Ascanio Condivi

Minor Italian artist Ascanio Condivi (1525?–1574) was a young assistant and pupil of the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564). The closeness of their relationship allowed Condivi access to the master's most personal thoughts, making his biography, The Life of MichelAngelo, excerpted below, the most intimate portrait available.

So influential was the art of Michelangelo that some historians credit him with being responsible, directly and indirectly, for three separate historical eras. The word Renaissance was said to be specifically created to describe the development of fine arts under Michelangelo and fellow artist Raphael (1483–1520). The Reformation was spurred by Martin Luther's (1483–1546) rejection of the Catholic Church's sale of indulgences (by which sins are forgiven by God). The sale of indulgences increased dramatically when Pope Julius II (1443–1513) needed money to pay for his own elaborate tomb, to be created by Michelangelo...