미켈란젤로의 서정시와 ‘플라톤적 사랑’

Abstract

The intention of this thesis is to see that ‘Platonic Love’ is the motive for the art and life of Michelangelo by examining the concept of beauty and love in Michelangelo’s lyric in the context of Ficino’s Platonism. The core of the Renaissance Platonism with Ficino as its head are the immortality of the soul and love. The human soul as the center of the universe acquires immortality and beatitude by contemplating God through the gradual inner ascent in which the soul leaves the body and purifies itself. The other aspect of the soul’s ascent for God is love. In this sense, the genuine love is the desire for turning to the divine beauty by being provoked from looking at the sensible beauty. This is ‘Platonic love,’ coined by Ficino. The concept of beauty in Michelangelo’s lyric is the heavenly beauty which manifests as the pledge of the divine in the material. In this regard the activity of the artist is the realization of images, ideas visions of beauty which he has in his mind. This is Ficino’s concept of beauty which takes God as its ontological source. The concept of love in Michelangelo’s lyric aims at the friends which he loves. The Genuine love is the agent for the union with God by raising the human soul from the mortal earthly beauty to the immortal heavenly beauty, and makes him reach beatitude. Thus, Ficino’s ‘Platonic love’ is the inspiration which leads Michelangelo’s life and art.