Who
Were The ‘Ninja Turtles’ Artists?
by Rob Cottignies
Many of us learned the names Leonardo, Raphael,
Donatello, and Michelangelo from the 1987 cartoon series Teenage Mutant NinjaTurtles, which was inspired by a comic of the same name published a few years earlier.
The stories of those crime-fighters who lived in the
sewer and primarily ate pizza took off and eventually spawned film and other
television adaptations.
But what about those names?
The four were artists during the Italian Renaissance,
which lasted roughly from the 1300s through the 1600s.
The creators of TMNT- Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird-
were fans of art history and thought it would be “silly” to name mutated reptiles
after something serious. (This was reflected in the comic when their adoptive
master- a rat named Splinter- inexplicably found an art book in a storm drain
and chose the names.)
…
The Renaissance (a French word derived from the Latin
for rebirth) was a time in Europe when expressive things like art and
philosophy were praised. This period followed the Middle Ages and served as an
important transition toward our modern times.
Great works such as Sandro Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Wedding were produced during the period,
but those often get overlooked in favor of the artists who share our Ninja
Turtles’ names.
Here are their stories:
Leonardo
(turtle with blue eye mask)
The very definition of a “Renaissance man”, Leonardo
di ser Piero (son of Piero) lived in a Tuscan town called Vinci. (Leonardo da
Vinci means ‘Leonardo of Vinci’, which is widely used when mentioning him.) He
was a gifted painter, engineer, architect, and sculptor who used his talents to
study nature and human anatomy, among other things.
His most famous works include a portrait of Lisa
Gherhardini, which would come to be known as the Mona Lisa (‘Mona’ is a
Leonardo biographer’s unexplained abbreviation for ‘Madonna’, even though the
painting had nothing to do with the mother of Jesus); The Last
Supper, a painting featuring Jesus’s final meal with his apostles before
his crucifixion; and The Vitruvian Man, a highly-detailed
drawing which was done to bring together the fields of art, science, and even
architecture. Leonardo also sketched a “flying machine” centuries before
anything like it would be built.
A custom of the time had legitimate sons following the
careers of their fathers. Since Leonardo was conceived outside of wedlock, he
did not have to become a notary and was free to explore other paths.
Leonardo died May 2nd, 1519, at age 67 in Amboise,
France, likely from a stroke.
Raphael
(turtle with red eye mask)
Raffaello Sanzio was from the city of Urbino. He was
best known for painting simple-yet-elegant pieces and large compositions.
Some of his most celebrated paintings include The Transfiguration, an intricate piece which celebrates the glory of Jesus
(and was Raphael’s final completed art); Three Graces, depicting the
nude daughters of Zeus; and a self-portrait famous for its attention
to detail.
Scholars have argued Raphael would have been much more
prominent had he not died so young.
Raphael’s birth date is unknown but it has been
speculated his death occurred around the time of his 37th birthday,
on April 6th, 1520, in Rome. It was long-rumored to have been caused
by syphilis but recent research shows the reason as a pulmonary (lung) disease
which was not helped when doctors tried to cure him with bloodletting.
Donatello
(turtle with purple eye mask)
Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi was born in Florence
and, unlike the rest of these four artists, is only known for his sculptures in
many media, like bronze and marble. Donatello was a nickname given to him
during childhood.
His major works include a statue of David from the Biblical story of David & Goliath; The Feast Of Herod,
his first bronze sculpture which depicts a Biblical scene and is noted for its
use of depth; and the Equestrian Statue Of Gattamelata, an intricate statue
of a famous military leader riding his horse.
Unlike the other three artists in this article,
Donatello did not work as an apprentice in his youth. He worked for masons and
smiths, taking that knowledge with him into the artistic realm.
Donatello died in Florence from an unknown cause December
13th, 1466, around the age of 80.
Michelangelo
(turtle with orange eye mask)
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born in
Florence and was an accomplished all-around artist, though he considered
himself only a sculptor.
His most renowned artworks include his mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which visualizes events throughout the Bible; the statue
of David from the Biblical story of David & Goliath (like Donatello’s);
and the Pietà (Italian for ‘pity’), a sculpture of a sad Mary holding
the body of her dead son, Jesus.
A rival artist named Bramante convinced Pope Julius to
hire Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel because Bramante thought it was a
medium he was unfamiliar with. It has been considered an artistic masterpiece
for over 500 years.
Michelangelo died on the 18th of February,
1564, in Rome, from nothing more than being 88 years old.
…
Donatello died when Leonardo was a child and before
the other two were born.
Michelangelo, however, had public feuds with the
much-older Leonardo and the slightly-younger Raphael.
His battles with the artists were over commissions and
fame but the strife with Raphael had an added aspect.
After being accused (by him) of copying Michelangelo’s
style, Raphael added a portrait of a grumpy, lonely man to his painting Stanza della Segnatura. He claimed it depicted the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus
but most people recognized the person in question as looking exactly like Michelangelo.
…
Back to the Turtles, their master, Splinter, was named
in honor of Stick, the mentor of Daredevil comics.
To learn more about the Renaissance and its artists, I
recommend this article at history.com.
For a chronology of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
head over to Rob Lammle’s detailed article here.
Cowabunga, dude!
Thanks to these websites for aiding in my research:
google.com, historyhit.com, britannica.com, romaexperience.com, donatello.net
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