the

Sistine Chapel.

At the age of seventy-two, Michelangelo was made the chief architect in charge of building St

Peters in Rome. He completely transformed the design of the church and its huge dome.

Towards the end of his life, Michelangelo did not have the physical strength or stamina to sculpt

huge statues or paint magnificent frescoes. He continued to supervise the building of St Peter's

and sculpted and wrote poetry for his own enjoyment. Michelangelo died in Rome in 1564. His

body was taken to his native Florence as he had desired. He was given a state funeral fit for a

king. Four centuries later, his sculptures and paintings arouse awe and wonder in the hearts of

people.

A. Answer the following questions.

1. What saddened and depressed Michelangelo?

2. What happened towards the end of Michelangelo's life?

B. Complete the following sentences.

1. The Pieta is a ___________________________________

2. Michelangelo's fortunes were dependent __________________________________________

3. Michelangelo was made the chief architect in charge _______________________​

Answer 1

Explanation:

l have not any answer sorry