Shop our Michelangelo Collection.
Michelangelo
di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) is arguably
the greatest and most famous sculptor in the history
of art. He was a leader of the Italian High Renaissance
and provided a significant amount of influence
over western art for centuries.
Born in Florence, Italy in 1475, he served as
an apprentice to the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio
as a boy. As a teen, he graduated to studying
the art of sculpture at the school of the Medici
gardens where has was eventually taken in by the
wealthy and powerful Medici family. With Lorenzo
Medici as a patron he was able create two relief
sculptures by the time he was 16.
After the Medici family was expelled from Florence,
Michelangelo went to Rome and studied the classical
statues and ruins that served as the models for
sculpting excellence. During this time, Michelangelo
created one of his most famous sculptures, the
Pieta, for
St. Peter’s Basilica. This sculpture received
great praise from the public, but irritated by
the lack of recognition that he received, Michelangelo
etched his name on the sculpture. He later regretted
this action and never signed another work of art.
Around 1500, Michelangelo returned to Florence
and started work on what would become the masterpiece
of all of his sculptures: the Statue
of David. This sculpture forever established
him as the greatest sculptor in history
Amazingly, though, the talents of Michelangelo
were not limited to sculpture. For shortly after
finishing the Statue of David, he was commissioned
by Pope Julius II to paint the frescos for the
Sistine Chapel. The scenes from this painting
have become so famous that many of them exist
as distinct works of art on their own. You will
find many sculptural replicas of these scenes
in our Michelangelo Sculpture Gallery.
Other famous sculptures in this gallery include
the statue of Moses that was made for the Tomb
of Julius II.
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