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Michelangelo: An Artistic Master(一)

He was a man of many talents: a sculptor, painter and an architect.1 He created some of the most memorable2 works of art in the history of mankind. He is often praised alongside artistic visionaries like da Vinci and Raphael. His name was Michelangelo.

Born in Florence, Italy in 1475, Michelangelo grew up without the love of his parents. Hot-tempered and rebellious, he angered his father by studying art. But Michelangelo showed great talent in the arts when he was young. He was ambitious.3 He wanted to rival4 the respected artist da Vinci.

At the age of 23, Michelangelo created his first masterpiece, the Pieta, which amazed everyone. In this sculpture,5 the Virgin Mary is holding the body of Christ. With a kind and peaceful look, she accepts her son’s tragic end.

Next, Michelangelo went on to shape something much bigger. At the age of 29, he stood before a huge piece of marble, and stared into the eyes of a giant locked somewhere inside. After two and a half years of hard work, Davidwas born. The manly, athletic biblical hero stood over five meters tall. Michelangelo captured6 the moment just before David killed the giant, Goliath.

to be continued ...

他是个多才多艺的人：既是雕塑家、画家，也是建筑师。他创造出一些人类历史上最令人难忘的艺术品。他常与艺术先知达芬奇和拉斐尔一起为人诵赞。他的名字是米开朗基罗。

米开朗基罗1475 年出生于意大利的佛罗伦萨。他从小缺乏父母关爱，脾气暴躁又叛逆，又因学习艺术而惹恼父亲。但米开朗基罗年轻时即展露艺术天份。他雄心勃勃，想与倍受尊崇的达芬奇一较高下。

米开朗基罗 23 岁时创作出第一件杰作——《圣殇》，该作品令所有人惊艳不已。雕像中，圣母玛莉亚抱着耶稣的身体。她的神情安祥平和，接受了儿子的悲剧结局。

接着，米开朗基罗继续雕塑更大型的作品。29 岁时，他站在一个巨大的大理石前，凝视着锁在石块深处一个巨人的双眼。经过 2 年半的艰苦努力，《大卫像》就此诞生。这个具有男子气概、体格强健的圣经英雄有5 米多高。米开朗基罗捕捉到大卫杀死巨人葛利亚前的那一刻。

Review Points

The bad-tempered Michelangelo was ambitious and wanted to rival da Vinci.

By the time he was in his twenties, Michelangelo had already completed two masterpieces — the Pietaand David.

Oral Practice

Name your favorite artist and try to describe his or her artworks.

By the way

rival此处为动词，意为“媲美”，当名词是“竞争对手”，“主要的竞争对手”是 arch rival 或 main rival。

Vocabulary

1. architect n. sb. who designs buildings 建筑师

The architect made sure the workers followed his plans.

2. memorable adj. worth remembering 难忘的

Life is full of memorable moments.

3. ambitious adj. determined to be rich and famous 野心勃勃的

To be the best at something, you must be ambitious.

4. rival v. to equal sb. / sth. 媲美

London rivals New York as one of the world’s business capitals.

5. sculpture n. a figure or design made from marble, clay or metal 雕像

The sculpture portrayed a man riding a bull.

6. capture v. to succeed in expressing sth. 捕捉

The picture captured Johnny being thrown into the pool.

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