Michelangelo's Influence On Michelangelo

While studying under Ghirlandaio he would have been exposed to the very best of art in terms of classical style and technique. He would have also learned some of the history surrounding art from the past. However, this would have been a fairly narrow minded history based on tradition. Along with these traditional skills and knowledge, Michelangelo would no doubt have developed a competitive side to his nature if it was not there to start with.
In addition to this he would also have been introduced to both Giotto and Masaccio with whom Michelangelo would have a love hate relationship for the rest of his life. Michelangelo started out simply making copies of works already completed by master artists but quickly progressed to improving upon

His critical and detailed studies of master artisans like Giotto and Masaccio during his time as an apprentice not only taught him to appreciate the beauty of classical art forms such as the Dioskouros ( Fig. 2), but also the technical skills to needed to surpass all who came before him. However, there was a clear line in Michelangelo’s mind separating the two. While he barely made any changes to his copies of works by Giotto he made radical modifications to those of Masaccio. One can only assume he did this because he believed that the work of Masaccio could be improved upon. This need to improve and even surpass the past continued for the rest of his life resulting in such stunning work as the Sistine Chapel and the legendary David (Fig. 1) where he surpassed even the artists of old by creating a figure so real, so believable that the verisimilitude is uncanny. In great contrast is the Dioskouros figure, which while very realistic fails to measure up to the seventeen foot colossus that is the David sculpture. In the end one can very clearly see the relationship the Michelangelo had with the art of the past. It was a learning tool; but also something to be