MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI  (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564) 

wasborn in Tuscany  by a noble family; he had great talent in many areas, being  a painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer.

Michelangelo lived an extremely busy life, creating a great number of artworks. They include a very famous marble statue, the Pieta  

His most famous paintings are huge frescos, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling

...and the Last Judgement

His most famous work of architecture is part of Saint Peter's Basilica.

 He was sometimes called Il Divino ("the divine one"); his works were so grand and full of strong emotion that they were scary.

When he was a child,  Michelangelo was sent to live on a small farm with a stonecutter and his wife and family, and he was given the training to use chisel and hammer.

 Michelangelo studied the anatomy of the people who had died .

Michelangelo arrived in Rome at the age of 21, and soon he got an important “commission” from a Cardinal. The Cardinal wanted Michelangelo to make a marble statue, larger than life-size, of Bacchus, the Ancient Roman God of wine. 

Michelangelo’s next important commission was from the French Ambassador who asked him to make a statue of the Virgin Mary mourning over the dead body of her son Jesus. Michelangelo’s Pieta is the most famous Pieta that has ever been made. It is now in Saint Peter's Basilica and is visited by thousands of people every day.