A Profile of Michelangelo Buonarroti

The most representative artist of the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo Buonarroti (March 6, 1475 - February 18, 1564) was born in the region of Tuscany in Italy, in Caprese, a town near Arezzo. A great painter and sculptor, Michelangelo ventured beyond art and was an architect and engineer, as well as a poet.

Michelangelo was born to Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti di Simoni and Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena. His mother died when he was only 7 years old after a long illness. During these times Michelangelo sought refuge with the family of a stonecutter in Settignano. Michelangelo's father owned a marble quarry in the town, and the young boy could familiarize himself with handling the chisel and hammer.

Michelangelo had his early apprenticeship at the age of thirteen under a painter by the name of Domenico Ghirlandaio. He then attended the Neo Platonic Humanist academy founded by the Medici in Florence where he studied sculpture under Bertoldo di Giovanni and sculpted his early reliefs, "Battle of the Centaurs" (1491-1492) and "Madonna of the Steps" (1490-1492).

In 1494 Michelangelo completed the small statues, "St. John the Baptist" and "Cupid" in Florence. The former was sold to Cardinal Raffaele Riario which paved the way for Michelangelo's entry into Rome on June 25, 1496. Here Michelangelo would create one of his masterpieces in 1599, "La Pieta" depicting the dead Christ on the lap of Mary after the crucifixion, on commission from the Cardinal Jean de Billheres. Returning to Florence, Michelangelo got to work on his next masterpiece, "David". Completed in 1504 and carved out of a single block of marble, "David" established Michelangelo's eternal reputation as a sculptor combining amazing technical mastery with the depth of symbolism. Michelangelo was only 29 years old when he completed the statue.

Michelangelo's most monumental commission was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Worked on from 1508 to 1512, the entire work is a collection of famous paintings including Adam and Eve, the Creation of Adam, the Great Flood, the Cumaean Sibyl and the Prophet Isaiah. The work includes more than 300 figures and on the whole depicts nine incidents from the first book of the Bible, Genesis - God creating the earth and man, man's fall into sin, and Noah and his family representing humanity.

Throughout his life Michelangelo received prominent commissions. One of the most prominent of his last works is "The Last Judgment" fresco on the Sistine Chapel's altar wall. The work was begun in 1534 and completed in 1541. Michelangelo is also known for his sketches and his architectural endeavors. The latter includes designing the Laurentian Library and the Medici Chapel in Florence, the Campidoglio, and designing the dome for St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.