Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect and poet. He is generally considered one of the greatest artists ever. He worked in Florence and Rome. As a student in the household of Lorenzo de' Medici Michelangelo met some of the greatest thinkers and artists of his days. In 1496 he moved to Rome, where one of his first major assignments was the now well-known Pietà in St Peter's Basilica. Back in Florence Michelangelo created several other masterpieces, including the David (1501-1504). Pope Julius II commissioned him to decorate the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel (1508-12). The frescoes depict prophets, sibyls and scenes from Genesis, translating from sculpture into painting Michelangelo's preference for strong, muscular figures. He returned to the Sistine Chapel in 1536 to begin the huge Last Judgment on the altar wall, finishing the work in 1541. In 1547 he was unwillingly put in charge of the rebuilding of St Peter's, and had a decisive influence over its final design. Michelangelo died in Rome in 1564. He is buried in the church of Santa Croce in Florence.