Michelangelo
Full name: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
Parents: :
Father: Ludovico di Leonardo di Buonarotto Simoni,
Mother: Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena
Born: March 6, 1475 (Caprese, Italy)
Death: February 18, 1564 (Rome)
Michelangelo was an Italian renaissance artist, sculptor, architect, engineer, and poet. His father, was the local magistrate. After his birth, they moved to Florence. He started liking the arts. He was painting, and drawing, but his father tried to stop him. Domenico Ghirlandaio took Michelangelo as a apprentice in 1488. He started living in Lorenzo de' Medici's house. Medici was a the leading patron of the arts in Florence. In 1496, Michelangelo traveled to Rome. He created the Pietà, and returned to Florence as a famous artist. In Florence he created his statue of David.
Pope Julius II, in 1505, called Michelangelo to make his tomb; which was going to include forty statues. It was never finished though, but he did create a statue of Moses for Julius' tomb. Michelangelo then went to make a major commission. It was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. It was recognized as a great work of art. Michelangelo was now known as Italy's greatest living artist. Michelangelo returned to Rome, In 1534, where he was commissioned to paint 'The Last Judgement' on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel. Near the end of his life, he started working more on architecture. Mainly working on the great church of St. Peter.
Some of his statues:
Battle of the centaurs (1492)
Bacchus (1497)
Pietà (1498-1499)
David (1501-1504)
Pope Julius II Tomb (1505)
Doni Tondo (1508)
The Creation of Adam (1511)
Moses (1515)
The Sistine Chapel (1508-1512)
Medici Chapel (1527)
The Last Judgement (1536-1541)
Battle of Cascina (1542)