Michelangelo

Creator of the David and the Sistine Chapel ceiling, a giant of the Renaissance.

Life

Medici youth

Michelangelo was born in Tuscany and as a boy studied sculpture in the household of Lorenzo de' Medici. In his twenties he carved the Pietà in Rome, and in 1504 he completed the colossal David in Florence.

David

From 1508 to 1512 he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling for Pope Julius II, spending four years working alone on his back on the scaffolding; late in life he also painted The Last Judgment on the altar wall.

Sistine

In his later years he directed the design of St. Peter's Basilica and designed its enormous dome. He died in Rome in 1564 at the age of eighty-nine.

Legacy

Michelangelo was one of the greatest artists of the High Renaissance, and his works represent the pinnacle of the beauty of the human body and of spiritual power.

Major works & achievements

• David
• Genesis ceiling frescoes
• The Last Judgment

Did you know? The Pietà is the only work he ever signed: hearing someone attribute it to another artist, he secretly carved his name into it at night.

Key dates

• 1499Completes the Pietà
• 1504Completes David
• 1508Begins painting the Sistine ceiling
• 1541Completes The Last Judgment
• 1546Directs work on St. Peter's Basilica
• 1564Died