Michelangelo is a famous Italian painter who was born in Tuscany in 1475. As a young boy, he shocked his father by entering an art workshop instead of studying to become a merchant. There he spent several years refining his craft, and his artistic interests eventually narrowed to human anatomy and sculpture. Once Michelangelo emerged from his studies, he went on to produce some of the most famous masterpieces in the history of Western art. He is still considered by many to be one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Does Michelangelo really deserve all of this credit? Does Michelangelo really deserve all of this credit? Take one of his most famous works for example. His best-known work David was carved in Florence from 1501 to 1504. Experts will tell you that it's proof of Michelangelo's mastery—a moving representation of the human form. But did you know that the sculpture's right hand is bigger than its left? Its eyes are also looking in two different directions. Where I come from, that's called "being sloppy." But since it's a work by Michelangelo, people are willing to overlook the obvious faults. That's not the only instance where Michelangelo slipped up. His famous Pieta sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica is also distorted. The Pieta was completed before David. It depicts the Christian figure of Mary holding the lifeless body of Jesus Christ. However, it fails in terms of historical accuracy and believability. Mary's face in the Pieta is unbelievably young and fresh, even though she would have been more than 40 years old at the time of her son's death. Even people living back in Michelangelo's time realized something was wrong. When his biographer asked him why Mary's face was so young, Michelangelo responded that she had led a blessed life. In truth, he should have just said he messed up. It's sad that in everyone's rush to praise Michelangelo, a true hero of the classical art world gets missed: Leonardo da Vinci. Of all the words one could use to describe Leonardo—genius, visionary, master—sloppy isn't one of them. He even produced basic designs for a helicopter centuries before mankind achieved flight. Leonardo da Vinci is the true master here. Michelangelo is a mere pretender.
米開朗基羅生於1475年的托斯卡尼，是義大利聞名遐邇的畫家。他在小時候即加入藝術坊而非學習經商技能，此舉震驚了他的父親。他在藝術坊耗費多年時間精進自己的技藝，最後專攻人體解剖學與雕刻藝術。米開朗基羅出師後，開始創作西方藝術史上最富盛名的傑作。至今仍有許多人認為他是史上最偉大的藝術家之一。 但米開朗基羅真的實至名歸嗎？以他最家喻戶曉的作品之一為例，《大衛像》於1501年至1504年間的佛羅倫斯雕刻完成。專家會告訴你，這是米開朗基羅大師之作的證據，將人體線條展現得栩栩如生。但你知道大衛像的右手比左手大嗎？雙眼視線亦朝向不同方向。以我的觀點來看，這叫做「馬虎」。但由於這是米開朗基羅的作品，因此大家都寧願忽視這顯而易見的瑕疵。 這還不是米開朗基羅失手的唯一例子。他設於聖彼得大教堂的著名《聖殤》雕像，同樣有失真問題。《聖殤》雕像於《大衛像》之前竣工。此作品呈現聖母瑪莉亞抱著耶穌基督冰冷屍體的模樣。然而，以歷史準確度和可信度而言均為敗筆。《聖殤》所呈現的聖母瑪利亞臉孔過於青春洋溢，歷史上的瑪麗亞面臨白髮人送黑髮人之時已超過40歲。連米開朗基羅時代的人也察覺不太對勁。他的傳記作家問及聖母瑪利亞的模樣為何如此年輕時，米開朗基羅回應那是因為聖母瑪利亞過著蒙主恩寵的人生。事實上，他應該老實承認自己搞砸了。 大家急於讚揚米開朗基羅的現象實在可悲，因為古典藝術界的真正鬼才成了遺珠之憾，那就是李奧納多• 達文西。天才、具前瞻性、大師等字眼，都能用來形容李奧納多，但他絕對不馬虎。他甚至早在人類發明飛機數百年以前，就已設計出直升機的雛形。李奧納多• 達文西才是真正的大師，米開朗基羅不過是山寨版。 | 
