Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo they are frequently compared throughout their careers to try to decide who was the greatest artist of the Renaissance era. One aspect of his work to study is that of invention, and this is where Da Vinci has the upper hand. This article, however, will give examples of how Michelangelo continued to be influential in this sphere of creativity and place them in context with the rest of the work he produced during his illustrious career.
Da Vinci sketched his own ideas, and these have become well-known inventions, in some cases even becoming reality. However, Michelangelo only worked on other people’s ideas and was therefore not a true inventor in the normal way. However, he worked closely on many inventions, and signed on to add his considerable drawing skills to help illustrate and promote various new products.
After producing remarkable sculptures and frescoes, Michelangelo had built an exceptional reputation as an artist and also had some high-profile contacts that the commissioned inventors may have also sought to tap into in their attempts to bring their respective products to market.
Michelangelo may not have invented anything, in terms of actual products, but he did invent and create a lot in the sphere of art with new techniques and ideas on how fresco art and sculpture could be done. The greatest impact of the Renaissance was through new ideas like these, and this is why Michelangelo is still considered one of the masters of this era.
Leonardo da Vinci was well known for having invented the first versions of a diving suit, an armored tank, and a parachute. It is perhaps the difference between Da Vinci and Michelangelo in the stakes of invention, plus the fame of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, that demonstrated the difference between these true Renaissance masters. Fortunately, both are still highly revered and respected by those who understand the importance of this artistic period in which so many changes and new ideas arose.
We can conclude that as creative and innovative as Michelangelo was, he was not an inventor in terms of coming up with new products. But he was inventive, in a way, with his new ideas about how art, literature, and architecture might work within the Renaissance, and his influential work would shape much of what followed in each of these areas of the society.
