Michelangelo Buonarroti Biography and Works.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 in Italy in a middle class family. His father enjoyed a reputed position in the government and hence considered his son’s desire to be an artist as disgraceful.

Earlier, Michelangelo started to learn grammar but hated it. He started working as an apprentice under painter Domenico Ghirlandaio in Florence at the age of thirteen.

During his apprenticeship, he got access to the antique collection of Lorenzo de’ Medici. This acquaintance gave Michelangelo the opportunity to meet great scientist and even trained by Bertoldo di Giovanni, the resident sculptor of the Medici family. This arrangement enhanced the artistic skill possessed by Michelangelo.

His major works were mostly left unfinished on account of their scale. Pope Julius II assigned him the task to build his tomb, which was to include 40 life-size statues in 1505. The project took 40 long years of Michelangelo’s life.

The Pope gave him another project in 1508 which was to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He painted stories from Genesis on the ceiling, unlike using the traditional technique of painting a single figure. After completing the ceiling, he continued his work on the Pope’s tomb.

However, the project came to a stop when Julius died in 1513. Three years later, he was commissioned to paint the back wall of the Sistine Chapel with The Last Judgement. In 1555, he started working on Pieta in St. Peter’s church, Milan, during which he fell ill and passed away in 1564.

Trivia

Michelangelo built an 18 feet tall statue of David in Florence in 1501.