Art & Authenticy

It is evident to me that a piece of art is authentic when it grabs my attention and stands out to me in a way that no other art piece in the room possibly can.  “Michelangelo’s First Painting” entitled “the “Torment of Saint Anthony” did just that.  Seeing the painting and learning about the story behind it really allowed me to view Michelangelo’s work in a new light.

Michelangelo Buonarroti is an Italian artist who lived from 1487-1488.  Although many people regard him as a sculptor, Michelangelo actually received training as a painter early in his life. He was the apprentice of Domenico Ghirlandaio, a very prestigious master in Florence.  Not long after mastering this skill, he proceeded onto carving marble.  One of Michelangelo’s first works was a painted copy of an engraving by Martin Schongauer, “The Torment of Saint Anthony.” This painting is very admirable and even said to have caused Ghirlandaio slight envy. For me, it is a true representation of Michelangelo’s skill as a painter.

Walking into the Metropolitan Museum of Art I was confronted with a large sign that said “Michelangelo’s First Painting.” Immediately, I pictured in my mind a large painting that would take up an entire room.  When I found the room, I was struck with something completely different.   The painting was small, and as little as it was propagandized I was able to spot it immediately.  Regardless of its size, Michelangelo’s painting conveyed many powerful messages. The painting was made with oil and wood, which greatly contributes to the dark and gloomy feel that the painting gives off.  Saint Anthony is wearing a dark long cloth and he is surrounded by several demons with horrific facial expressions.   When I took my first glance, the first thing I sensed was sadness surrounded by evil and revenge.  Michelangelo created the demons by using a mixture of animals such as birds, reptiles, fish and insects. I thought it was brilliant how he was able to make creatures that don’t necessarily exist in our everyday world, still seem extremely frightening and menacing.  He used red for the main features of the creatures and yellow and green for the details such as the eyes, scales…etc. He surrounded each of them with lines that were extremely refined and assured.  The demons all seemed to interconnect either tail to head or wing to tail.  This gave me the sense that the creatures were moving and really working together to attack Saint Anthony. For me, it was almost as if the demons were real, truly making the painting come alive and allowing me to sympathize with Saint Anthony.  His expression was distressed yet almost, accepting of the punishment.  The waters in the background and the set of rocks beneath saint Anthony gave me the feeling that he had been deserted.

Seeing the comparison between the etching and the painting of “The Torment of Saint Anthony” allowed me to realize how much depth the colors added to the art piece.  The colors added dimension and created a relationship between the characters in the painting.  The liquid medium used for the main figures also contributed to this connection.  The layers of paint used to fix the painting gave each figure shape and movement.  The creatures looked three-dimensional and every spike, fang and scale on them felt truly real.  The dimness in Saint Anthony seemed suitable because his distress, loneliness and defeat were able to shine through to me.

“Michelangelo’s First Painting” “The Torment of Saint Anthony” is truly and authentic piece of art. I have never experienced seeing a painting, something two-dimensional appear so alive. I was able to extract a story from the textures, colors and medium used to create the painting. I have never pictured torment in that way and am grateful I was able to experience it through a work of art.