Michelangelo's first painting
//Summary - Level-B2//
The Torment of Saint Anthony is Michelangelo’s first known painting, created at the age of 12. It shows demons attacking Saint Anthony, which was long thought to be a copy by another artist. Michelangelo studied real animals to design the terrifying creatures. Over time, experts confirmed the painting's true origin using modern techniques. Now housed in the Kimble Museum in Texas, it is one of only four easel paintings by Michelangelo. This dramatic early work reveals his genius and obsession with form, even as a child, and remained hidden for centuries before being correctly attributed in 2018.
The Torment of Saint Anthony is Michelangelo's first known painting, and what's most surprising is that he created it when he was just 12 years old.
The work was attributed to other artists for centuries and dismissed as a mere imitation. No one could have imagined that behind this dramatic, demonic scene lay the brush of a boy whose work would later change the course of art history.
But today, thanks to technical research and a fascinating rediscovery, the painting has finally emerged from the shadows.
So, one question inevitably arises: What motivated Michelangelo to paint such a dark work at such a young age?
1)
00:00
There's a painting that almost no one knows about. It was made by Michelangelo when he was just 12 years old. But don't expect something childish or innocent.
He painted a dark, terrifying scene filled with demons attacking a man suspended in the air. This work was so intense that for centuries, no one believed it could have come from a child.
2)
00:23
For a long time, this painting wasn't attributed to him. For centuries, it was believed to be the work of an anonymous artist who supposedly copied a famous piece from Northern Europe.
No one imagined that behind those winged demons, those scaly and clawed creatures, was a child's brush. Not just any child, but Michelangelo, who is only 12 years old.
3)
00:44
But how could a child that age create something like this? What did he see? What did he feel? What did he live through to paint such a vision?
Since he was a child, Michelangelo's obsession set him apart from other kids. He didn't just draw; he copied sculptures, painted faces, and practised anatomy.
4)
01:04
There was something in his gaze that others didn't quite understand, but couldn't ignore. His father didn't want him to become an artist.
Art was the work of a craftsman, not something for someone with a respectable surname. But when he saw there was no stopping him, he allowed Michelangelo to apprentice in the workshop of one of the greatest painters of the time, Dominico Gearandio.
5)
01:28
Gilandio wasn't just any master. He had worked in the main churches of Florence and was renowned for his ability to tell stories through enormous frescos filled with detail and life. His workshop was a hive of commissions, which meant one thing: constant work and intense learning.
There was no rest. Backgrounds were painted, colours were mixed, sketches were transferred onto damp walls, and most of all, students learned by watching. And there was Michelangelo.
6)
01:55
Not yet a prodigy, just one more among the others. But that wouldn't last long. Gilandio quickly noticed something unusual about this boy. He didn't just work fast.
He understood the human form with an unnatural ease. He didn't need to copy like the others. He saw the body, analysed it, and recreated it with an almost frightening confidence.
7)
02:18
That was the environment that shaped him: a workshop filled with religious art, with moving figures, tension in the hands, and expression in the faces, and that left a mark on how he saw the world.
Not as decoration, but as a constant battle between the human and the divine. That's why, when the time came to paint his first work, Michelangelo didn't choose a simple scene.
8)
02:42
He chose to depict a battle between a saint and his demons. The painting is called The Torment of St. Anthony.
And if you look at it for the first time without knowing anything, you'd never guess it was painted by a child. At the centre of the image, floating in midair, is St. Anthony the Abbott, an elderly monk with a face that looks tense yet serene.
9)
03:04
He is suspended as if reality itself had dissolved. But what truly strikes you is what surrounds him: a swarm of deformed demons attacking from every direction.
These are creatures straight out of a medieval nightmare. Some have scaly bodies like fish. Others have leathery wings, sharp fangs, claws, horns, and bulging eyes.
10)
03:24
There are crab legs, bird beaks, and tentacles wrapping around his robe, and they all seem to move at once, circling him like a whirlwind of evil.
In the background, a rocky landscape is likely inspired by the hills around Florence, adding a sense of distance and depth. The whole scene floats in a strange atmosphere between the real and the supernatural.
11)
03:48
Now, this painting didn't come from nowhere. Michelangelo was inspired by a woodcut, a print carved from wood by the German artist Martin Shongawa, who was well known in his time for his dramatic religious visions. Shonga had already created this scene before, but Michelangelo reinterpreted it. He made it his own.
12)
04:09
And here's the incredible part. Michelangelo didn't settle for simply copying what he saw in the print.
He wanted the demons to feel real. So, he went to the market in Florence, observed fish, reptiles, and birds, and mentally noted their textures, shapes, and colours—the scales you see on the monsters, those silvery green reflections.
13)
04:30
He learned those from staring at the back of a fish. The beaks, the claws, even the bulging eyes. They came from real life, not imagination, and he was only 12 years old.
Another striking detail is the use of colour. Unlike the original woodcut, which was in black and white, Michelangelo adds a stormy sky with grey and bluish tones, creating a sense of height and vertigo. St.
14)
04:55
Anony's dark, heavy tunic robe reinforces his stoic presence during chaos. On the other hand, the demons are painted in almost sickly colours that highlight their grotesque energy.
There's a perfect balance between the attack's chaos and the saint's inner calm. But here's the strange part.
15)
05:14
For a long time, this painting wasn't recognised as a work by Michelangelo. No one believed he could have painted it. It stayed that way for centuries, passing from hand to hand with no clear signature or known story behind it.
It was a powerful painting, but no one imagined it was the first work of one of the most important artists in history.
16)
05:35
Michelangelo's first painting went unnoticed for over 500 years, hidden in plain sight, until one small detail changed everything. But before we continue, I'd like to remind you that you can now purchase this painting from our website if you'd like to have it in your own collection.
17)
05:54
By ordering from the store, you'll receive a reproduction as faithful as possible to the original, and shipping is free anywhere in the world.
If you're an art lover, I invite you to visit the catalogue and discover more than 600 selected historical paintings. If you'd like to support the channel and own a piece of art in your home, I'll leave the link in the description.
18)
06:16
You can place your order now. Then, let's continue. The painting was forgotten for centuries until, in 2008, something unexpected happened. Sotheby's auction house put the work up for sale, and an art dealer named Adam Williams acquired it.
There was no official confirmation about its author at the time, but there were many suspicions.
19)
06:36
The theft took the painting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to be examined and cleaned. And that's when the clues began to emerge. Beneath the layers of dirt accumulated over the centuries, a very particular colour palette appeared.
The tones, the blends, the way the human figure was treated all began to resemble the style Michelangelo would use years later in none other than the cyine chapel.
20)
07:03
The Mets technicians also performed infrared reflectography, allowing researchers to see beneath the paint. What they found were pentimenti corrections made during the painting process.
Areas where the artist had changed his mind, scraped off paint, or adjusted figures are often a clear sign that a painting is not a copy but an original work created with artistic freedom.
21)
07:30
One of the experts who examined the painting was Keith Christensen, curator at the Met and one of the leading authorities in Renaissance art.
In May 2009, he told the New York Times that he firmly believed the painting was by Michelangelo. But the museum wasn't ready to take that leap. Instead, Eric Lee, director of the Kimble Art Museum in Texas, decided to take the risk.
22)
07:53
He had only been in the position for 2 days when he learned the painting was available. He travelled to New York, analysed it with his team, and, along with Clare Barry, director of conservation at the museum, found no convincing argument against the attribution.
The purchase was approved, and the painting became part of the Kimble Museum's collection. It is the only painting by Michelangelo located anywhere in the Americas and one of just four easel paintings attributed to him throughout his entire career.
23)
08:23
A few years later, with more advanced technology, another hidden drawing was discovered beneath the surface, further reinforcing the attribution. In 2018, the Italian historian Giorgio Bonsanti published key research that definitively confirmed that this was undoubtedly Michelangelo's first painting.
Michelangelo's first painting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtUWFNPoxJM&t=13s
