Michelangelo Buonarroti's Moses - The statue is situated at the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome.

Moses was sculpted by Michelangelo sometime between 1513 and 1515. It was created for it to be part of the tomb of Pope Julius II. The sculpture is 254 cms. high.

The sculpture shows Moses in a seated posture between two decorative columns. He has a long beard which reaches down to his lap. This same posture can also be seen in the frescoes by Michelangelo, which he had painted at the Sistine Chapel. This sculpture was to have been placed in the upper part of the tomb where it would have been viewed from below. Keeping this in mind, Michelangelo had made the torso unusually long and given Moses a dramatic expression on his face. Even the shoulders and arms are disproportionately larger than the neck. You can also spot horns on Moses head. This stems out of a misconception. According to the Hebrew scriptures, Moses had “rays of the skin of his face”. This was mistakenly translated into Latin as Moses having horns on his head. It seems even Michelangelo was not aware of this mistake!

In the sculpture of Moses, you can see how well Michelangelo understood the material he worked with and his respect for marble. This masterpiece was created at the height of Michelangelo’s genius. The sculpture represents Michelangelo’s courage and passion at the time when he was fighting all odds to complete the tomb of Pope Julius II. In fact, Michelangelo himself considered Moses to be his most significant piece of work.

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Michelangelo's The creation of Adam - The painting is one the most famous parts of the monumental Fresco in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. by

The Creation of Adam is a fresco created by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. This work is also known as The Creation of Man. It forms part of the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. The fresco measures 480×230 cm.

The fresco shows God, who is full of energy and dynamism, pointing a finger at Adam and thereby instilling life into him. This work is well-known for its powerful imagery. Adam is depicted as a strong, muscular young man who is in center of the composition. God is shown with hair and beard that are streaming due to the sheer force of his power. He is attired in a purple robe and has angels all around him. The focal point of the work is the story about the creation of man. As God touches Adam, he is infused with life. The inspiration for the painting is a biblical story from the Book of Genesis where God breathes life into Adam, the first man.
This particular fresco was among the last of the frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling to be completed.

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Michelangelo's Bacchus - Buonarroti finished the sculpture in about 1497

Bacchus was created by Michelangelo in 1497. It was initially commissioned for the garden of Cardinal Raffaele Riario. He rejected it and it finally found its way to the Medici in Florence in 1572. The marble sculpture is oversized and depicts Bacchus, the Roman God of wine. It shows Bacchus in an intoxicated state. Bacchus and The Pieta are both attributed to the sculptor’s first period in Rome.
Bacchus is shown in a drunken stupor, almost staggering off the rock on which he is standing. A faun can be seen behind the figure of Bacchus. Bacchus is holding a bunch of grapes which the faun is eating. The figure of Bacchus seems to be resemble both a man and a woman as it has well-developed breasts as well as swollen testicles. The grapes and the wreath of vines signify wine. In his right hand, Bacchus holds a goblet of wine and his left he holds a tiger skin. The sculpture has a high center of gravity as the main figure almost seems to be reeling off the edge where it is standing. Michelangelo used similar precarious postures for some of his other works such as David and the figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Michelangelo was commissioned to create The Pieta in Rome for the tomb of the French cardinal Jean de Billheres. As per the agreement, Michelangelo was asked to create the most beautiful work of marble in Rome – something no living artist could better. Michelangelo was unfazed by the brief and when he completed the sculpture, it was received acclaim from all quarters. The Pieta was considered to have surpassed even the sculptures created by the Greeks and Romans.

The sculpture depicts Mary holding a dead Christ in her arms. Mary has her left hand outstretched as if she wants us to share in the pain of the death of her son. This remarkable composition was created by Michelangelo when he was only 24 years old. He worked the piece of marble using a drill and was able to give it a highly polished sheen. The two figures are so life-like they hardly look like they are made of stone. The sculpture showcases Michelangelo’s knowledge of human anatomy as well as his mastery over composition. It is said that soon after the completion of The Pieta, Michelangelo overheard someone saying it had been created by another sculptor called Cristoforo Solari. Michelangelo was so enraged that he carved his name on the sash running across Mary’s breast. The Pieta is regarded as an example of the Italian High Renaissance.

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The Last Judgment is a famous fresco executed by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1535 and 1541 in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican. The painting measures 1370 cm × 1220 cm and was executed after an order of Pope Clement VII (the execution was planned to last six years, but it actually took sixteen).

Michelangelo returned to Rome in 1532 after several years in Florence after Clement VII pardoned him for taking the side of Charles V. He then asked Michelangelo to paint both walls of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment represents the return of Christ and the apocalypse.

The Crucifixion of St. Peter is a fresco painting Michelangelo Buonarroti executed between 1546-1550. Its dimensions are not less than 625 cm x 662 cm and is located in the Cappella Paolina, Vatican Palace; Vatican City. The Crucifixion of Saint Peter was Micheangelos last fresco.

The work shows the moment just before St. Peter’s martyrdom, when the Roman soldiers raise him on the cross. Pain and suffering are the main aspects highligted by Buonarroti.

Pope Paul ordered this fresco in 1541, the last restoration was finished just in 2009. Just then, a small self portrait of Michelangelo himselv was belived to be found in the painting. Maurizio De Luca, inspector and chief restorer of the Vatican claimed that he had identified Buanorroti as the figure wearing a blue turban among one of three riders in the top left of the fresco.

Michelangelo Tondo Doni or Doni Madonna

Tondo Doni is a panel paiting by Michelangelo Buonarroti and was executed between 1506-1508 in oil and tempera on wood. Its diameter is about 120 cm and it is currently located in Florence, Uffizi Gallery.

The Tondo Doni is one of the most famous paintings by Michelangelo Buonarroti, the highly appreciated Italian Renaissance artist and the first of his panel paintings. Moreover, it is the single painting of this kind which has been finished, at least when it comes to the three which have survived.

The painting is named after its first owner, Tondo Doni, sometimes it is named Doni Madonna. The painting shows the Holy Family with the Infant Jesus. In the middle ground, right behind the wall, which separates the Holy Family in the foreground from the background a small boy is wears a camel coat. Thus, he is often identified as John the Baptist. The five nude persons in the background – actually the whole painting – have been subject to various speculations.

Until the 17th Century it was generally believed to be a simple devotional motif. Afterwards the first attempts arose to see Doni Tondi as an allegory. One interpretation identifies the Holy Family as the Catholic Church while the nudes in the background could symbolize the antiquity.