Michelangelo - Masterpiece Curations

Study and learn about Michelangelo, a master artist and sculptor. Perfect for your homeschool artist study!

Please Note: This post contains nude artwork by Michelangelo which some may feel is unsuitable for children. Please use your own discretion as a parent.

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”

Michelangelo is considered to be one of the most legendary artists of all time. Primarily a sculptor, his most famous works include The David and Pietà, though he is also well known for his frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on March 6, 1475, into a family of former nobility. His mother died when he was six years old, so his father sent him to live with a nanny. Her husband was a stoneworker living next to a marble quarry, and it was during this time that Michelangelo came to appreciate the beauty of marble and sculptures.

When he was still young, Michelangelo was sent to Florence to begin his education. However he didn’t like school and preferred to spend time copying paintings. His skills soon drew the attention of master artist Domenico Ghirlandaio, who took Michelangelo to be his apprentice at thirteen years old. During this time, his skills grew so much that his father insisted that Ghirlandaio pay Michelangelo for his works. He became so skilled, in fact, that Ghirlandaio regarded him as his most talented pupil.

Some of Michelangelo’s most renowned works were produced while under Ghirlandaio’s tutelage, including his sculptures Madonna on the Stairs and Battle of the Centaurs. However, not everyone appreciated the young artist, especially since he was known for his rough and unlikeable personality. Eventually he came to blows with a fellow student, who struck his nose, causing it to be disfigured for the rest of his life.

After Ghirlandaio’s death, Michelangelo returned to his father’s home. This became a dark part of his life, and he took to studying corpses in the church’s hospital. Fortunately, this study of anatomy led to his first lifelike sculpture, Hercules and later the Pietà, the Virgin Mary. He was later requested by the Florence Republic to sculpt a symbol of their freedom, and thus Michelangelo created his most famous work: the Statue of David. This established Michelangelo as a true master.

In 1508, Michelangelo was commissioned by the Pope to work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. At first he refused, claiming that he was a sculptor, not a painter. However when the Pope granted him full creative liberty, Michelangelo agreed. And though he was originally only supposed to paint the Twelve Disciples, he ended up painting over three hundred figures, representing the creation of the world, the fall of man, and the account of Noah. The ceiling took him four years to complete.

Following a period of war and unrest in Florence, Michelangelo fled to Rome, where he painted one of his last masterpieces: The Last Judgment. The painting depicts Christ in the likeness of a Greek deity, which became the subject of great controversy. Within the painting is a flayed human skin, which bears Michelangelo’s own likeness.

Michelangelo died in 1564 and was buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. Today, he is regarded as one of the most important artists during the High Renaissance and is considered to be one of the greatest artists of all time.