Leonardo and Michelangelo different approaches

Leonardo and Michelangelo different approaches
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Renaissance marked a rebirth of Roman and Greek culture which both placed the human at the center of the universe. Michelangelo’s ceiling from the Sistine chapel and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa are two great pieces of art from the renaissance which both respond to and reflect the resurgence of humanism in European history. Both works of Leonardo and Michelangelo depict the human body, though in different perspectives. This paper aims to examine the history of renaissance art including the history of these two artists in particular. Further, the paper will analyze how Leonardo and Michelangelo approach the representation of the human body differently.
The history of renaissance art was a long journey. Renaissance art began in Italy during late 13th and early 14th centuries. Italian artists and scholars considered themselves as reawakening to the achievements and ideals of classical roman culture (Motture and O’Malley, 2011). Writers like Giovanni Boccaccio and Petrarch reflected back to the Rome and Greece, and focused to revive intellectual traditions, values and languages of such cultures after a long stagnation period which had resulted after the downfall of the Roman Empire during the sixth century. Renaissance art is a decorative, sculpture and paintings arts made during the period of renaissance. The Italian renaissance redeveloped western art based on the principles of traditional Greek art particularly Greek painting and sculpture. Renaissance art was influenced by new concept of humanism, which was a philosophy that was founded on several achievements (for example, democracy) of the pagan ancient Greece (Braun and Vallance, 2011). Humanism disregarded secular and religious dogmas, but emphasized on the significance of the worth and dignity of the individual.
Historical background of Leonardo and Michelangelo had influence on their contributions. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an inventor, painter and architect of all scientific things (Ruffini, 2011). He had natural genius that made his became successful in many disciplines and a result he was known as “Renaissance man.” He is still known due to his great arts as well as his two paintings which are among the world’s most admired and famous arts (the Last Supper and Mona Lisa). He was self-educated and acquired theories, observations and inventions of various disciplines like anatomy and aeronautics. On the other hand, Michelangelo (1475-1564) was an architect, painter, and sculptor widely regarded as one of the most famous artists of the Italian renaissance period. His work depicted a blend of physical intensity and realism and psychological insight that were never seen before. He was considered having extraordinary talent and as a result he obtained commissions from powerful and rich individuals during his time as well as popes and other indi...