In this article, we’ll share some of the most memorable Michelangelo quotes – one of the most influential artist during the Renaissance.
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Some of his famous works include the statue of David and the Sistine Chapel.
Short biography of Michelangelo
He was born in 1475 in Caprese, Italy. When Michelangelo was only six, his father died and he was sent to live with a stonecutter. At thirteen, he became an apprentice to painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. After two years, Michelangelo left Ghirlandaio to study sculpture on his own.
Michelangelo’s art is characterized by its realism and its emotionality. His work demonstrates a rare combination of technical skill, poetic inspiration and visionary intellect. Throughout his long life, Michelangelo continually strived for artistic perfection.
Today, Michelangelo’s artworks are among the most famous in existence and can be found in museums all over the world. Michelangelo quotes about art have been recorded and remembered throughout the centuries because of their beauty and wisdom. Here are some of his most memorable quotes:
Michelangelo quotes about love
Check out some of Michelangelo quotes on love that just as beautiful as his artwork.
“If I love in thee, beloved, only what thou lovest most, do not be angry; for so one spirit is enamoured of another.”
In this quote, Michelangelo is saying that if you love someone, you should only love what they love most. This is because when two people are in love, they become one spirit.
“I already have a wife who is too much for me. She is my art, and my works are my children.”
Michelangelo suggests that having a wife is like having too much art, and that his children are like his works of art. He seems to be saying that he loves his family, but they are also a lot of work.
“If I am more alive because love burns and chars me, as a fire, given wood or wind, feels new elation, it’s that he who lays me low is my salvation, and invigorates the more, the more he scars me.”
“I have never felt salvation in nature. I love cities above all.”
“Death and love are the two wings that bear the good man to heaven.”
“I live and love in God’s peculiar light.”
“If it be true that any beautiful thing raises the pure and just desire of man from earth to God, the eternal fount of all, such I believe my love.”
“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”
“My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth’s loveliness.”
Michelangelo quotes about art
In a world where art is sometimes seen as a mere decoration, it’s refreshing to hear the words of Michelangelo, one of history’s most celebrated artists. Here are ten of the most beautiful Michelangelo quotes on art that will make you think about its value and purpose.
“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”
It is often said that the artist is only as good as their tools. This may be true to a certain extent, but it takes more than just a paintbrush and canvas to create a masterpiece. In a similar vein, he could have been replying to the question of how he painted the Sistine Chapel. He did not simply use his hands to apply paint to the ceiling; he used his brain power, his imagination, and his artistry.
“The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.”
“Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.”
“A good artist ought never to allow impatience to overcome his sense of the main end of art – perfection.”
“Beauty is the purgation of superfluities.”
“Art lives on constraint and dies of freedom.”
“The science of design, or of line-drawing, if you like to use this term, is the source and very essence of painting, sculpture, architecture… Sometimes… it seems to me that… all the works of the human brain and hand are either design itself or a branch of that art.”
“Art is the gift of God, and must be used unto His glory. That in art is highest which aims at this.”
“True art is made noble and religious by the mind producing it.”
“Art is a jealous thing; it requires the whole and entire man.”
Inspirational Michelangelo quotes
A true polymath, Michelangelo was not only a painter and sculptor, but also an architect, engineer, and poet. His work has inspired countless other artists and his legacy continues to this day. Here are some of Michelangelo quotes to inspire you today:
“Precious is sleep, better to be of stone, while the oppression and the shame still last; not seeing and not hearing, I am blest; so do not wake me, hush! Keep your voice down.”
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”
“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”
“It is necessary to keep one’s compass in one’s eyes and not in the hand, for the hands execute, but the eye judges.”
“Let whoever may have attained to so much as to have the power of drawing know that he holds a great treasure.”
“You no longer feel the fear of a change of being and desire. The course of the hours lays not violent hands upon you; necessity and chance guide not your steps. I can hardly write without envy.”
“What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed?”
“Self-negation is noble, self-culture is beneficent, self-possession is manly, but to the truly great and inspiring soul they are poor and tame compared to self-abuse.”
“The noble heart finds most in starlike eyes.”
“If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death since it comes from the hand of the same master.”
Michelangelo quotes about sculpting
As an artist, Michelangelo was constantly seeking to improve his skills and push the boundaries of his art form. He was particularly passionate about sculpture, and his quotes on the subject reveal both his love for the art form and his dedication to his craft. In honor of the great artist’s artwork, here are some of the most insightful Michelangelo quotes about sculpting.
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
“As when, O lady mine,
With chiselled touch
The stone unhewn and cold
Becomes a living mould,
The more the marble wastes,
The more the statue grows.”
“A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it.”
“If people knew how hard I worked at my art, they would not consider me a genius.”
“A great sculpture can roll down a hill without breaking.”
“When a painter introduces into this kind of work of art chimerae and other imaginary beings in order to divert and entertain the senses and also to captivate the eyes of mortals who long to see unclassified and impossible things, he shows himself more respectful of reason than if he produced the usual figures of men or of animals.”
“The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell; only the sculptor’s hand can break the spell to free the figures.”
“Art is a shadow of Divine perfection.”
Michelangelo quotes about learning
One of the most important aspects of learning is taking in new information and expanding your understanding. Michelangelo, a highly celebrated artist of the Renaissance, had some interesting things to say about learning. Once he sais, “I am still learning.” This famous quote from Michelangelo highlights the fact that learning is a lifelong process. Here are another Michelangelo quotes about learning:
“Your greatness is measured by your horizons.”
This means that you are as great as the amount of knowledge and experience you have. The more you know and the more you experience, the greater you are.
“Critique by creating.”
“The best of artists hath no art to show, which the rough stone in its superfluous shell doth not include, to break the marble spell, is all the hand that serves the brain can do.”
“How wrong are those simpletons, of whom the world is full, who look more at…color than at the figures which show spirit and movement.”
“With few words I shall make thee understand my soul.”
“If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn’t call it genius.”
“Genius is eternal patience.”
“Perfection is no small thing, but it is made up of small things.”
“Read the heart and not the letter for the pen cannot draw near the good intent.”
“Draw, Antonio; draw, Antonio; draw and don’t waste time.”
“Anyone who follows others never passes them by, and anyone who does not know how to do good works on his own cannot make good use of works by others.”
Michelangelo quotes about God
Michelangelo was a man of deep faith, and many of his writings and interviews reveal a profound spiritual side to him. In this list, we will explore some of the most memorable and inspiring Michelangelo quotes on spirituality.
“The mind, the soul, becomes ennobled by the endeavour to create something perfect, for God is perfection, and whoever strives after perfection is striving for something devine.”
“For those who feel it, nothing makes the soul so religious and pure as the endeavor to create something perfect; for God is perfection, and whoever strives after it, is striving after something divine. True painting is only the image of the perfection of God, a shadow of the pencil with which he paints, a melody, a striving after harmony.”
“Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.”
“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish.”
“Good painting is nothing else but a copy of the perfections of God and a reminder of His painting. Finally, good painting is a music and a melody which intellect only can appreciate, and with great difficulty.”
“Lord free me of myself, so I can please you!”
“I am a poor man and of little worth, who is laboring in that art that God has given me in order to extend my life as long as possible.”
“Please don’t trouble yourself. God didn’t make us to abandon us.”
“I live in sin, to kill myself I live; no longer my life my own, but sin’s; my good is given to me by heaven, my evil by myself, by my free will, of which I am deprived.”
“No thought is born in me that does not bear the image of death.”
Final thought
These Michelangelo quotes are a great way to get insights into the artist’s mind and work ethic. They also provide a fascinating look at how he saw the world around him. So, use these quotes as a source of inspiration in your own life and work.
We hope that you enjoy reading our collection of Michelangelo quotes. This list provides some of his most popular and well-known quotes that will resonate with you. Choose the ones that speak to you the most and keep them close to your heart.
Read more: craft quotes | creative art quotes | creativity quotes.