1475-1564
Sculptor, Painter, Architect

Early Years. Michelangelo, whose full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese and died on 18 February 1564 in Rome, Italy. He was active as a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet during his lengthy career. His initial training was in the workshop of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. As a member of Lorenzo de' Medici's household Michelangelo was introduced to the family's antique sculpture collection and the circle of Neoplatonic humanists active there. The Bacchus (1496) demonstrates his study of the male nude figure and classical sources. In 1497 Cardinal Villiers gave him a commission for a tomb sculpture. The Pieta, or Mary mourning over the death of her son Christ, was uncommon in Italian art. When Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1501, he created a nude figure of the biblical hero David (1504). The statue was placed in front of the town hall...