By V. M. Hillyer ——V. M. 希利尔（仲秋?译）

TO-DAY there is no famous sculptor who is also a famous painter. But in 1475 was born a man who became world famous as a sculptor， as a painter， and as an architect. He also was a poet and wrote good verses that are still published. Not only that， but he is considered the greatest artist of the Renaissance. Many people call him the greatest sculptor since Phidias.

The name of this wonderful genius was Buonarroti. Have you ever heard before of Buonarroti？ Very few people know him by that name. He is known to us as Michelangelo and even this name is written in three different ways—Michelangelo，Michael Angelo， and Michelagnolo.

Michelangelo was trained as a sculptor in marble and he always spoke of himself as a sculptor in spite of the fact that his most famous works are the paintings in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

As a boy he carved a statue in snow that greatly pleased one of the famous Medici family， the Duke of Florence. The boy was permitted to study the old Greek and Roman statues collected by the duke， who later gave him work to do.

When Michelangelo was still a young man， he carved in marble a wonderful statue called the Pietà. This piece of work shows Mary the mother of Jesus holding her dead Son across her lap after His crucifixion. Some people like it better than Michelangelos other works because it is calmer， quieter and tranquil， than the statues he did afterward.

Some time after making the Pietà， Michelangelo was able to do a piece of work that made him famous throughout Italy. There lay in Florence a huge block of marble that an earlier sculptor had begun to work on， but had been unable to finish because the marble was so long and narrow.

Michelangelo offered to make a statue out of this block of marble. He was given permission to carve it and went to work. The block was set up on end and  enclosed with a fence so Michelangelo could work in peace. In three years he had finished. People came in crowds to see what he had done.

It was a colossal statue eighteen feet high， showing David with his sling ready to fight Goliath the giant. Strange to say， every one in Florence called the statue “The Giant”， although it was of a man who killed a giant. It is gigantic in size. It weighs nine tons.

我們生活的今天，没有哪一位著名的雕塑家同时也是著名的画家。但是，有一个在1475年出生的人不仅成为著名的雕塑家，而且同时也是著名的画家。更厉害的是，他还是著名的建筑师，又是一位诗人。他写的很多诗都很优美，有的直到现在还在出版、流传。不仅如此，他还被人们看作是文艺复兴时期最了不起的、杰出的艺术家。有很多人认为他是自菲狄亚斯以来，世界上最优秀的雕塑家。

这位与古希腊最伟大的雕塑家同样了不起的天才叫“博那罗蒂”。你听过这个名字吗？其实也的确很少有人知道这个名字，因为大家都叫他“米开朗琪罗”“米开兰琪罗”或“米高安哲罗”。

米开朗琪罗自幼学习大理石雕像，他也总認为自己是一位雕塑家，尽管他实际上最著名的作品是绘画作品，那就是他为罗马西斯廷礼拜堂所作的穹顶壁画。

在米开朗琪罗还是个孩子的时候，就曾经用雪雕出一座雕像。名门望族“美第奇家族”中的一位成员，当时的佛罗伦萨公爵就非常喜欢米开朗琪罗用雪雕出的雕像。也正因为如此，米开朗琪罗得到佛罗伦萨公爵的许可，学习和研究公爵收藏的古希腊和古罗马的雕像艺术品。后来，佛罗伦萨公爵还为米开朗琪罗介绍了工作。

当米开朗琪罗还是个年轻人的时候，就已经雕刻了一座很了不起的大理石雕像——《圣殇像》。这个雕塑作品展现的是在耶稣被钉死在十字架上以后，圣母马利亚双手抱住耶稣的尸体，放在自己的腿上。……