Was michaelangelo gay
Was Michelangelo Gay? Let’s Observe the Evidence
Published: Feb 15, 2022written by Rosie Lesso, MA Contemporary Art Theory, BA Fine Art
The wonderful and monumental Michelangelo, master of the High Renaissance, produced some of the most famous and commanding artworks of all moment. From his colossal statue of David to the incredible Sistine Chapel ceiling, his artwork is a testament to the scope and ambition of human achievement. A deep comprehending of the human body was at the core of Michelangelo’s art, and almost all his paintings featured, or were based on the male body. This has led many to speculate about his sexuality. Can we bring out any truths that hint Michelangelo was gay, or is this one of those mysterious questions that will never be answered? Let’s have a gaze at the evidence and see…
Some Say Michelangelo Was Gay Because His Art Was So Focused on the Nude Male Body
Although Michelangelo painted a massive variety of figures throughout his incredibly prolific career, his most notable and ambitious works of art are undoubtedly dominated by the male form, which has led many to speculate about whether or not this is evidence he was gay. His David, for example, is consi
The Passions of Michelangelo
More than five centuries ago, on 6 March 1475, a colossus was born: Michelangniolo di Lodovico Buonarroti-Simoni. The lofty plinth of his genius was a magnificent block of marble, but throughout his existence he was steadily broken down: by the demands of corrupt popes, by the petty thievery of workshop assistants, by the tempest of his times, by the fury of his ideals, and by his passionate love for young men.
However one approaches this rough-hewn titan, it is a story of power. In the turbulent background are the financial empire of Florence and the Papal Throne in Rome — oppressed mostly by tyrants. It was an age that demanded giants. Public buildings were monumental, intimate homes were compact, city-walls was huge. It was an Age of Accomplishment: Pico della Mirandola at the age of 18 spoke twenty-two languages. It was an Age of Magnificence: Lorenzo the Magnificent died drinking a medicine of powdered pearls, and Pope Julius II died drinking molten gold. It was an Age of Grandeur: in 1501 fifty courtesans danced naked in the Vatican in honour of Lucrezia Borgia.
Yet the power of the age — like all dominance — was pre-eminently
Michelangelo gay: the hidden history of the artist
Michelangelo Buonarroti is established to have been, like Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. His personal experience, like Da Vinci, was just as fascinating as his works of art.
Michelangelo’s personal life has sparked interest and debate over the centuries, particularly regarding his sexual orientation. The question of whether Michelangelo was gay or not has been the focus of much discussion and examination of his works, relationships, and poems.
In this article, we will explore Michelangelo’s life, relationships, and his most celebrated works of art in light of the question about his homosexual orientation, seeking to enhanced understand the guy behind the musician and the historical and cultural context in which he lived. We will also explore the challenges Michelangelo Buonarroti faced in his personal and professional life, and how his authenticity, his passion for art left a long-lasting legacy.
Read also: Gay Rome: the covert history of the Vatican Museums
Michelangelo Buonarroti: biographical background
Cristofano Allori. Ritratto di Michelangelo
Michelangelo Buo A member of "Histsex", the online discussion list for historians of sexuality, once expressed the tracking view: I take it, then, that this teacher would not cringe if his or her students used the proper 16th-century Italian designation and called Michelangelo a sodomite rather than a homosexual. Personally, I'm quite happy calling him queer, as this term bridges the gap between historical periods. Perhaps the best solution is to avoid specific terms and just say what we mean: Michelangelo fucked boys rather than girls. Or would that build this teacher cringe as well? When the queer art historian John Addington Symonds was granted access to the Buonarroti family archives in Florence in 1863 he discovered a notice written in the margin of the manuscript poems by Michelangelo's grand-n "I cringe when my students refer to Michelangelo as a "homosexual." Why? Because describing someone in the sixteenth century as "gay, "homosexual," "finocchio," "queer," "a faggot," "having queer desire," the list goes on however you choose to illustrate it, does not have the same "meaning"/connotation as it does to contemporary audiences."